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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]OP here - I appreciate everyone's feed back and I totally agree I am totally over spending and wasting so much food and $. I have 3 very little kids .. one 1 year old and 2 5 year olds .. they literally eat toast and cream cheese and fruit ... and somehow we blow through $300 a week and then throw food away every week. I think also the problem is my husband and I both randomly pop to the grocery store.. like 3 times a week and don't even know what the other got. I am going to start by cutting this out, only go one time a week if we didn't get something we can manage for 6 days till the next time we go etc. Thanks very much for all the advice. [/quote]

OP, but for the ages, I literally thought I wrote this post! We are also a family of five with 5yo twins and a 3 yo.  I waste so much every week and I hate it. Every week I say I am going to cook on Sunday but then something will always come up and by the time we get back from the birthday party/game/whatever, I'm trying to get kids ready, wash clothes etc. My kids are also very picky and I feel like we eat the same thing every week. The times I do venture out and try to introduce new foods they don't eat and I'm made that I've wasted even more. I also make a meal for them and one for my husband and I and he and I eat after he gets home later in the evening. Ugh!!

[b]Is anyone willing to post their weekly menu/food shopping list[/b]? [/quote]

I can give you our menu from last week. Haven't done next week's  -- that's for tomorrow!

Sunday: beef & bean tacos with cheese, salsa, sour cream.
Monday: Crockpot chicken with mashed potatoes.
Tuesday: chicken pot pie (with leftover chicken) and salad
Wedneday: spaghetti & meatballs
Thursday:leftovers!
Friday: baked salmon with mashed potatoes, salad & green beans
Saturday: grilled shrimp with lime, cous cous and green beans

Almost all of my proteins come from Costco and are frozen until we need them. I put together a big batch of meatballs about once a month and freeze them, them pull them out as we need them. My kids are on a mashed potato kick. They'd eat them for breakfast if I let them.

I don't have my whole shopping list, but I can tell you how I do it. First, I read the circular and think about what we have in the freezer. Then I figure out whether we have anything crazy going on during the week. I usually run the crockpot on nights that swimming/lacrosse/soccer overlap! Then I put the meal plan together and build the list as I do it. So, if we want to have pork chops and applesauce, I add those items to the list if I know that they're not in the freezer/pantry. I try to vary the proteins and not do the same one 2 nights in a row or more than 2x a week (we had guests one night this week and needed the pasta on Wednesday).

Some folks like more structure when they start meal planning and like a frame work -- something like Meatless Monday, Taco Tuesday, Pasta Wednesday, Chicken Thursday and pizza Friday. [/quote]

I just buy bulk trays of pork chops, boneless/skinless chicken breasts, chicken thighs, pork loins, roasts and a bag of salmon or mahi mahi.  When I get home I wrap them in tin foil.

I also buy big bags of white rice, frozen ravioli, instant mashed potatoes, etc to use as side dishes.

Each day I pull something out to thaw and plan a meal around it. Ex: Pork chops, mashed potatoes and a side salad.  Chicken veggie stir fry over rice.  Baked chicken, mac & cheese, green beans.  Honey dijon salmon,  spinach and ricotta stuffed ravioli, asparagus...[/quote]

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