Standard grocery list for the week. Menu for the week: list of products

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

Buying food is one of the most expensive items in the family budget. Planning these expenses allows you to save up to 30% of the funds. Therefore, today we will learn how to make a grocery list for the week.

Why do we need such a list?

Stocks of groceries will not suddenly run out, forcing you to go to the store once again. If you can follow the list clearly, you won't make impulse purchases and save money.

The list is based on a prearranged menu. All food will be prepared on time, and you will not have to puzzle over where to put the leftover food supplies so that they do not spoil.

Why make a menu?

It's hard to know what foods you need if you don't know what you're going to cook. Without a menu, the list will actually be taken from the ceiling, and in the middle of the week you will have to constantly buy something in addition.

Perhaps, out of habit, developing a weekly menu will not be easy, and you will think that this is a waste of time. But just imagine the benefits you will get!

First, automaticallythe main task will be solved - the purchase of products for the week. The list will become a simple listing of the ingredients of the dishes included in the menu.

Secondly, remember that thousands of housewives daily puzzle over what to cook today. They sort through recipes and then go to the store because there is not enough change in the refrigerator. You can get rid of this hassle.

The diet will become more varied, as you are unlikely to want to plan the same dinners in the form of pasta and salad in advance. You will learn how to cook new dishes.

Finally, the menu will help you analyze how he althy and balanced your diet is.

How often should lists be made?

It is unlikely that you will be able to make your own standard weekly grocery list once and forget about it. Firstly, you will not constantly cook the same dishes! Secondly, sometimes people celebrate holidays and go on diets, which requires adjusting the usual list. Thirdly, the summer menu is different from the winter one.

List types

Much depends on whether you have a habit of making stocks and preparations: do you freeze vegetables and fruits from the summer, do you make pickles and jams, do you cook homemade convenience foods, do you buy sugar, cereals and potatoes in bags for future use, and etc.

If there is always stock, then in most cases the grocery shopping list for the week will be compiled taking into account what needs to be bought in addition. If you cannot boast of thriftiness, then the weekly grocerythe basket will include almost all the ingredients that are planned to be used in the next seven days.

There are also lists for special occasions. For example, if you plan to receive guests or decide to go on a diet from Monday.

Ready options

If you think that it is enough to find a ready-made list of products for a week on the Internet, and the problem will be solved, then you are mistaken. Of course, there are such lists, but they may not be suitable for you, because each family has its own taste habits, and everyone's budgets are different. Half of the products on someone else's list may simply not be necessary for you.

To simplify the task, you can use someone else's list, adjusting it to fit your needs. But beforehand, you still have to draw up a weekly menu so that you have something to build on.

Menu rules

Determine the day on which you will make purchases. Then you can plan your meals so that perishable foods are cooked first, and do not overbuy.

Include all family members in this activity.

Consider available stocks. Sugar, flour, groceries are usually bought in large stock, and there is no need to buy them weekly.

Don't make a grocery list for a week on an empty stomach, otherwise the list will contain a lot of unnecessary items. However, this should not be done immediately after the meal either, otherwise the necessary things will seem optional.

Notforget that army discipline is useless in ordinary life. If you suddenly don’t want to eat what is scheduled on the menu, or if you don’t have the strength to get up early in the morning to cook the planned pancakes, don’t force yourself. Make sure to have a stock of homemade convenience foods and include them in the list of products that will help out in such cases. For example, it can be dumplings, muesli, cheese and sausage, yogurt, canned fish, etc.

Write the list

Everyone has their own technique. When making lists and menus becomes a habit, you yourself will figure out how to make it easier for you. For the first time, you can do this.

In order not to get confused, divide the list of necessary products for the week into groups: groceries, drinks, meat, chicken, sweets, etc. So much clearer and faster. You can even make a detailed specification, for example, the category "Vegetables" is divided into "fresh", "frozen" and "canned". This technique will save time in the store - you do not have to run back and forth with a cart. And it will be even easier to do home bookkeeping if you do it.

Now start from the menu. Let's say on Monday you have scrambled eggs with ham and coffee for breakfast, and for lunch - borscht and mashed chicken. Take a blank list with categories and put the ingredients into groups. In "Vegetables" - potatoes, cabbage, carrots, onions, beets and garlic. In "Drinks" - coffee. In "Meat products" - chicken, beef, etc.

You can not list products immediately by groups, but first make one big list according to the menu. Then count the amount of each ingredient and categorize in the finallist.

Of course, you can not waste time on grouping and just list all the products you need in a column. Again, this is a matter of convenience.

After listing the required items, start adding optional items - sweets and delicacies. Next, add long shelf life items that are running out of stock (pasta, cereals, s alt, coffee, tea).

In parallel, you can immediately sketch out several lists of products that will be needed during the week. For example, dairy products and bread are best bought fresh.

Example list

As mentioned earlier, each family has its own approximate menu for the week. The list of products, respectively, too. But for starters, you can use a template. For example, like this.

1. Dairy products. Here we bring cheeses, milk, yogurts, sour cream, eggs, butter, cottage cheese, etc.
2. Meat, chicken, fish and seafood. Include eggs, minced meat, stew, canned fish in the same category.
3. Spices and oils. These are any spices, vegetable oil, vinegar, mustard, all kinds of sauces.
4. Vegetables, fruits. You can list dried fruits, nuts, muesli.
5. Grocery. Pasta, cereals, rice, soda, s alt, sugar, flour, yeast, peas, beans, bread, etc.
6. Drinks. Tea, coffee, cocoa. Be sure to consider your taste preferences. For example, put cream in the dairy category if you add cream to coffee.
7. Delicatessen and sweets.

Let me remind you that for convenience, you candetail your grocery list for the week in as much detail as you like.

Disadvantages of menu planning

For all its advantages, this method may not appeal to busy people. Do you have coffee for breakfast, do you have lunch in a cafe near the office, and in the evening do you prefer to cook a pack of dumplings or eat yogurt? Then compiling a detailed menu is not for you.

If you work a lot, then on weekends you most likely prefer to relax and do hobbies, rather than think about household chores. And, of course, after a hard day at work, the last thing you want to do is cook a complicated dinner.

In addition, it will take some time to search for recipes, distribute dishes by day and create a list of necessary products. Even more time will take cooking according to the menu. It turns out that the method is suitable only for people with a not very busy work schedule.

Also, those who want to make weekly menus need to be able to cook at least basic dishes, otherwise it will be difficult at first. Of course, the ingredients and their quantities are indicated in the recipes, but, believe me, in practice, everything may not be as you think.

It's psychologically difficult to obey a schedule all your life. Situations will arise when, for example, on the menu you have yesterday's buckwheat porridge with a cutlet for dinner, and you (or someone from the household) really want fried potatoes. You cook potatoes, and the whole routine will go astray, since the porridge is not eaten, and other dishes are already planned for the next day.

What to do if there is no time or desiremenu?

To prepare the menu in advance and strictly follow the purchase lists, you need to be a fairly organized and disciplined person. In the frantic pace of modern life, there is not always time for scrupulous housekeeping. But you can make a rough grocery list for the week.

Even if you cook according to your mood, you still know approximately what products you need. We propose to make two lists. The first is what you eat almost every day. For example, cheese, sausage, instant coffee, yogurt, eggs, fresh vegetables and fruits, butter, mayonnaise, sweets, etc. Make the basis for the weekly checklist.

Next, you will only need to slightly adjust your usual grocery shopping list for the week each time. Before going to the store, look through the stocks in the refrigerator and kitchen cabinets. Complete the list with basic products (cereals, pasta, potatoes, spices, canned food) that are running low. It won't take long.

Keep in mind that in this case there will be situations when you suddenly decide to cook something special, and you do not have some necessary little things (tomato paste, breadcrumbs, gelatin, for example). You will have to visit the supermarket again. By the way, in total, going to the store will take more time than if you “shopped” once a week.

Savings again

Cost saving is the main motive for those who decide to plan their purchases. But a frugal listfood for a week is a luxury available only to prudent and thrifty housewives. Therefore, take note of the following tips.

1. It would be nice to master such a useful quality as the ability to cook a delicious dish “from what was” (casserole from leftover rice or mashed potatoes, croutons from stale bread).
2. Eating processed foods regularly is wasting money that could be spent on other nice things. Set aside one day a month to make convenience foods. For example, wind a lot of minced meat and make cutlets, stuffed peppers and pancakes, cabbage rolls, meatballs, dumplings for the future. All this can be frozen and, if necessary, simply brought to readiness.
3. Check stocks from time to time to know which foods to cook first before they go bad.
4. It is useful to calculate everything in advance and take to the store exactly as much money as is enough to pay for the grocery basket on the list.
5. Do not be too lazy to go through different stores and choose the one whose prices you like. Track promotions.

I hope this article was helpful and you will start planning your purchases. If you also collect checks and keep track of expenses, you will learn how to save very quickly.