How to Grocery Shop

I try to always have sauce, or tomato bases for sauce. Veggies (canned or frozen) and pasta. With those ingredients and anything else you have lying around you can usualy come up with something.

Make a weekly menu.
Then, grocery shop for the week, according to a grocery list you make, per the menu you have planned.
And then stick to it.

"Basics" will vary for each family, depending on what they eat typically.
ie: chicken, veggies, bread, meats, fruits, spices/condiments, pastas, etc.

Can sauce, veggies, and fruit.

I always have eggs, milk, and bread. You can make so many different meals with just those three things.
I buy the 5 dozen egg cartons when they are on sale.

I make a list for the week of meals, with similar ingredients, and shop that way. You get what you need for the meals, and then add extra of what you use a lot.

I like to have at least two of everything. Never know when you have to feed more people too so its good to have extra just in case.

Buy as much as you can on sale, and with coupons they will save you alot.

I wish I had that cilantro in a tube. Need to write that on my list.

I always have tortillas. I always have a can of beans. I always have rice. I always have a can of chili.

In our freezer I always have chicken, sausage, a pizza, and fish.

I try to remember to keep a pkg of noodles on hand and a jar of spaghetti sauce on hand at all times too.

Lime juice in the little green bottle too. :)

I didn't read every response, just the top few, so I'm sorry if I repeat what others have said. What I do, on weekends, is sit down with my cookbooks and make a menu for the week. I make sure I have at least a couple meals that are easy in case I need to whip up something quick. I make my grocery list based on this menu, making sure I check my pantry and fridge for items I may already have so I don't double buy. (I have found shopping this way has really decreased how much I spend at the store since I'm not just randomly buying things but instead only buying what I need for the week.) I put my menu on the fridge so I know what my options are every night. I don't struggle every night on coming up with something to eat and I don't have to run to the store several times a week either. I didn't used to do this, I started a few years ago, and have found it really saves me time and money.

I always have some kind of meat, noodles ( you can never have too many noodles) , some kind of canned veggie, cream of chicken soup and a spaghetti sauce .
Oh and I always have something on hand like corn dogs that I can just pop in the microwave if we are in a hurry

1. Make a list of the kinds of things you like to cook for your family. Most of us repeat favorites pretty frequently, so 4-12 breakfasts, lunches, and dinners would be fine, depending on how much variety you like. This isn't a menu plan for any particular day, just a list of the kind of meals you cook.

2. Write down the ingredients for these dishes. These are the items you need to have stocked in your kitchen.

3. Remember that most "fresh" items in the grocery store aren't really fresh. Potatoes, apples, and many vegetables are stored for months. Meat and bread is usually shipped frozen. Eggs are good for more than a month. Cheese is, by definition, aged. Unless the food in question was living within the last week, it probably shouldn't be considered "fresh." And if the grocery store can keep it in storage, you can too!

4. Go shopping for the things on your list. Purchase at least several meals worth of each ingredient. If you can't do this all at once, start gradually with your most popular ingredients. Instead of one can of tomato sauce, buy six. Instead of one loaf of bread, buy three and freeze 2. Instead of 1/2 pound of ground beef, buy several packages and throw most of them in the freezer. Try to focus on shelf-stable foods and foods that can be frozen. Obviously you will need some refrigerated foods, but those have to be used up a little quicker. Frozen or shelf-stable foods will last for months.

5. Once you've gotten your pantry stocked, plan your meals by looking at your stored food. Unless it's a special event, you should not require a special shopping trip for any meal. Work with what you have and create a meal from that. If you notice something is getting low, put it on your shopping list.

6. The purpose of grocery shopping at this point is to restock your pantry. Remember to restock your pantry when it is low, not empty. The time to buy more tomato sauce is not when you are out of tomato sauce. It's when you only have 3 jars left.....or when tomato sauce goes on sale!

Have fun! I was raised with a pantry and can't imagine living without it.

I work with too much fresh to plan too far in advance. I do make sure bases, chicken, vegetable and beef, are on the shelves. Five different types of tomato sauce. Every spice you can think of keeping perishable spices in the freezer. Oh get a grinder and get whole spices, they keep longer. Four types of beans.

I have just about any type of meat represented in my freezer. I buy in bulk at Costco, portion and vacuum seal then freeze.

I am always out of milk. :(

You can also go to allrecipies.com and make a grocery list based on the ingredients in the recipies you want to make.

We stock up on things like chicken broth (good for soups, rice, or people with colds), pasta, beans, rice, corn bread mix, butter (salted and non), bread crumbs, favorite spices and sauces. We like tacos, curry and chili so we keep those spice packs or meal ingredients around. We also almost always have some frozen veg and a pizza in the freezer.

We also tend to have milk, eggs, bread (french toast right there), juice, potatoes, peppers, lettuce, cheese (sliced and grated).

We try to plan for a week, with one night being "leftover night" where the kids can make any mostly balanced meal from leftovers.

Last week we had chicken patties and pulled pork because we had a lot to do. Add some veg (salad is ALWAYS an option here) and you have dinner. If you like spaghetti, keep some garlic bread in the freezer.

I also like the McCormick spice packs with meal suggestions.

I also like the crock pot. I put a big hunk of meat in there, load it up with veg and some spice and off we go and can have dinner any time (or the teens can feed themselves when they are in).

I am usually at my favorite market on a daily basis... we eat lunch there.

I don't plan out menus either.

As for how I stock up.... I am lucky to have a HUGE walk in pantry. I have it stocked like a grocery store. I probably have a good 6 month supply! I also have a chest freezer in my garage.

Freezer: all my meats that only come from the butcher shop. I make that trip about once every 2 months and spend upwards of $200+ for prime and choice grade beef, home made Italian sausages, pork and chicken. Frozen veggies, frozen waffles, juices

Pantry: I use a lot of Campbells Cream of Chicken soup, lot of diced tomatoes (I keep these by the case.). Instant rice, Instant potatoes, Lipton instant soup mixes which are used for flavoring in roasts, etc. Knorr boullion (chicken, beef, veggie), canned V-8 for, canned fruit, lots of noodles in different varieties, flour, bisquick, oatmeal, peanit butter,I buy frozen cheese ravoli by the case and kee it in the freezer,

I keep a stash of 2-3 of each item except for canned veggies and I have at least a dozen of each an any given time. I keep a lot of cereals, we love to make chex mix all year round.

My laundry room has a fridge and that is where I keep beer, wine, water, soft drinks, gatorade, etc. extra packages of butter, cheese, etc from Costco.

I keep ongoing lists on my phone with Grocery IQ. I have my Market Street list and Costco list. If I empty something in the pantry or where ever, it goes on the list so I always have a back up.

I tend to keep my house stocked with these essentials for my family:

pasta(boxed & dry)
rice(boxed & dry)
stocks(beef, chicken, etc)
flour
bread crumbs
tortillas
salsa
cheese
beans(dry & canned)
baking mix(such as bisquik)
Muffin mix (boxed or homemade)
Cornbread mix (boxed or homemade)
I also always buy fruits and veggies for the week so that way nothing goes bad and I always have what I need. From the ingredients above I can throw just about anything together.

What the other moms have said are the perfect staples. I always have some frozen chicken, rice of some kind and frozen veggies. When all else fails, that's an easy meal to put together.

One thing that has saved me many, many times from a quick, unhealthy dinner (i.e. fast food) is I brown 1.25 lbs ground turkey, onion & garlic. I add to that 4 jars of jarred pasta sauce and chop up a bunch of our fav veggies to add (yellow/red/orange/green peppers, mushrooms, black olives etc). We eat that for dinner, then I freeze meal size portions for later. It works perfectly for those nights you just don't want to cook or you are out of ideas.

Good luck. All I can say is plan ahead and make a LIST to keep on the fridge so as you think of things you just add to it!

I just checked my pantry:
Flour, whole wheat flour, cornmeal (actually I keep whole wheat and cornmeal in the freezer)
Sugar and brown sugar (I keep brown sugar in the freezer)
Baking powder and soda
Spices
Canola oil, olive oil and peanut oil
Vinegar, cider vinegar, rice vinegar
Honey and agave
Chicken and beef bouillon
4 cans of chicken broth, 2 cans of beef broth
Several cans cream of mushroom, chicken and celery soups
Tomato sauce and tomato paste
Spagetti sauce
Beans
Instant potatoes
Breadcrumbs

In the fridge:
Parmesan cheese
Worcheshire, hot sauce, soy sauce, italian dressing, dijon mustard, barbecue sauce, ketchup, mustard, mayo
Sour cream, cream cheese, creme fraiche, plain yogart and cream

In the freezer:
I usually cook fresh veggies but always keep a couple frozen in case I am late or lazy as well as a few cans of fruit. I also keep frozen spinach to use in recipes. I freeze meat in portion sizes - both raw and cooked. In the freezer,there are always a half dozen chicken breasts pre- cooked to make a quick sandwich, a pound of ground round already browned, both turkey bacon and regular bacon pre-cooked so I can throw into a salad or add to a casserole or baked potato.

Hope this helps!

It really depends on what type of foods you like to eat and meals that you like to make.

Here are a few things that we consider staples...
bread and english muffins
tortillas
milk
rice
pasta
potatoes
onions
cheese (american and cheddar)
black olives (use in tacos, put in salads, eat plain, add to pizza, brushetta)
cans of whole or plum tomatoes
cans of crushed tomatoes or tomato sauce
can of tuna
carrots (cut into sticks for snack or side dish, cook for side dish, shread and add to pasta or garden salad)

In the freezer....
ground beef
chicken breast
pork loin (make a roast, put in crock pot for pulled pork, slice for chops)

I shop at Costco once a month or once every two months to stock up on essentials. I always try to have frozen chicken breast in the freezer, bags of frozen veggies, boxes of tomato and red pepper soup, and pasta and pasta sauce. I still plan meals and grocery shop each week, but this way I always have food on hand so we're not spending money on take-out when something unexpected comes up and I don't get to the store.

Some of our go-to cooking basics include:

Olive oil
Garlic
Onions
Pasta
Rice
Eggs
Milk
Plain yogurt
Bread
Fresh herbs (we like to grow basil, parsley & cilantro or buy it when we can't)
Soy sauce
Parmesan cheese
Mozzarella cheese
Black beans & chick peas (canned)
Dried curry powder, sea salt, pepper
Tomatoes
Arugula, red cabbage and/or any type of lettuce
Peanut butter (and jelly!)

Every few days we'll pick up fresh veggies and fruit- the type varies according to season or what we feel like eating.

Great question!

We always have
milk
eggs
cheese
Tortillas
some sort of lunch meat
Onions
potatoes
carrots
cucumbers
lettuce
Rice ~ Brown ~ Long grain white ~ wild rice
pasta
Beans dried and instant
Canned whole tomatoes
tomato sauce
tomato paste
chili with no beans
Cereal
Flour
sugar
Coffee
Tea
Tortilla chips
Cumin
Basil
Oregano
Bay leaves
pepper corns
sea salt
kosher salt
Chicken stock
Beef Stock
Soy sauce
Hot sause
Parmesan cheese
lemons or limes

In the freezer I have
salt pork
chicken Breast halves
Steaks
1 roast
4 pork chops
Sausage
Pecans
Frozen jalapenos

On a weekly basis, I use the fresh vegetables that are on sale. Squash, spinach, asparagus, snap peas, bok choy, cabbage, corn on the cob, mushrooms, whatever is inexpensive.

Meats I also purchase when a really good sale is on. I take the large pkgs home and seal them into smaller packages. Ground beef I tend to like to purchase when it is on sale and use it fresh. I noticed it just tastes better when it has not been frozen.

I try to look at the week is like. If I am going to a football game during the week,I make a crock pot meal for that night. or something like sloppy joe's.

I have a few dishes I can whip up in 20 minutes with very few ingredients. I used to keep the list on the fridge, so I could remember.. That way I did not feel stressed to try to remember.

That way if I am running late, I can dash in and say, dinner will be ready in 20 mins..

Spaghetti w/ side of veggies and soft tacos fixings are easiest for me to have on hand:
Spaghetti sauce
packs of spaghetti
freeze loaf of sourdough (for garlic bread)
garlic and other herbs n spices
butter or margarine
tortillas
cheese
frozen ground meat
canned tomato (in case run out of fresh)
frozen veggies

Otherwise I'm constantly going to the store for fresh fruits and veggies and staples

a website that changed my life (in the kitchen anyways)!

http://e-mealz.com/