Being organized in your daily life benefits you not only in visual ways (tidy office, tidy house), but also in terms of health. A lot of our stress and planning centers on our meals. Often, our stress derives from our lack of planning. What’s the easiest way to solve this problem? Simplify your meal planning, reduce your prep, and you’ll not only save money and spend less time, but also eat healthier and possibly lose weight!
As I’ve previously written, I simplify my grocery shopping routine by shopping only once every two weeks. Of course, if we run out of eggs or coffee, then I will run out and buy more. I started shopping every other week when I noticed that at the end of every week, we had plenty of food left over, which then meant that the following week we had food left over, and eventually, food would get forgotten and rotten, and I’d have to throw it out. And I am not a fan of food waste. My philosophy is, “You can always buy more.” Buy just enough, and if you need more, buy more. You can’t magically turn food fresh again!
When I shop, I stick to basic ingredients: many types of vegetables, a couple different types of fruit, enough meat to make for dinner 3-4x a week, a few frozen pizzas, oatmeal, almond butter, butter, eggs, coffee, creamer, pasta. There’s only two of us, and once there’s more of us, this grocery list will change. But it’s enough for two for two weeks of breakfasts, lunches (bringing lunch to work), and dinner. We eat at restaurants maybe 1-2 times a week (usually weekends), and the rest of the time we eat at home.
Every two weeks, the grocery list will change. Instead of chicken, I’ll buy beef, or instead of spaghetti, I’ll buy ravioli, instead of kale I’ll buy arugula. You get the jist. In the winter I make a lot of chili, in the summer I buy Italian sausages to grill. Though I switch between meats and vegetables and grains, in general, I buy more vegetables than meat, and more fruit than grains. And I make sure everything is eaten before I shop for more groceries, or I wait until two weeks have passed.
Here’s an example of a simple, healthy, organized grocery list:
Meat:
— 5 pounds of chicken breast/tenders
— 1 lb. turkey lunch meat
Grains:
— 1 bag of wild rice
— 1 loaf of whole wheat bread
— 2 boxes of quick rolled oats
— 2 frozen pizzas
— Whole wheat spaghetti
Fruits & Vegetables:
— 1 head of broccoli
— 1 head of cauliflower
— 2 boxes of organic spinach
— 2 boxes of organic kale
— 10 bananas
— Seasonal fruit (apples in fall; clementines in winter; berries, grapes in spring, summer)
— 1 Cucumber
— Bunch of tomatoes
— 2 bags of carrots
Dairy:
— 1 lb of sliced deli cheese
— 1 gallon organic whole milk
— 1 carton half & half
— 1 carton eggs
— feta cheese
— grass fed butter
Misc.:
— 1 tub of hummus
— 1 bag of coffee
— Organic tomato basil pasta sauce
— 1 box of wine (4 bottles)
___________________________
= less than ~$200 for 2 weeks of groceries (organic meat & produce)
1x a month:
— 1 bottle olive oil
— Honey
— Maple syrup
— Condiments (mayo, mustard, BBQ sauce, ketchup)
— Raspberry preserves
— Almond butter
Every couple months:
— Flour, sugar, spices, baking goods
Breakfast:
OATMEAL & bananas (Oatmeal + milk + cinnamon + honey)
OMLET & clementine (Spinach + feta cheese + 2 eggs + tablespoon milk)
SHAKE (spinach + kale + frozen bananas + protein powder)
FRENCH TOAST (Mix 2 eggs + ½ cup milk + cinnamon + vanilla; dip bread into mix, fry; enjoy w maple syrup)
Coffee with half & half & maple syrup
Lunch:
SANDWICH (4 slices turkey + 3 slices cheese + spinach + mayo + mustard + whole wheat bread)
SALAD: (spinach + kale + 3 sliced hard boiled eggs + feta + sliced cucumber + tomatoes + olive oil + vinegar + oregano + salt + pepper)
LEFTOVER DINNER
Dinner:
CHICKEN & RICE & CARROTS & HUMMUS (chicken drizzled with olive oil & spices, roasted in the oven on 400 for 35 minutes + cooked wild rice with butter + carrots & hummus)
CHICKEN & BROCCOLI & CAULIFLOWER (chicken drizzled with olive oil & spices, roasted in the oven on 400 for 35 minutes + cooked wild rice with butter + broccoli & cauliflower drizzled with olive oil & spices, cooked at 425 for 15 minutes)
FROZEN PIZZA (Once a week)
SPEGHETTI & PASTA SAUCE
DESSERT (tea & banana bread; hot chocolate)
& wine!
Of course, every once and awhile, we run out for cookies (I think my husband is addicted to Oreos… seriously), or go out to eat more than twice a week, but generally, we stick to the 80/20 rule: 80% of the time we eat healthy at home so that 20% of the time we can eat what we want, where we want.
And just like the material objects you store in your home, the food you store in your fridge will serve you better when you have fewer options. Having too much food means more options, more complicated recipes, more food waste, more stress! Simplifying your grocery list will simplify your budget, meals, and weekly prep. That means you’ll spend time wisely, save money, eat healthier, and reduce stress.
Brigit
