Here’s How Our Most Organized Team Member Meal Plans & Shops 3 Stores to Save Hundreds
Hi there! I’m Amber, one of Collin’s sidekicks.
While I pride myself on being a very organized and meticulous person, meal planning and grocery shopping are literally the BIGGEST PAIN POINTS in my personal life.
I do make sure dinner is always on the table (in one way or another), but I feel like I am always struggling. I either end up making the same things every week, struggle to find the time to try new recipes, or get too lazy and end up ordering out when I have a full fridge. And now that I have a newborn, I’m really hoping I figure it out eventually.
Here are some simple ways I make my life easier when it comes to getting dinner on the table with minimal effort…
Plan groceries 2 weeks out at a time.
When I do meal plan, I try super hard to do two weeks at a time. Obviously, it does not always work out that way, but after lots of trial and error, I’ve found that this timeframe usually works best for my family. I have a solid list of meals that I know we love (and are easy to make), so I usually try to plan from my “approved meal list” – because let’s get real… I work full time, try to have a personal life, and take care of my family. I simply don’t have the time to cook up new recipes every night of the week, so I instead try to make new dishes on the weekends.
Shop for all grocery purchases on the same day.
Basically what I try to do is look at my planner and see what we have going on for the next two weeks. I’ll see how many nights we’ll need dinner at home, what nights we might need something quick, planned dinners out, etc. Then I start making my shopping list for ALDI, my local grocery store (Giant), and then Sam’s Club, and I work to hit them all on the same day.
I try to get the bulk of it all at once to cut down on trips, but little things come up that warrant an extra trip. What also helps to warrant an extra trip – my local grocery store has a Starbucks inside, so sometimes I am there more frequently than I should be. 😬
Buy quality for the products that matter most to you.
I LOVE shopping at ALDI since the store size is manageable and they’re so budget-friendly… BUT they usually don’t have a bunch of name brand stuff that I’m particular about, so I still go to my local grocery store for the things that I am a bit picky about.
For example, I’m kind of a meat snob (is that a thing?), so I always buy my lunch meat, chicken, and other proteins from my local grocer. Also, I really value my coffee, so I never cheap out on that — especially when it’s pumpkin spice season!
Another reason I split up my shopping is to save some money. I usually go to ALDI for all my basics, my local grocery store for all the products I can’t get at ALDI, and Sam’s Club for all the stuff I usually buy in bulk. On average, I spend about $350-450 a month on groceries, and this is for my sweet little family of three (although my baby is still just on milk and not eating food yet).
The crazy thing is I actually started tracking how much we spend on groceries, and when I don’t go to ALDI during the month, I’m spending closer to $500-$600 on groceries. 😱 So, although I hate grocery shopping, the savings of close to $200 a month to shop multiple stores is SO WORTH IT!
Make every Friday “Pizza Friday”.
Even though our weekly schedule can vary, Friday nights are always reserved for a pizza night. We either order out, cook a frozen pizza, or make our own pizzas on the grill. It just makes my life easier having one less day to plan for.
Try to meal prep on Sundays.
When Sunday rolls around, I try to do a little meal prep to make my life easier for the week ahead. This means cutting fruit and veggies and prepping reheatable meals in Tupperware containers for my husband’s lunch for the week.
But insider secret — this only happens on a perfect week. Unless my schedule on Sunday is completely free, I’ll forgo the meal prep only to repeat this vicious cycle another week.
You might be wondering where my husband is in all of this. Let me just say that I love my husband, but he cannot cook. He does make a banging grilled cheese sandwich and helps with grilling during the summer, so he’s still involved in the process now and then. But his main contribution to dinnertime? He does an awesome job of cleaning up dinner, which is a great tradeoff because I am a messy cook. 🤷
Embrace the slow cooker.
But the mess really doesn’t stop at just my cooking. I just had a baby about five weeks ago so my whole house at dinnertime can be a bit of a disaster — and I am lucky if I eat my food warm. I keep him in a baby carrier strapped to me in order to get anything done! Since my hubby is a big hunter, I’ll basically just have slow cooker meals for myself from October-November.
Befriend helpful kitchen tools.
Honestly, I don’t know where I would be without my slow cooker sometimes. The set it and forget it mentality makes cooking a breeze! Some of my other favorite kitchen tools are my USA pans (food seriously never sticks!), food chopper, meat chopper, and vacuum sealer. My favorite cookbooks include 100 Days of Real Food and the Magnolia Table Cookbook — seriously, who doesn’t love Joanna Gaines! I also use the Emily Ley Meal Planning Binder to help keep all things meal planning organized.
For me, the benefit of taking the time to plan out our weekly meals is having a sense of organization and preparedness. It also prevents us from eating out more than anticipated and tossing away wasted food (aka our hard-earned money!) in the trash can. I work for a money-saving website after all!
When in doubt, order Chick-fil-A 🍗.
I’m predicting the next few months will continue to be a bit chaotic, but I’m looking forward to getting back to a “normal” dinnertime — I value it so much! My husband and I both grew up in households where most nights we sat down at the dinner table, ate yummy food, and caught up on our days as a family. So, we’re trying really hard to replicate that, but it’s okay for the time being that it’s not picture perfect each night. Until then, pass that Chick-fil-A takeout bag my way. 😋
I agree with all of the above I use them. However, when in doubt shop ethnic markets. There are a lot of good produce deals & spice deals to be had. If you live near a large ethnic area (like I used to live near a Chinese one and I got great deals on Chinese products). Then I lived near an Indian one & got great deals on mangoes & rice & even chutneys. Now I live by an arabic area and I get fabulous deals on Yogurt, cheeses & produce and rice.
I second the ethnic markets suggestion. The Mexican & Chinese stores in my town have great prices, especially on produce.
Thanks so much for the suggestion, Melissa! I am always looking for new places to check out in order to score a deal!
I so agree about shopping ethnic markets too for cheap produce, pastries & spice deals! I love experimenting with different cuisines and flavors to make mealtimes interesting and since I’m on a workout plan, I try to avoid eating from restaurants other than once a week. As a couple, my husband and I love checking out new ethnic markets, Mediterranean or Italian stores that pop up in our city, farmers market etc. We love the goat farm about 1 hour drive from our place where we get a fresh goat and split it with friends- helps with the cost and it tastes great to eat fresh and not frozen meat once in a while. Love Russian stores for their Russian chocolates & candy, deli meats, cheeses, sausages and really anything pickled. Indian stores are great for lentils, spices, rice, stone milled wheat flour called chakki atta (great for making an Indian flatbread called chapatti) and ghee for cheap. Our favorite Mexican store has wonderful mexican spices, delicious cheap pastries, amazing carne asada seasoned meats and staples for Hispanic cooking. Vietnamese/Chinese stores for good deals on produce, fruits, different kinds of mushrooms, tapioca, meat, fish, seasonings , fresh aloe vera plants (homemade facials anyone? 🙂 . And to wind it all up, an awesome Bosnian bakery where the aroma of freshly baked breads & bureks lure us in for our Sunday morning breakfasts!
Thank you so much for the suggestions, Paula! I will for sure have to check this out! SO EXCITED!
Oh how I LOVE Indian food- YUMMY!
This was so refreshing to read! I am trying to get life more together as a wife and mother and reading this.. THERE IS HOPE! lol. I second that Aldi is a great way to save, and I also do the same.. go to my regular grocery for my picky items. I love the idea about Friday being pizza day. Thanks for the tips – this is why I love Hip2Save so much!
Awe ChrysiemyDear! We love you too! I am glad I could help someone along in the crazy life of being a mama! We’re all in it together!
As a Mom of 5 grown children I just want to say that you are doing great to get any meal at all on the table with a 5 week old baby! As an empty nester I manage a meal every night by making extra and freezing. We eat out way less after I started doing that.
The whole bean coffee from Peru at Aldi is some of the best we have found and we are big coffee snobs as in we have a $1000 coffee maker snobs. They added a new line of lunch meats that look just like Oscar Mayer Deli fresh and I cannot tell the difference except in cost. Before that I had to get turkey breast somewhere else.
Thanks so much, Lana! And LOVE what you said about being a “coffee snob”. I am currently on the hunt for an awesome espresso maker! I will pull the trigger!
We have a Jura Impressa. One touch espresso! Friends text us and say they are coming by for coffee.
I do the same thing! I meal plan on Sundays too and everyone in our family knows not to bother momma when I am in the zone or there will be no dinner that week:) I am in love with my crockpot and obsessed with the insta pot. We too have a go-to-meal each week, tacos. I can make a huge batch of it and everyone can eat however they want. Thanks for the tips!!
YES! I learned this from my mama and it really does make my life SO MUCH EASIER! Yay for awesome life hacks!
You are awesome Amber and that adorable little bundle of joy! I’m totally with you in the meal prep. What has helped me is printing off a monthly meal planner and organzing by days.
For example, Sunday is grilling, Monday is chicken, Tuesday is pasta/Mexican food, Wednesday is seafood or Chinese, thurs is leftovers and yes Friday is pizza night. Saturday is soup/ salad or leftovers or eat out. Mama needs a break sometimes 😉 That way part of the planning is already done. I keep the monthly calendars from 2 years ago and rotate. Cheers!
Oh my gosh, Tonya! This is an AWESOME and I am totally trying this way of organizing my meals sometime soon! This is why I LOVE this series we’re doing as it’s so fun to learn helpful tips from readers. As mentioned, I am always struggling with meal planning so anything to improve is awesome!
The only reason I don’t do pizza night on Friday is my kids eat pizza at school for lunch on Fridays. Of course, they love pizza enough that they probably don’t care☺️.
That’s me, Jennifer! I LOVE pizza- I could eat it any day of the week!
We actually just changed pizza night to Thursday by chance and it has worked so well since the boys love having leftover pizza packed for lunch the next day! To me this is a double win….easy dinner the first night and no lunch packing scrambling on Friday morning!😊
Ohhhhhh I like it, Momofboys! I don’t have little ones eating pizza yet BUT, this would be good for my hubby the next day!
Awesome job, mama!!! It’s so tough trying to do it all. We eat most of our meals at home. I prefer it that way, because my young kids eat healthy this way. I do most of my meal prep on Sundays and Wednesdays (No homework or activities). On sunday, I prep 3 days of lunches for my kids, my husband and I. I usually have a slow cooker going with one meal and have cut up veggies and marinating meat ready for quick throw on the grill after work. I always cook a pot of Steele cut oats for breakfasts for the week and rice of potatoes so I can just reheat with whatever is leftover for dinner. On Wednesday I make 2 more days of lunches and another meal, cut up more veggies to have ready and on Fridays pick up salmon to grill. It’s so much work but it’s do worth it to me. I try to get mostly organic produce so our grocery bill is steeper than I would like.
Ana, this is an awesome tip too! Ek! I love all these things I am learning, I am on overload LOL! I always feel like Sunday meal prep gets me half way through the week so I should designate a day in the week to do smaller stuff too! THANK YOU!
Great job! I want to shop for two weeks worth of meals, but I have teen boys. They eat it all within a week! I need to meal plan better!
Oh gosh, Jenifer! I feel like this is going to be me in a few years with my little one and my husband! They will eat me out of the house!
Great post! I’ve done a nice job of couponing over the years, but my meal planning is SO weak!! I really want to do better in this area and your post was such a breath of fresh air. Thank you!
Awe, thank you SO MUCH, Jill! <3
I’m a stay at home mom and certified chef do I love to cook… however we can get in a rut with what we eat… knowing your week schedule and planning meals accordingly make a big difference. I also have recipes that are flexible and can be easily changed according to what meat and vegetables I decide to use but all have a simple basis…. we eat every night around our table and though it isn’t always easy we make it work…. I used to shop Aldi all the time but it’s about 25 min away and Kroger really stepped up their game and lowered their prices so I just shop there… you can also meal plan around what is on sale too… we are a family of 5 and with 2 teenagers and a toddler and spend around $600 per month on groceries and household supplies… I do try my hardest on the weekends to at meet get some sort if takeout or make everyone eat all the leftovers and clean out the fridge!!!!
WOW! $600 a month for a family of 5 for groceries AND house supplies. YOU GO GIRL! Looks like I need to stay away from Target lol!
I so agree. I hardly even want to cook after work. Nobody eats the same meals and I mean adults. With two challenged brothers it is a struggle to get something on the table that most of us will eat. I usually have some pot pies in the freezer for those nights that they won’t eat what I cook like tacos and spaghetti. One can’t have tomato sauce because of crohns and the other will only do tomato sauce or tomato paste but he reads it to make sure it doesn’t say tomato pieces. LOL Had to learn what pizza’s he would eat by looking at the ingredients. LOL
My go to meal at the last minute is homemade hamburger helper. LOL Beef, broccoli and rice always wins too.
Amen, girl! Beef, broccoli and rice is one of my favorites too! Now if I could just get my hubby to like it LOL!
My budget is $400 for a family of 7. We mostly shop at Aldi, Sam’s Club & Walmart. We never eat out thought. My 5 growing children eat a lot with the exception of my infant who’s exclusively breastfed so I end up cooking a lot to save money & stay within budget.
So awesome that you stick to that budget and make it work! I also love to eat at home more than going out these days!
Amber,that’s so much for this post .I see a meal plan can be done .I so wish my fridge looked like yours .p.s. Your new addition to your family is so adorable !!! keep up the good work and God bless.
Thank you so much, Babymair! I have to admit… my fridge does not look like this every Sunday. But, I give myself some grace for the times it’s bare. As long as we’re fed, right?! LOL!
Thanks for the inspiration!
I really struggle at meal planning, but it’s only two of us so I don’t have to stress about feeding littles.
We live on a farm though, so our evenings can be hectic! I love my pressure cooker, and will usually cook two meals on Sunday.
We keep what we call “emergency” food handy for those nights that get away from us. Frozen pork cutlets (they thaw quickly) and frozen chicken tenders (from Sams) are quick and easy. We live in the country, so running to pick up food doesn’t work for us. We also keep salad fixings prepped and ready to use, and eat lots of salads!
We totally do this too! Having a few freezer meals is a LIFESAVER! Until I forget they are there! 🙃
I’m interested in knowing what average grocery costs are per month. Anybody?
we have had to go as low a $200/mo for 4. But I did/do go to the foodbank and our local community food share (I work 1hr/week & get a basket of groceries. Alot of local & organic produce!) I have GOT to meal plan better though!
We’re a family of 4 and typically spend about $500-$600 per month. I’d love for that to be smaller but…. sigh.
$225 for two empty nesters. When the kids/grandkids come home this covers their visits too since we keep a well stocked pantry.
Lately, about $400 for a family of 4. We used to do a lot better, but I’ve gotten into a habit of buying some convenience items (applesauce pouches instead of a big jar, too many snacks, Costco food court pizza 2-3 times a month). I need to get back to eating a healthier diet — less meat, more veg, fewer processed/convenience foods. I found keeping a food journal to be helpful both in keeping me from eating junk and in helping me to simplify meal plans. & it’s really true what they say about shopping the perimeter of the grocery and avoiding all those middle aisles — it’s healthier & saves you tons.
I shop for a family of 9, and my grocery budget is $500 per month ($100 for meat and $400 for everything else!) We still buy lots of organic produce and high-quality meats like ribeye steaks! We almost never buy lunch meat or packaged goods! Hope that helps! 🙂
I’d love to hear how you do that! What types of meals do you make, where do you shop and how do you keep it all organized.
Yes Jane! Please tell us how you do it!
https://pinchofyum.com/12-healthy-freezer-meals
Loved your post Amber and the lil one is so adorable.
I am a stay at home mom but my 21 months old daughter keeps me busy throughout the day. Being an Indian the most important task of the day is nothing but cooking. We cook all three times of the day and eat fresh food. And Indian cooking takes a hell lot of time. I do the grocery shopping for each week over the weekend from Indian store & Costco. I love Costco 😊
Ah! I SOOOOOO wish I had a Costco! Hopefully one day!
Cooking dinner every night with a 5 week old baby is amazing!
Does anyone have tips on how to cut down on grocery shopping in a really large family? We are going on 10 people in our house. I have a rotating schedule: Winco very week, Trader Joe’s every 3 weeks, and Costco every 3 weeks. I cannot seem to cut it down no matter how hard I try! I usually only do food from one store in a trip, or it will not fit. We eat a lot of the Trim Healthy Mama stuff, and my kids eat a lot of fresh as well. Any tips?
I have a friend who raised 9 children and she did a full Sam’s Club shop twice a week. I don’t know where she found all that time but it seemed like I saw her in there every other time I went. I raised five and the limiting factor was refrigerator space for me. I think extra refrigerator and freezer space would be the key. In the winter I used to leave produce such as apples and citrus in our cold garage and those items did not take up all the fridge space.
Our next door neighbors have found that shopping on Monday helps keep the kitchen stocked since the kids have friends over on the week end and they are home more and were eating all the new foods that had just been shopped for on Friday. They said that by shopping on Monday the kids eat up what is there over the weekend and after shopping on Monday they actually still have food for the week. I think this is a brilliant idea!
Oh Lana, that is such a brilliant idea! Thank YOU for sharing!
Thank you, Lisa! I do NOT get dinner on the table every night of the week but I surely try! Hey… as long as were fed, right?!
Check out “Our Tribe of Many” on YouTube. They have 9 children and eat a lot of THM. She does a monthly grocery haul video.
Thank you for your post and your baby is adorable!!!
Thank you so much, Lisa! I love him oh so much!
Roll Tide, Amber! I see that Alabama football schedule written in your planner.
ROLL TIDE ROLL! 🙂 <3
Does anyone know when ALDI will come to Utah?
I meal plain according to what is on sale as far as meat. I get a lot of my food at Aldi’s including my fruit, vegetables, milk products and eggs. They also have great pizza in the deli area. I try to do Aldo’s every two weeks. When the newspaper ads come out, I see what meat is on sale and then I plan my meals around them. So I visit the grocery store weekly. I’ve learned over the years, that this saves me quite a bit of money.
Oh how I LOVE the pizza’s at Aldi. However, I need to stop eating so much pizza LOL! I have an addiction.
What a cutie pie! I especially love your matching outfits…..way too cute!💕. We always have dinner together around the dining room table as a family as well. It started first as my hubby and I and has grown to include our three sons now. Such an important time of the day. I always try to cook a meal but as usual there are some takeout nights or leftovers thrown in as well. We just love our time with our boys and know you will cherish your time with your little bundle as well!!
Awe thank you so much for your sweet message! I can’t wait to see who he grows up to be. Although I am NOT wishing away any time at all! Already sad he’s growing out of his 0-3 month clothing. 🙁 And the matching outfits was totally a fluke LOL!
I agree with most of these but for our family we set Tuesday as our eat out day since most chains use that as their kids eat free day. Wednesday is our fish day. The rest of the week we play more by ear but when in doubt breakfast for dinner is always a hit and I have more time to make pancakes without the threat of the bus rolling by.
Oh I LOVE setting your “eat out” day to coincide with the “kids eat free” days at restaurants. That is just SO SMART! For sure taking that frugal tip when he is older and we are out and about!
I am a list maker, I recently printed some lifestyle binder printable from Pinterest and I love them, one is for weekly meal plans (I like to keep a couple of weeks so I can rotate the meals we are eating-I don’t like to have the same protein two nights in a row) another printable is for my grocery list-it is divided by sections of the store ex produce-meat-frozen ect-I color code by store on my list this week ALDI was pink Walmart blue and county market green I like this because then everything is on one list and I cross off with black or a highlighter and i can easily see when I’m at the next store if there was something I couldn’t find at the previous (like today I couldn’t find chili seasoning at ALDI so I could see from my list that I needed to pick it up from Walmart) the third printable I found is for freezer inventory which I’m finding is a must have for meal planning (we buy our meat in bulk from the commissary since it is over an our away so we only need to buy meat every few months unless it is a crazy good sale or something we ran out of due to poor planning) I’m loving the idea mentioned of having a specific team for each night of the week like a meatless Monday, Mexican Tuesday, casserole/soup Wednesday, pasta Thursday, pizza Friday ect I think I’ll try it out-I have 4 kids (2 teenagers a 5 yr old and a 10 week old) I feel your struggle getting dinner on the table-and it’s soccer season-ugh
Oh how I LOVE printable’s, Amy! I also do that with the black marker/pen or highlighter. That way I can clearly make sure I get everything I need. Although I still feel like I am always forgetting something LOL!
Just coming in to tease that the meal planning post has a picture of the author at Chick-fil-A, lol! But seriously – congratulations on your new baby! What’s helped me most is making a list of quick and easy meals that we almost always have the ingredients for, like spaghetti and salad, sloppy joes with steamed veg, that sort of thing. That way, when something unexpected happens (unexpected play date, forgot to defrost meat) and I’m already frazzled, I don’t need to worry about fitting in whatever meal was actually planned!
Haha, Lauren! I thought i’d be funny to have my meal planning post with a picture at Chick-fil-A as that is always my go-to, second to pizza that is LOL!
Enjoyed reading this post! 🙂 We always eat at the table too. My parents always made my siblings and I do it so I now continue the tradition. If someone is over while we are eating, friends or neighbors they are eating at the table also LOL.
Fridays are for fish in my house. I love tilapia so I always have a bunch in the freezer 🙂 . I grocery shop every two weeks and buy what I think we will eat. But I don’t really meal plan cuz moods change lol.
Thanks for the helpful read!
I so wish I could not meal plan and still do well! I feel like if I don’t…I just stare at the fridge and don’t actually make any food!
We are a family of 4, and I spend about $400-500 on groceries, hba, and paper goods every month. I got to sams the first week of the month and buy all of our meat, cheese, and some snacks and medicines. Every week I go to Aldi and spend $30-50. I go to Kroger or Walmart if aldi doesn’t have something I need. We have taco Tuesday, spaghetti Wednesday, pizza Friday and mondays are kids choice-usually macaroni and cheese and chicken nuggets. This works great with my kids, they eat all of those meals without a complaint. The other 3 days I make meals that my husband and I enjoy. 😆 This has been working for the past year and I will continue as long as I can. It has simplified things so much for me!
Oh I LOVE this, Paige! Simple is my key- simple, simple, simple!!!
We really like Aldi’s Organic fair trade coffee and the price can’t be beat without coupons. $4.99/bag!
Agreed, it’s so good! I love Aldi so much.
I put my vacuum sealer to good use when Aldi has fabulous produce sales, especially bell peppers for a $1 a piece or less. I’ll get 15-20 mix color peppers and wash, cut either into thin strips or good size chunks and vacuum seal them into recipe size bags and freeze them. We have a small chest freezer in the garage. Then when I’m ready to make dinner my prep is already well under way. I also do this with jalapeños (small dice and small pack), onions and fresh green beans that I quick blanch. Fruit is also great, all kinds of berries , peaches and pineapple. I also will zest lemons and freeze the zest, juice them and freeze it into ice cube trays then bag the cubes.
I also do the multiple store run and find Save-a-lot to be another resource for many staples especially ethnic foods. I was really into Zaycon for meat until they went under so once we finish our freezer of of their current products I’ll be back to sussing out the best prices I can find and stocking up on the sale items and vacuum sealing it to use later.