I feel like I go to the grocery store all the time. Seriously.
Lately, every two days or so I end up needing a main ingredient to make for supper – at 5:30pm. This is pretty equal parts due to getting settled in a new living area, and lack of planning..
With classes starting up in a week and a half (eek! *heart palpitations*), I’m going to end up having even less preparation and organization time.
So something’s gotta give.
The solution is that i’ll be hopping on the meal-planning-bandwagon.
There are all sorts of benefits that come from meal planning – budgeting being an obvious one, but also only buying groceries once or twice a month, eating more healthily, and mostly, just having an easy, already thought out meal that’s ready to be tossed together in my kitchen.
So much easier than going to the grocery store at 6:00pm and eating at 8:00pm – and better for you, too!
I just downloaded the Paprika App for Mac, and although I haven’t added in any info other than having a bag of potatoes in my pantry, it looks AMAZING already.
I’m so excited to use it tomorrow! (It might be 1:00am as I type this, currently. whoops…. time management out the window with the night owl.) One of the reasons this app is so popular is because of its simplicity and effectiveness. I can add and save recipes that I either type out myself or that are pulled onto the app directly from the web, then add them to certain days of the month for particular meals (I will probably plan the whole rest of the month), and then the app generates a grocery list for me! Pure. Genius.
I think that the key for our utilization with us being a family of two, is going to be understanding where in our plan that we will eat leftovers, and ensuring that the recipes I choose aren’t too savory and amazing- resulting in a very expensive grocery store trip. You can’t eat a roast three times a week, you know? You have to throw in some lighter meals with less expensive cuts of meat.
I also think that this app may be a way for us (me) to experiment with a lot of recipes that I wouldn’t normally try. Yay for variety!
You’ll definitely be hearing how it goes in the near future!
Do you meal plan? How do you do it?!
P.s. Did you notice that I changed my blog logo from my (beloved) giraffe picture with the overlay of the flags, to just the flags?! I love it so much! I also added in an aqua vector pattern background. :) Oh, so much happiness!
Dühring Life 
I do my meal planning once a week. I start with the weekly ad from the grocery store to help me make my purchases for produce and other items. I don’t buy any meat from the store however because we hunt and all of our meat is wild game. I’ve started a journal of all of my wild game recipes on my blog, http://www.thedeerslayerswife.com. 3 freezer full of wild game pretty much last us the entire year. By the way, I’m from San Antonio, Texas. Hey there neighbor.
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That’s AWESOME! I always love to hear that! Hey, neighbor! – From Uvalde! ;)
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I’m big on meal prepping! I spend a few hours cooking every Sunday then I portion everything out so I can just grab what I need through the week. I have a love/hate relationship with it because it is time consuming! I’m someone who can eat the same thing all week so it makes it easier figuring out the meals. I usually go through a rotation. Usually a meat based meal and then a salad with a protein. The app sounds really cool though, and very helpful!
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I’ve added in about 20 recipes on it so far, and it is AMAZING! :) It is super easy to ‘clip’ recipes from online, and that helps a lot.
I can also eat the same thing almost continuously, but the husband.. using leftovers is not his forte. lol
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Love your flags-logo.
Meal planning? – ek hou nie van kosmaak nie, en is ook nie ‘n goeie chef nie.
Sterkte.
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Dankie, Tanie!
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Looking forward to hearing how the app works out. I used to make our meal plan during work at my boring office job, but who knows if I’ll have that luxury again.
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Haha boring jobs are good at providing ample organization time- I kinda miss mine.
So far- I absolutely love the app- we are doing our concealed carry course today, but maybe this evening I’ll have time to do a post over it. :)
Hope all is well in the land of the Aussies!
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I just can’t get meal planning right. Ever!!
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Maybe you should try the app, too! :)
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I also feel like I’m constantly at the grocery store — and am getting back into meal-planning now! This was the first week I returned to seriously mapping out what we’re buying and eating, and it made for a much less stressful experience. Incorporating leftovers into the actual meal-plan works well, too!
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That’s awesome- proud of you! What did you use to map out your planning this week? Have you tried the Paprika app? I am busy with errands this morning, so I still have no data on it other than my potatoes- but once I can sit down to it this afternoon I think (and hope) I’m going to fall in love!
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P.s. Thank you so much for your comment! :)
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I’ll have to check this app out! I dread meal prepping, but I know it’s the logical option :)
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Exactly how I feel too, Sara!
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P.s. Thank you so much for your comment! :)
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