I try to plan my meals in advance. Obviously I need to have some idea of what I am going to buy before I go into the grocery store. Even with a well laid out plan on paper, I often find it a challenge to eat the meals I plan when i planned to eat them. This can lead to wasted produce and additional time and costs. There is even software and a few apps that are supposed to assist in the process, but I haven't found them to be of very much use. Do you plan your meals well in advance? Are you able to keep on track with those meals?
I used to be more disciplined about this, but over the years I got a bit carried away with trying out new recipes and kitchen gadgets which killed my grocery budget and caused me to waste a lot of food as well. The way I used to look at it was instead to always get my "staple" ingredients - things that I could make a variety of dishes from no matter what I was in the mood for, rather than buying a bunch of specialty ingredients for a very specific menu planned out for the week in advance. I would always get fresh garlic, onions, parsley, scallions, along with some celery, carrots, peppers and maybe some mushrooms. I would always make sure I had plenty of crushed tomatoes, chicken stock, and pasta on hand, and I was stocked up on ground beef & chicken breasts. For potatoes, sometimes I would buy a big bag of them fresh or other times I would just get a large family size bag of frozen fries. Then finally I would hit the dairy section and get a couple cheeses, some eggs and a bottle of OJ. For breads, I always had a loaf of a crusty Italian bread and some packs of rolls/buns. On days where I couldn't make up my mind at all what I wanted for dinner, I would just throw a burger and fries in the oven (or a grilled chicken sandwich with fries). That right there saved me from getting tempted to just grab some drive through fast food - making it at home was much cheaper and healthier, and it would be ready in like 30 min, which was just enough time for me to answer some emails, or go check my mail in the meantime. On days where I really felt like spending some more time and cooking something a little more elaborate, I could make a lot of different things from Chicken Marsala with Mashed Potatoes to Stuffed Peppers to Pasta Primavera, or Teryaki Chicken Stir Fry with Vegetables over Fried Rice, etc... Breakfast I pretty much ate the same thing Eggs (scrambled, poached, omelettes) & Toast with OJ, or Toast with peanut butter & jelly & some black coffee. Lunch was the one thing I would cheat on and just grab a bunch of those Lean Cuisines when they were on sale for 4/$10 or 5/$10 to bring to work with me. $2 a day for lunch isn't bad, and much cheaper than fast food.
