my grocery list template for reducing costs, food waste, & decision fatigue
plus, my top tips for shopping efficiently + a meal plan & grocery list for the week
Happy Friday! Idk about you all, but this week absolutely flew by for me—I feel like summer always does. Now that it’s officially summer, Boston really said we’re gonna kick it off with HEAT. It was almost 100 degrees this week!! I’ve been working on even more editions of my no-bake recipe series for that reason, so more to come 😊 If you missed this week’s recipe, my Chopped Mediterranean Inspired White Bean Salad, watch it here. So far the feedback on that one has been great, so I encourage you to try it for meal prep this upcoming week! It’s also perfect for a beach trip or pool day.
One thing I’m asked for all the time is a grocery list template—something that easily encapsulates my tips for recipe planning (like writing your dinners for the week at the top of the page, taking your fridge/freezer/pantry inventory, and incorporating as many plants into your meals as possible). So, this week I’m FINALLY sharing it! You can download it right from this post and print it at home or use it digitally 🫶
Before we get to the template & this week’s meal plan, let’s go over my top grocery tips that help me save money, reduce food waste, and eat nutrient dense meals:
Take your fridge, freezer, & pantry inventory first: Noting everything you have in your fridge, freezer, and pantry before you sit down to plan your meals for the week and make your list ensures you’re using up what you have and ultimately reducing waste + saving money. If you’ve got 3 cans of chickpeas sitting around, pick out a chickpea-heavy recipe. If you have one cup of broth left in the fridge, find a meal that calls for that. If you know there’s a pack of chicken thighs in the freezer, utilize that for dinner during the week and ultimately reduce costs.
Prioritize your dinner plan & write it down: I always recommend focusing on dinners for the week when making a plan. Once you know what dinners you’re going to be making, it’s easy to add in ingredients for some breakfast or lunch meal prep (plus you can often utilize dinner leftovers!). Dinners are usually where all of the headaches and “what’s for dinner?” stress comes from.
Choose at least one breakfast & lunch meal prep for the week: You all know this by now—every Sunday I’m prepping at least one breakfast and one lunch for the week to at least get me started. This saves me from resorting to a pick-up or drive-through and ensures I’m going to get a nutritious start to the day. Plus, you can get creative and expand your horizons in the kitchen! Even 3-4 days of prepped meals make a world of difference, and you don’t need to spend hours on it.
Create a workable pantry with basics you use often: What I refer to as my “pantry staples” are items I constantly use in my recipes and always keep stocked. Having a stocked pantry not only reduces your weekly food costs, it allows you to buy in bulk or stock up when things are on sale. You’ll also save space by focusing on just those key staples vs. buying new specialty items every time you make a new recipe (like when will you use lavender syrup and saffron honey again???).
Incorporate as many plants as possible into your meals + opt for in-season produce: Something I feel a lot of people don’t realize is adding lots and lots of plants to your meals can actually reduce costs significantly. Whether you’re getting fresh or frozen produce, the bulk of it is very budget-friendly and high-volume. Health benefits aside, I’m always building my meals around my produce and trying new things, especially when they’re in-season (which is another budget-friendly hack!). I included a plant tracker in my grocery template for this reason. And if you can, this time of year is perfect for farmer’s market goods.
When in doubt, keep it simple & reach for whole food ingredients: Don’t feel like you need to over-complicate things. If you feel overwhelmed by the idea of picking out your meals and making a list—well first consider becoming a paid subscriber because I do the work for you—and secondly don’t be afraid to go back to basics. There’s nothing wrong with eating the same meal multiple days in a row, cooking proteins you’re familiar with, and getting canned or frozen items. Do what works for you!
Click DOWNLOAD below or double-click the images to open up the template!
Given I just shared this template with you, now I want to share a plan for this week that you can follow and use it for! Keep scrolling for a grocery list, five dinner recipes, + meal prep ideas!
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