A grocery list that saves you time and money (Part 2)

Can the way you write your grocery list actually save you time and money? It sure can…and I mean a lot of both!

This is part 2 of Sandi Richard’s “Eating like a king on a shoestring budget” series — catch up with part 1Looking for Sandi’s Eat Sheet? Download it here!

Can the way you write your grocery list actually save you time and money? It sure can…and I mean a lot of both! Many years ago, I grasped the idea that in order to keep my weight down, feed my kids food they liked, and afford both, I had to meal-plan. Even the words meal-plan caused me to break out into a cold sweat. Doesn’t that mean hours and hours of work each week? But I don’t have hours and hours!

I knew me and there was no way (no matter how enthusiastic I was at the start) that I was going to stick to something that gave me extra work each week. I was destined to fail if it meant I had to continue to do this week after week. If I was going to meal-plan I had to create a system that would give me back time – not take it away. What I needed was a forever meal-plan. One that I could re-use. One day, after grocery shopping and returning home to unload my purchases, as I tossed my now-unneeded grocery list away something hit me like a bolt of lightning. I was throwing all my brain-work away! And after wrapping my head around how to change that, the Eat Sheet was born.

So what is the difference between an Eat Sheet and a grocery list? And more importantly, how can an Eat Sheet save you time and money?

Well, let’s start with the grocery list. I used to keep mine on the fridge with a magnet pad.

sandi-grocerylist

When a person is ready to go grocery shopping, they grab the list. At the store the list is then filled in by memory. Conversations in your head like, “Johnny likes this, so I’ll buy this sauce to make Johnny’s favorite chicken!” I need you to answer the following question honestly…How many times have you spent 300 buckaroos on groceries only to realize you forgot to buy a key ingredient for the meal you’re making? Now answer this honestly…How many times have you then popped into the store to pick up that one ingredient only to walk out with a whole lot of extra stuff you don’t need? Cha-ching…another 50 bucks. The grocery list knows only what you have and do not have at a current moment in time! Allowing your mind to finish the job is just, well, crazy. And expensive! A grocery list is simply a tally of items you have run out of.

The Eat Sheet on the other hand will never fail you. It has no idea what you have in your house this week or next.

The Eat Sheet tallies five meals that the whole family enjoys on the top left corner of the page. It is then based on what the recipes need (not what you need). It is complete.

It can be used on any given week of the year (and next year, too). It is the map you use to create a week’s worth of meals your family loves. It then takes you effortlessly to your freezer, fridge and pantry to quickly jot down items you will need to pick up at the store to complete those meals!

The grocery list goes to the store then gets thrown away. The Eat Sheet never leaves the house — it stays at home near your recipe books, so that when you need to do that meal plan, it’s ready for you again and again and again. If you look at my personal Eat Sheet, you’ll see that I have my master copy on the computer. I then print a copy and highlight what I already have at home. The balance is what I’ll need to pick up at the store. I then hand write the little extras in the appropriate categories. This week I needed frozen blueberries, toilet paper, our favorite movie night popcorn and a few other things as well. (Ok…ok, need is a strong word on the popcorn.)

sandi-eatsheet

Get your family to help pick five meals they love. Fill the names in on the top left corner. Now gather those recipes and fill the Eat Sheet out in full, either handwritten or on computer as I do. If you create three weeks of different Eat Sheets…you now have a 21-day rotation of meals. You can keep rotating those three Eat Sheets forever if you like. As soon as you are in the mood…create another. Now you have a one-month rotation. You see – the Eat Sheet brings simplicity into your life. It’s always ready to save you time. Because, it’s always figured out, it’s always complete, and you always know exactly what you need. Therefore you won’t be spending aimlessly and because you won’t be heading back to the store to get a forgotten item…savings once again.

For those of you who are going to give this a try, way to go! Things in your life are about to feel way calmer when it comes to dinnertime.

I really suggest you read the next blog post (to be published this week on Cityline.ca) before you begin your Eat Sheet. It will really help you know where to begin and how shopping in your freezer first saves you even more money than you can ever imagine.

I’ll be sharing my own personal grocery bills with you to prove it.

Stay tuned for Sandi’s next article on shopping and eating smart, and you can always get more great recipes and healthy eating ideas from Sandi on her website, Cooking for the Rushed.