FREE Meal Planning Course--Lesson #2

​© T.B. Cooper

Lesson #2-- How to Make a Grocery List (Like, the best-est list --EVER!)

Okay... IMO, it is, but you're welcome to try it out yourself...

I'm assuming you have completed your "assignments" from Lesson #1, including filling in the corresponding meal choices onto the menu side of the Meal Planner. Now, if you haven't – you'll need to. If you have, and your choices differ from mine, adjust accordingly the method that I'll show you. And as always, if you have questions – Contact Me.

Also--- I wanted to say NOW, before (we) go too far... Meal Planning-the actual planning/writing it out, is not a quick task. Of course, once you learn what you need to, you can tweak what you want, omit what you don't and add your own spices along the way. When I first started, the "planning" would take me close to 8 hours, but that was because I was also basically re-writing the "book" on it, to suit my needs & my schedule. This entire process evolved into something I am incredibly proud of, because of all the time it has freed up for the larger portion of every month. And that 8 hours is down to just maybe two (with interruptions).

I say this, because this truly is a "Course." Are you going to get credit? No. A fancy Certificate? Hmm... that's a possibility, but right now--no.

But this is a Course in every other sense. I promise you I will teach you what you need to know, and so much more. Enough that if you decide my "way" doesn't do it for you, you will still have plenty of knowledge and material to fall back on...

I'm serious about your success, and I'm committed to this Course. Please, don't give up. If you start feeling frustrated or something isn't clear, I REALLY do want you to Contact me. But, please don't expect this to be a quick course. I am moving as fast as I can, to give you this FREE information, along with all of my other projects I've got going, because I genuinely care about people learning some valuable skills and I believe in my process.... So... with having said all that...

​First, I want to tell you a few things about myself...

• I'm grocery shopping the first Sunday of every month, early – like checking out at the register by 6 AM, early. 
• All of my grocery lists look like this one as far as the organized layout.
• A few hours on Sunday, bulk of the work on Monday, and some hours on Tuesday – if needed, we are Meal Prepping.

Which this also means, I'm buying almost all of my needs and veggies, then, too…
More on this on Sunday, Lesson #3 (My Secret to Meal Plan Success!)

• So when I make my grocery lists for the month, I take meat/veggies into consideration and spend most of my budget for food at the beginning of the month. This is of course is optional, and you can use this plan and alter it as needed, to meet your financial needs. And if you need assistance in doing so, Contact me.  
• I choose to do it this way, I call it "Bulk at the Beginning," Because then the rest of the month my life is easy easy when it comes to what's for dinner, as well as minimal grocery shopping. (Plus, you'll see in Sunday's Lesson #3, why I absolutely HAVE to do it this way.

All right, let's begin…

This is my very first step in doing a Bulk at the Beginning, Meal Prep thing/session/?…
I first review the MEATS.
What I want you to do first, is either at the bottom of the Dinner Calendar, or (I prefer) the BACK of the Snack Calendar, write the following "table" using only those that apply to what you will be cooking according to the choices you made on your calendars.

Now, start with Breakfast, and then Lunch, and finally Dinner… And mark the "meats" you'll need. But how do you know?

Well,this is what and how I figure, for nine of us, how much meat per meal we need…

5 lbs/ground beef = 2 meals.
1/2 a roll (2.5 lbs)=1 meal (yes, I buy the roll – for now)

9 lb bag/chicken leg quarters = 2 meals
(No, I do not currently butcher my own chickens. They are free range, real free range – and butchering/defeathering a 5 lb chicken is no fun without an automatic chicken-plucker, and therefore not worth my time for the amount of chicken I'd needed for all of us)

1 pork tenderloin = 2 meals
1 roast (pork or beef) = 1 meal
2 lb. bag/fish = 1 meal
3-pack/kielbasa sausage = 2 meals

The only exceptions to this, which I'll cover more on Sunday, is patties and meatballs.

A Patty= (the typical homemade burger size – 1 inch thick by about four to 4 1/2 inches across)
1-- 5 lb. roll of Ground Beef = 14 to 16 patties 
1-- 9 lb. bag Chicken Leg Quarters= 16 to 20 patties
1-- Pork Tenderloin= 16 to 18 patties (I don't know how much the tenderloin weighs! But it's the kind sold near the pork roasts and ribs, and is a little over a foot long. At the grocery store (mine is Smith's – like Kroger in some areas) it is usually between $9-$13.

The same sizes of meat packages, as listed to the left for patties, when made into meatballs, will (generally) fill up one (1 gallon size) Ziploc bag.

Although, we only prefer the beef or beef/sausage.

(BTW, Beef/Sausage Meatballs = half a 5 pound roll of ground beef (2.5 pounds) +2 rolls of ground sausage)

All right, so what does this look like?

Let's start with Breakfast… Any meats?
Yeah, for the 13th/Biscuits and Gravy Casserole = 1 roll ground sausage
And on the 20th/Hash Brown Casserole = 1 roll ground sausage + 1 pound bacon

So, because these three require a Full Measure of meat (the whole package) I mark a "1."
If they required a half package, I'd mark ".5" as you will see shortly…

Next, look at Lunch – I have two lunches of Chicken Salad Wraps. For Chicken Salad, I use boiled chicken. Which for the salad (two) meals is one whole bag (9 lbs.) of Chicken Leg Quarters, boiled. So I mark ".5" for each meal. I know you'd probably want to mark a "1,"
But I just prefer to mark them separately for now, so that if I give a quick glance over,
I will see the two accounted for, instead of trying to figure out my math. Think – I'm showing my work…

*I'll post recipes as I can. Requests of ones you'd like to see, would be helpful in giving me direction of what to post first.

I'm using the back of my Snack Calendar, because #1 I hate wasting paper. #2 There is no "meat" in the snacks.

Now, go to the Dinner Menu. I like to work down as opposed to across, but it's your choice.
​For this "exercise" I'm working downwards, starting with Sunday.

Sunday
Chicken Broccoli Cheesy Shells (boneless chicken) = .5
Meatball Marinara Casserole (meatballs) = .5 (half of a 1 gallon bag)
Monday
*Hearty Everything Soup (*this recipe calls for the equivalent of a sandwich baggie of both ground beef and boiled chicken. Months that I plan to make this soup, I set those amounts aside out of the main batch of ground beef/boiled chicken that I make)= 0 – N/a
Chicken Pot Pie Biscuits (boneless chicken) = .5
Split Pea and Sausage Soup (kielbasa) = .5
Tuesday
Chicken Taco Chili and Rice (Boiled chicken) = .5
Mexican Lasagna (ground beef) = .5
Pork Carnitas (Pork Butt Roast) = 1
Chicken Tomatillo & White Bean Chili (boiled chicken) = .5
Wednesday
Beef Cabbage & Noodles (ground beef) = .5
Greek Zucchini Meatloaf Muffins (ground turkey) = 1 (roll)
Sausage, Pork, Cabbage & Rice (kielbasa) = .5 (cut up tenderloin) = .5
Cat Yetis, Mashed Potatoes & Veggies (ground beef patties) = 1 (roll)
Ground Chicken Burgers (ground chicken/9 patties) = .5 ( about half a bag)
Thursday
*Salmon Burgers (made with canned pink salmon – not in meat tally)
Swai, Baked Cabbage & Rice (Swai-fish) = 1 (2 lb bag)
Shrimp Cajun Chili (shrimp – 60/70 count) = 1 (bag)
*Clam Chowder (made with canned clams – not in meat tally)
Friday
Teriyaki Chicken & Noodles (boneless chicken) = .5
*Pineapple, Spam & Rice (Spam is canned, not in meat tally)
Orange Chicken & Rice (boneless chicken) = .5
*Ghetto Pylamani (this is frozen raviolis – not in meat tally)
Saturday 
Salisbury Steak Meatballs & Rice (meatballs) = .5 (half of a 1 gallon bag)
Beef Stroganoff & Noodles (steak – flank or London broil) = 1 (Tray) 

Once you are done tallying, add the amounts together.

** You'll notice for "ground pork" and "ground chicken" I've only used halves, and I didn't total those two rows.

This is intentional.

This is one great part of my Meal Planning.

I may not need it THIS MONTH, but I will still prep it and put it in the freezer, so I will have it for months that all need a half.

Here are my November MEAT totals:

​3 rolls of ground beef
1 tray of flank steak or London broil
1 (3 pack)pkg of kielbasa sausage
2 rolls of ground sausage
1 pork tenderloin
1 pork butt roast
5 (9 lb bags) chicken leg quarters
1 (2 lb. bag) Swai
1 (60/70 bag) shrimp – no tail/deveined
1 (3 lb? roll) ground turkey
1 lb of bacon

All right, let's add those to the grocery list for the
​first week/November 1st-5th ​

*You'll see I don't get specific on the list, because I know what I buy.

*Note – some stores keep kielbasa with the meets, some keep it in the cheese case – if kielbasa is on your list, write it in the appropriate part of your grocery list, using the miscellaneous section for the cheese case, if needed (mine is in the meat case/cheese aisle – so I just put it in the meat section).

*Fish, you'll notice is in the frozen section.

Next step, I need to write in the Produce, but I don't get nearly as detailed with it like I do the Meats.

For the produce, I look over each Meal Planner week, and see what my veggies look like… Paying close attention to the dinners,
and NOT counting ANY lettuces, at 1st glance.

Here's what I see:
Chicken Taco Chili & Rice (corn)
Beef (cabbage) & Noodles
Chicken (broccoli) & Cheesy Shells
*Hearty Everything Soup (again, this takes handfuls from the "Prepping," I'll try to remember to post the Recipe on Sunday)
Greek (zucchini) Meatloaf Muffins
Swai (cabbage) & Rice
Chicken Pot Pie Biscuits (mixed veggies inside)
Sausage, Pork (cabbage) & Rice
Hash Brown Casserole (potatoes)
Chicken (tomatillo) & White Bean Chili
Cat Yetis (mashed potatoes) & (veggies)
Clam Chowder (mixed veggies inside)

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All right, first off – once every 4 to 5 months I buy a 5 pound bag each of Bird's Eye corn, vegetable medley (corn, peas, carrots, green beans), and green beans – because I literally only use about a handful (or two) per recipe. And I have small hands…

​So add corn and mixed veggies to the frozen section.
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* Next, cabbage is included three times, which were our house is three large heads. (3)

* If you grow zucchini or tomatillos – great! If not, you'll have to write them down in produce, as well. The amount needed for the two meals are = 2 small zucchini (shredded) and 6 to 8 tomatillos depending on size.

What's left?

Broccoli
Potatoes
Veggies

* Let's talk potatoes for a second. I buy the 10 lb bag of potatoes (or 8 lb if they're out of 10. Plus, the 8 lb. tends to be the baking sized potatoes, whereas the 10 pound bag is mostly small ones), regardless of how many potatoes I need. I have my son peel them, then one of us women-folk cuts them up into quarter sized cubes. 1 (10 lb) bag will fill up two 1 gallon freezer bags, and I only need one bag for mashed potatoes as a side dish.

But since we have Hash Brown Casserole on the menu, half of the 10 lb. bag will be cubed, while the other half will be shredded. Both will go into separate 1 gallon Ziploc bags and put into the freezer, once the potatoes have drained.

I will tell you – Frozen potatoes, when cooked, are almost always blackish brown… Not attractive. 1 teaspoon salt in the water helps, so does rinsing them, and soda spooning off the foamy starch that gathers on top of the water… BUT, the taste is unaffected. And when I add the butter and seasonings – they still taste amazing! So I always do this, plus I like having potatoes in the freezer to throw into stuff (like the Clam Chowder).

* Broccoli and Veggies – one in the same, sort of. We make a vegetable medley that tastes so much better than the Bird's Eye version, because it is fresh. We take 1 head of cauliflower, 2 broccoli bunches, and about 12-15 full-size carrots, and break them apart/cut them down/mix them, bag the mix and then throw (it) in the freezer. This happens once every 2 to 3 months, and makes six (full) 1 gallon Ziploc bags for. For a meal, I only need one bag... Because I need broccoli for the Chicken and Broccoli Cheesy Shells, I take out 6 to 8 florets from the broccoli going into the vegetable mix, and dice them down to tiny pieces, then throw them into either the chicken for the recipe, or a small zipper sandwich baggie and freeze until needed.

* Let me tell you what you don't see, but that I know to add, and the reasons will become clearer on Sunday's Lesson #3- 
Bell Peppers (green/red) (6/3 each)
White Onion (6 large)
Green Onion (4 bunches) – only in winter, because we grow it like crazy the rest of the year!
Cilantro (2 bunches)

*A small exception to my produce*
Mushrooms and Spinach, should technically be a part of that list, but I by both – frozen. I find some things are just easier and more economical to buy already done – and these two are in that category (be sure to add theseFor to Frozen)

So let's Recap, then add to the Produce/Frozen section:
​ 
3 cabbage
2 zucchini
6-8 tomatillos
1 (10 lb bag) potatoes
2 broccoli bunches
1 head of cauliflower
1 (bag) carrots-- by the 20 pound bag, on Sunday, I'll explain why
6 green bell peppers
3 red bell peppers
6 (large)white onions
4 green onion
2 cilantro
3 mushrooms (frozen bag)
3 spinach (frozen bag)

Whew!!! You still with me?

Great!!

It gets easier – way easier from here, albeit perhaps a bit time consuming…

*Going line by line/meal by meal, of each week's menu, fill in what you need for each one, in their respective categories.

So here are some additional thoughts, things I should mention…

*I do not buy muffin mix, or broth, or pancake/waffle mix. Sunday I will tell you more about this – but for now, they stay off of the list.

*Again, like I said in Lesson #1 – the Thanksgiving Menu is not accounted for into the Grocery List. That will be a separate post I'll have up and do an explanation of, next month (November)around the 11th. Plus, we are doing my niece's birthday party on the 5th, so that menu is also not accounted for.

*In regards to Bulk in the Beginning, another thing I do, is I buy enough canned tomatoes, diced green chilies, tomato sauce, and black beans, To make an already – ready "taco" mix. Those numbers look like this: 8 diced tomatoes, 4 diced green chilies, 4 tomato sauce, 4 black beans... More on this – you guessed it – on Sunday!

*I make my own biscuits and freeze loaves of bread by putting two slices of bread into a sandwich baggie until the loaf is done, then shoving all of it back into the bread loaf bag.

*I buy the ridiculously large sour cream by Daisy, once a month.

*I always add 3 milks, 2 OJs, and 4 waters to the weekly grocery lists, regardless.

* I buy the large Malt-o-meal bags of cereal and Store Brand instant oatmeal in a box, also once a month – sometimes once every two months.

* My husband's needs for lunch, include a case of ginger-ale, Sandwich thins, sandwich meat/cheese, and avocados.

* He and my mother both, need bananas – everyday.

* I eat cottage cheese and one egg four days a week for breakfast. The other three days I eat cottage cheese and pineapple chunks… Details on that will be in the future.

*Sometimes I buy eggs, lately I buy them quite often, because sometimes my chickens are lazy.

* Because we have chili quite frequently, I make and keep a large box of mixed dry beans.

* Hopefully, you can look at each "menu" and compare it to each grocery list, and see what I did – if not, and you have a question, please Contact me.

* I am of course "assuming" you have some staples… Such as sugar, flour, vanilla, coffee etc.… If not fill those in on your grocery list as well.

If you do not have any of these forms, and need to catch up, Please see Lesson #1

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

Week 5

A few closing words before I end this lesson…

For one, I'll probably tackle budgeting next Thursday, November 4, I believe.

Secondly talk about when you actually go shopping… If you do all of your shopping at one store, then you can just take each week's planner with you to the store. That's easy.

If not, and you're like me, you have a couple of choices. You could either highlight each grocery item in a different color representing the different store(s) you will be shopping at. Or, you could just copy a list onto separate scraps of paper for each store, with that particular store's items.

Your choice.

And that's it.

As a recap, I hope you can see that by separating out the grocery items into their individual store aisles, your shopping trip will not only be organized, but hopefully quicker than you ever expected.

Again, as I said before I'm not gonna go into what my budget is versus your budget. But I will, covered briefly on Thursday, enough to give you an idea of how to come up with a ballpark figure for your grocery bill/budget.
**********************************************************************************************************************
I'm not gonna lie, I am ridiculously tired. It is 4 o'clock in the morning…
That's not your problem that's mine, I do apologize for my tardiness, though.
I promised you Lesson #2.5 (Meal Prep Kitchen Necessities), And while I could give you a list, I feel as though a list with pictures would be so much more beneficial. And a list with pictures, recommendations, and even links to purchase the stuff… would be even that much more helpful. Unfortunately, I currently only have a list written.

 So while you might be upset with me for not  providing you that list right now, I want you to take what I have given you this far, and work on getting your grocery lists filled in according to the meals you have picked out. And if you haven't tackled the stuff in Lesson #1.5, you should work on that, too. Judging from my schedule, I should have that list of necessities up for you this Saturday. Again, I apologize, I am working as hard as I can to get you this information, as quickly as I can.
Thank you for being patient.

So here's what you get to look forward to:
Lesson #2.5 Meal Prep Kitchen Necessities-- new date/Saturday, October 29th
​Lesson #3 My Secret to Meal Plan Success!-- Sunday, October 30th
Lesson #4 Budgeting-- Thursday, November, 4th

I appreciate your support in stopping by and reading my posts.
You readers have really encouraged me to go further with all of the content I pour my heart into, to put onto these pages.
Because of you, I have some neat stuff planned for next month, that I hope at least some of you will be excited about!

and BTW, If you haven't signed up for updates on this course, or for my Monthly FREE stories... you still can, just click here.

I welcome any input/feedback/questions/recipe requests you might have!
Contact me.

Love,
​T.B. Cooper