Low Carb Shopping List

Moms Talk: Meal Planning Tips for Busy Summer Days

Ask parents what they need more of, and most often, the answer will be "time."  While more money would definitely be nice, it seems that the most-often heard complaint is that there's never enough time.  Juggling commitments at work, home, activities, family, etc., can leave little room in the schedule for much else. All too often, families are finding themselves approaching the dinner hour with nothing planned, leaving them to make a last-minute trip to the grocery store, order takeout, or hit the drive-through. While good intentions for home-cooked, healthy meals may be there, without the proper organization and planning, time constraints can make it nearly impossible to carry out on a regular basis.

It's a common problem, and websites offering help are popping up everywhere.  E-mealz.com is a site offering a subscription service ($5 a month) that will generate a weekly meal plan and shopping list based on current sales. Subscribers can tailor it to specific meal types (vegetarian, low-carb, portion control, etc.) or specific stores. Famed finance manager  Dave Ramsey backs the site, saying "E-mealz really does save you a ton of time and money, and at $5 a month, that's a no-brainer."

Cindy Smallwood, a super-organized homeschooling Tucker mom, offers the following tips for making mealtime less crazy and more under control. After some organization work up front, meal planning and cooking should be quick and easy, according to her plan.

Start by making a recipe binder. Smallwood went through all her cookbooks and recipe collection and made photocopies of all of the quick, easy, and family-favorite meals. She then slid them into page protectors and organized them in a three-ring binder. She also typed up no-recipe needed meal ideas that her family enjoys (things like breakfast for dinner, fajitas, grilled meat with veggies, etc) and included them in the binder as reminders. "It took less than an hour to get it all put together," she said.  

When you're ready to plan your grocery shopping for the week, flip through your binder of favorite/quick/easy meals and choose four or five. From the recipes, make your grocery list (adding it to the running list you're keeping on the fridge for family members to jot things down on throughout the week). Head to the store and stick to the list!

Smalwood limits herself to one weekly shopping trip. "I have found that if I go to the grocery store multiple times," she says, "I buy way more junk I never intended on buying, consequently spending more money, and I just plain don't like to grocery shop that often!

Help me make my Netrition shopping list.... - Low Carb Friends

Some of the Walden Farms stuff has to be doctored up in order to eat. I bought the BBQ sauce and when I mentioned I didn't like it, I was told it was better heated just a bit instead of cold out of the fridge. Then I tried the chocolate dip on my finger to see if it was good. Uhhhh, no not good. But then I gave it a chance WITH some strawberries and it was awesome. So you might just have to see how work after you play with them a bit. The same with the alfredo sauce--- I bought that and was disappointed. But then was told to "doctor it up" with some added spices and it was good. Really good on my shrimp and chicken. And I have the strawberry spread for my melbas too. I liked that one a lot--straight from the jar.

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