How I survive without a grocery list

From Sundy:

In a perfect month, this is how I shop for groceries. (Of course, I rarely get the perfect month, so I generally try to do as much of this as I can manage.)

I think one of the reasons that I don’t plan meals, per se, is that I know that in any given two week period (my pay period), I’m going to make some sort of Italian/pasta meal, some sort of chili, some sort of Mexican meal, chicken dishes, ground meat dishes, etc. etc.

So, what I like to do is buy all of the basics that I need for those two weeks. They’re generally the same ingredients, and I’ve been using this method long enough that I really don’t think much about it anymore. I just walk down the grocery aisles and get pretty much the same things each shopping trip. That way when I have additional items that I need to add because I’m making something “off the beaten path,” there aren’t that many extra things to remember.

The following are the basic ingredients that I use for most of my meals. How I put them together to create various meals is mostly just a matter of different cooking methods and/or different spices, with the occasional added ingredients that may not be on my basic “Stock Up” list.

This method works for me. Your mileage may vary. (Since I’m not traveling down the grocery aisles as I write this, I may have missed an item or two…but I think I’ve pretty much got them all listed.) When I have a new recipe that I want to try, again I find that I generally have most of what I need on hand already. Anything extra is added to my white board on my fridge, and by the time I get ready to go to the store, I have it firmly in my head what I need to get.


Weekly or bi-weekly (whether I need them or not)
Chickens (2-4)
Ground turkey
Kielbasas
Other meats (depends on sales prices)
Diced and/or stewed tomatoes (seasoned and unseasoned)
Beans (ranch, kidney, black, refried, etc)
Chopped green chilies and/or tomato/chili mixtures
Pastas (I try to vary the types from month to month, but I always have angel hair)
Rice (brown and/or white)
Tuna
Canned and frozen vegetables (esp. broccoli, since we eat a lot of it)
Fresh onions, potatoes, and carrots (my “basic trio” of veggies)
Lettuce (This is only if the prices are low…I find it interesting that lettuce is the only vegetable that is only sold fresh.)
Fresh, canned, and frozen fruits (I try to vary this according to what’s on sale, but as a general rule, I like to have my “basic trio” of apples, oranges, and bananas on hand.)
Hot dogs
Cheese (cheddar, mozzarella)
Refrigerator biscuits (I get the cheapest ones, because I don’t really use them as biscuits, but as quick and easy dumplings, casserole toppers, etc.)
Lunch meats
Milk
Yogurt
Eggs
Cream cheese
Sour cream
Bread
Tortillas (flour and corn)

Monthly or bi-monthly
Olive Oil/Vinegar
Sugar
Garlic (I buy a large jar of pre-minced garlic for $3, which works out cheaper for me than buying individual cloves.)
Cereal/Oatmeal (I buy the largest bags/boxes of whatever has the lowest unit price.)
Peanut butter
Butter
Jelly

As needed (some of these will become weekly or bi-weekly as I up my breadmaking)
Flour
Yeast
Baking Soda/Powder
Parmesan cheese
Spices and herbs
Molasses
Nuts/seeds
Teabags (I generally buy pekoe types for making iced tea and at least one herbal)

Non-grocery items are on an as-needed basis….well, we buy toilet paper at least every two weeks!

NOTE: There are times when I’ve had to seriously trim all of this back (for example, when hubby has a week or two of downtime from his construction work). I do have a $30 grocery list that I fall back on during those times, but because I have a good stock from previous shopping trips, this is rarely a big problem for us.

SECOND NOTE: Most of these are very basic ingredients; however, some are convenience items that I can -- and sometimes do -- make from scratch instead, particularly when we're having to use the $30 list.

LAST NOTE (I promise!): My hubby is slowly coming around to realize that chips, cookies, candy, and soda are NOT basic food groups...but he does bring those home from time to time.