How do you plan your meals and food shop?

I plan meals for about a week ahead, taking account of what I already have. Then I pop it all in an online shopping list and it is delivered the following morning.

I would prefer not to shop this way; until relatively recently I would go to local shops and the market every few days, but that’s not an option where I live presently.

I plan the week’s meals after considering what I already have in the fridge and freezer and then book an online delivery for what else I need. It’s much quicker than going to the shops and I’m not sidetracked by something that would perhaps mean I ended up wasting something else. No food waste here.

I plan meals with what think I will fancy cooking depending on what's in the diary.

So, a quiet day might see me batch cooking a pasta sauce to eat on a busy day.

I have a freezer with lots of meat and fish in plus lots of pre cooked stuff.

Of course, this is often subject to change and we have a Coop in the village and we pass Waitrose regularly so can top up with fresh stuff if necessary.

I don't waste very much at all.

I plan meals for the week and make a shopping list for what ingredients I need for the recipes.

I have to also make note of what we’re eating on which days otherwise I forget which recipes I’ve chosen!

I don’t ever plan, meals Why would I ? I might not fancy a, b or c on a particular day
I buy in stuff in a weekly or sometimes fortnightly shop that I eat and like, and then chose at the time of hunger what I fancy.

I jot down things I’m running out of and take that list with me. I usually have fish, chicken, mince, sausages, pizzas, braising steak etc in the freezer so I go to the supermarket to buy a mixture of veg, salad, fruit, milk and bread there’s not a lot of planning involved I mainly decide on the day and what I fancy.

I plan five or six days ahead, I’m working through the spare freezer as it needs defrosting, so that food has priority. I then update my Friday online delivery to fill in the gaps and update the farm shop veg list.
None of the meals are rigid as we might go out or fancy something else. Nothing is wasted.

I haven’t the heart to tell him he’s teaching his granny to suck eggs! 😂😂

I always have several meals in mind when I do my weekly (approx.), online shop, but turn to whatever is the fridge and freezer for the rest, and that helps ensure that almost nothing goes to waste.

But if I'm honest, I think I would shop very differently if there were shops with walking distance (all at least 3 miles away). I would love to be able to wander down to the shops at teatime and simply choose what I fancy eating that night!

I do plan ahead, and put the meals on the calendar based on what we have in the freezer or what we spot when shopping, mainly because if I don’t, I’ll arrive home and DH will ask what’s for dinner. If the list is there, I arrive home to find preparation already done.

I don't really plan these days and go with the flow. I cook with what I find when I go shopping- around special offers. Depends on weather, activities, appointments, walks.

I am quite good at making a meal out of bits and bobs in the fridge and larder, garden, etc. I hardly waste anything, and what little I do 'waste' will feed animals, pets or wild, or go in one of my many compost bins in corner of garden.

On my own, so no planning. No set times, no set meals. Today, just toast and coffee in the morning, yesterday’s stew for lunch, crackers and cheese just now and probably, more stew later 😂

I buy enough meat and fish to last about 3 weeks, portion it up and freeze, then plan for the following weeks meals by spacing out the meat/fish over different days. So I know that tomorrow is chicken, Thursday pork, Friday salmon and so on. Then shop for veg, dairy and larder stuff depending on season/price etc. I try not to do too many repeats over the 3 week menu!

I roughly plan our meals depending on what is in the diary. Not set in stone though and days get switched around.
Before shopping we check what we have and that’s taken into account. We have very little waste. this way.

Germanshepherdsmum

I plan the week’s meals after considering what I already have in the fridge and freezer and then book an online delivery for what else I need. It’s much quicker than going to the shops and I’m not sidetracked by something that would perhaps mean I ended up wasting something else. No food waste here.

I do exactly this

Though I buy my dogs food from a local wholesaler, a whole months supply when I get paid (because it is cheaper)

A hang over from my working days, I do a big shop every month for all those foodstuffs in tins and packets - tomatoes, rice, pasta, herbs and spices etc and then plan my menus each week around what is waiting to be used plus any other goods, plus things like cheese, yoghourt etc. This means short quick shops most weeks. As the week progresses things do get changed and swapped around, but the start of any week's plannig starts with a survey of what is inthe fridge and needs consuming.

I shop in person because it means if I get to the shop and something I want isn't available, I can make menu adjustments on the spot, similalry if something is particularly cheap I can change again. This is particularly important as most of my fruit and veg come from a stall in our local markeet. This always has a good range of exotic fruit and veg for the local ethnic population and, as I spent part of my childhood in South east Asia, If I see any fresh okra or a pomelo, that gets popped in my basket and menus replanned. I buy meat online as I only buy Pasture for Life beef and lamb.

During covid I got into the habit of meal planning, I have kept it up.
It saves me money and we don’t waste anything.
Wish I had been as organised when I had 5 mouths to feed!

I shop for items just used/empty, buy what we'll use.

No waste, no plans, no lists. Easy.

Grannybags

I plan meals for the week and make a shopping list for what ingredients I need for the recipes.

I have to also make note of what we’re eating on which days otherwise I forget which recipes I’ve chosen!

Snap!

I try to plan from a different cookery book each week so we don't get into the 'cold meat on Monday, cottage pie on Tuesday' trap.

I have a block of eight weeks' worth of meals, with accompanying shopping lists, with everything that is needed to make the meals, right down to salt and pepper. We don't have to have the same meal twice in an eight week cycle if we don't want to.

I look at the week's list, then go through the shopping list, crossing off everything that we've already got, so we're not stockpiling (I got away from the habit of following the meal plans for a while, hence me having four unopened bottles of sesame oil!) I put the menu list on the fridge door, so we know what meals are being proposed for the coming week.

There is usually at least one portion left over from each meal to go in the freezer and so we end up being able to eat for free, from the freezer for a week or two.

I add things to my Tesco basket on the app on my phone, so if i'm in Tesco (or anywhere else for that matter) I can pick things up, and delete them from the basket, before I press for the click and collect.

It's not cast in stone, and there is the occasional takeaway, but on the whole, it works well for us, and keeps cost and wastage down.

I have revolving repertoire of meals so I stock the freezer and the store cupboard accordingly. I shop for meat and chicken at the farm shop and have a weekly Ocado shop and top up if I need to from the market if there is one (they don't come in very bad weather)or occasionally Sainsbury. I plan a day or two but change it if we are going to be in or out.

I don’t plan in the conventional meal planning sense, because I’d hate knowing what I was going to be eating a week ahead. I buy fresh fruit and vegetables, and meat to batch cook whatever I’m doing that week, fresh meat for the weekend, and fish etc. for the freezer, I also freeze my own chillies, garlic, and vegetables so there’s a good choice. I have a good store cupboard and we eat a lot of meals from Jamie’s Five Ingredients and the similar Ainsley book. We don’t waste food by doing it this way, my freezer is my friend.

Well this is going to be embarrassingly neurotic but I have a 17 week meal plan and I shop online each week based on what week it is.

Looking for great offers and cooking accordingly, I find fun.