I often base my meals around specials at the market. Usually, I start with the protein, though sometimes a vegetable and build around that.

Other times, I will try a recipe from a magazine, newspaper, cooking show, or cookbook.

I almost always purchase a local, in season fruit and vegetable, when grocery shopping.

I am retired, I shop about every other day. When I was working, I would shop once a week.

How often do you shop, how many are you feeding, and your approximate age?

I don't plan many meals any more since I mostly cook just for myself. My husband mostly eats the same old thing over and over due to difficulty in swallowing. In years past when I had a family at home. I just planned meals but not for certain days and like some others have said it would at times be what the specials at the grocery were going to be. I usually shop once a week, I could go longer as I have in the past. I have always had a well stocked pantry and freezer. My daughters are always asking me to go with them when they shop, sometimes I shop other times I don't, but I go. I take a book to read or one to color. I would suggest make up some menus that your family likes and have on hand things to make up a few meals and watch your grocery ad or ads. In the day I would be cooking for 8 people every day or maybe even more. I would even cook for the help my husband had working for him.

Sue

We live 45 min. from the nearest grocery store so I make sure I have most things in the pantry. I do my big grocery shopping once a month & every 2 weeks I get the misc. I always have a list on the fridge & most times I add to it daily. Before shopping I decide what we will have for that month. There are always misc dinners that I can whip up if need be. This has worked for me since moving to a very rural area.

My wife has never planned or shopped for more than a few days at a time, even when there were kids in the house. We might plan a menu in advance for a dinner party or other guest event but we wouldn't buy more than a day or two beforehand. Since I retired, it's the same. That means normally one of us goes to the store every other day, on average.

We both prefer the freshest possible meat, produce, and baked goods and to have that we tend to buy small amounts frequently. The farthest store we go to is 15 minutes away and others are closer. Running out to get something forgotten or desired isn't an issue for us.

For many, many years, I planned meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for every day of the week for two weeks and shopped every two weeks. I finally quit planning meals, but find it had not to do so. End up with too many left overs if I cook every day. And those leftover keep getting thrown away; my appetite is just not what it used to be. My granddaughters are always on diets and eat their "special" diet foods, which I don't care for. So now, just cook a couple of times a week. It was so much easier when menues were planned in advance.

Many moons ago, when I had a houseful of young boys, I shopped every two weeks, when my husband got paid. I studied the newspaper ads, and planned basic meals around whatever was on special. I also shop the meat department first, to see what's on special or what looks good, then get the rest of the 'stuff' to make a meal based on the protein I just picked up. Not really having a hard and fast menu for a certain day, but just to have a general idea of the meals we would have for the next 2 weeks. Then, each day I would decide (sometimes at the last minute) what we would have that day. That's been pretty much my MO even now, except I'm not quite as diligent about searching out specials.

I try to keep a well stocked pantry, but I'm having a problem, as being alone now, I don't use things up fast enough. I used to buy the largest, most economical size of almost everything. That is not economical any more. Spices and staples get stale before I can use them up. So now smaller sizes are actually cheaper for me, because it makes no sense if I pay less per ounce, but throw half or more of it away.

My smart phone is a big help with shopping. When I run out of something, I just scan the bar code on the empty container and it is automatically added to my grocery list. I really love that feature! !

And my grocery list is always with me, no danger of leaving it on the table, or wherever.

I love to try new recipes, so if I find one in a magazine I want to try, I just take a photo of it. So much quicker and easier than copying it by hand.

Rusty

I seldom plan meals. We just eat whatever we have in the fridge. Or eat out. Camper life is poles apart from farm life. Some good, some not so much. I miss having home grown food.

I don't really plan meals...just eat what I am hungry for, or something I know my husband particularly likes. He is easy to please. I live 15 miles from town, but I usually go every day, so I will often run into Kroger on my way home, since it is on the very edge of town out my direction. I prefer fresh fruit and vegetables, over frozen, and eat very little that comes in a can...so I buy what looks particularly good.

I try to plan several meals before shopping, but do not have it broken down as to when we'll have which meal. I just try to have some meals that will hold into later in the weeks, ie frozen, canned, etc. We always buy fresh vegetables and have celery, carrots, onions, garlic, peppers and yams on hand. Most weeks we also have brussel sprouts, asparagus, and either broccoli, cabbage or cauliflower. We supplement these late in our shopping cycle with frozen and/or canned. We try to purchase our meats to be used fresh, as I dislike most meats that have been frozen.

So, I guess I sorta plan, sorta wing it.

Jim Mat: To answer your questions. I shop once a week, usually on Sunday. I feed 2 most days but sometimes its 3 and I am 24. The other 2 that I cook for are 22.

When we grocery shop we make sure we have chicken breasts, sometimes ground beef, veggies, potatoes, and whatever else we may want to have as a side with dinner. We don't really meal plan but we make sure we have ingredients to make a few different things. We have a lot of different spices and sauces we can use on the chicken and we really only have ground beef if I make tacos, most nights we eat some type of chicken.

When I left home for college, I brought a church fundraiser cook book, I purchased a pan, pot, and learned how to meal plan, shop and cook. I used the church cookbook because I knew most of the recipe authors, and ate some of their recipes with them. To me, that was/is comfort food.

Dakota, is your original post asking for help or is this social media?

While raising my two DD's, yes I planned for a week of meals.

Now, with just DH and I, I shop once a week for the staples and get supplies for 3 meals. Things always come up! Tonight for example, DH is taking his sister to a doctor's appointment and won't be home for dinner. So, I'll eat leftovers tonight.

I try to have things in the freezer. if you are near a Trader Joe's, they have quite a few good quality frozen items that you can use in a pinch.

I like their turkey bolognese sauce, the vegetable fried rice, a Italian vegetable medley, even their mandarin chicken is good. (I don't use the sauce though)

I always have frozen tortellini or ravioli on hand as well.

For us, dinner can also be just an omelet when we want to cook light.

We try to basically rotate what we eat...poultry, beef, vegetarian, poultry, pork, fish, etc. heavier on the poultry, lighter on the beef/pork.

I have a sort of rotation of the things I like to eat and have the energy to cook. It's in a bit of a flux right now - these IV antibiotics are wiping me out. So, on the way home from my infusion, I stopped and bought several baking potatoes. That with a frozen vegetable will taste good to me right now.

I always keep certain things on hand so it would be rare I couldn't pull a quick, nutritious meal together. Right now, there are more prepared foods than usual - locally made spinach/cheese ravioli, and some asian food from Whole Foods. My strength is marginal right now.

Feel better soon, Anglophilia!

I don't meal plan, except if I have company. I grocery shop according to appetite, sales and what I happen to want to eat.

I often buy a pizza from Papa Murphy's, cause I happen to like them, but I only do this on Tuesdays, when it's on sale.

Moni

I plan out meals a month before, but not the specific day that they'll be eaten. I only do this so I'll have the ingredients on hand. Planned, but not planned. I might buy a big package of chicken, but have four ways I'll prepare it, for instance. I just make sure I have enough lemons and capers, or marsala and pasta, etc. for the types of chicken dishes I plan.