Yesterday, we talked about my thought strategies and meal planning. Today, it’s all about the listing. (Right Homefries?)

Like I said, I list out all the foods that we have that I want to use up.
Then, I list out all the recipes I’ve seen that I want to make.
Then, I list the ingredients I need to get at the store.

The Listing of the Recipes
It’s hard to come up with recipes.

New recipes are scary and daunting and not to mention all of the questions in my head:
Will my picky three year old eat it?
Will my meat-obsessed husband eat it?
Will it be good in leftovers?
Can I make twice as much ahead of time and freeze?

The only way I overcome my fear of new recipes is by challenging myself.

Self challenges include:

• No recycling a food-related magazine unless I’ve prepared at least one recipe from it. (Thanks Melissa Summers!)
• Make at least 5 recipes from every cookbook.
• Clean out my Epicurious recipe box every 6 months.

These help me consistently make new foods and try new techniques. And for reals, I am honest with my shortcomings. As aspirationally Vegan as I am, there’s just no getting around that dinner for my family includes a starch, a veggie and a big chunk of protein, usually meat.

An great way I challenge myself is through making interesting side dishes. Side dishes are perfect for safe weekday dinner experimentation. I’ve made an amazing spinach and ricotta filled cannelloni slathered with marinara that I served with just plain roasted chicken breasts. (That’s another dish that can be made ahead of time, frozen and tastes good in leftovers.)

The Listing of Meals, part one
I already have my list of foods in our cupboard and refrigerator.
With that list, I get some recipe ideas. Then I write down a sketchy, ugly list (list number two!). I list out a tentative first meal plan. On that meal plan, I make it scribbly. Then, I add dishes I want to make, ingredients be damned.

I look at when we’re eating chicken and what dishes leftover chicken can go into.
I look at when it’s a good time for something complicated.
I look at if I’ll be home for dinner.
Then, I look through the recipes I want to make and list out what I need to buy.

On that same piece of paper as I’ve scribbled draft 1 of our meal plan, I write my shopping list.

This same piece of paper thing is important. When I have the meals I want to eat all on the same list that my ingredients, I’m constantly surprised about what I forget.
(e.g. Oh RIGHT, I forgot we’re out of rice.)

The shopping list includes new ingredients as well as items copied from the big chalkboard in our house, that holds notes and reminders and as we run out of supplies (contact solution! diaper wipes!) during the week.

The Listing of Groceries
The shopping list is also grouped in terms of grocery store layout. You know your grocery store as well as I do, so group it in the way you shop. It saves oodles of time.

(My grocery list is grouped: Vegetables, Meat, Pantry, Non-foods, Dairy, Bakery.)

Now I’m not going to pretend I always only go to the store once a week. We house a tiny almond milk addict as well as a handsome dairy milk addict. We eat roughly 89 eggs a week. We’re going to run out sometimes.

But by making this effort, I keep my trips minimal. I do my best.
(Just like you.)

So tell me about your grocery list, what works for you?

What did you have for your last helpie selfie meal?
I had scrambled eggs.

It started with the morning sickness. For almost four straight months, the thought of food repulsed me. Any food except pineapple.

(Blessed, blessed pineapple. )

James had to make do with frozen pizzas and Chinese delivery for months while I lay on the bed alternately groaning and sleeping.

However, since the morning sickness has abated, I’ve developed a curious attitude toward food. I neither love nor loathe it. It’s there, it’s something that other people are passionate about preparing and consuming, but me? I’d rather go catch up on email. This is a strange turn.

Used to be that thinking about food consumed 80% of my free time. Lists of foods I wanted to make, lists of groceries, lists of foods for the week, lists of foods in season, all littered the house along with recipe printouts and piles of open cookbooks.

Now?
Grocery shopping happens when the cupboards are completely bare.
List making happens when I realize I don’t know what’s in the freezer.
I haven’t opened cookbooks since Christmas.

Pregnant and non pregnant women the world over will want to kick my behind for the following sentence — hell, I want to kick my own ass — at 5 pounds over my pre-pregnancy weight, I continue to get scolded at each visit.

Dear eating, where did all the joy go? I miss it.

Additional strange pregnancy symptoms:

a. Preoccupation with shoes. Online, I shoe shop every day. Mind you, I don’t buy, but I have wish lists and shopping lists and shopping carts filled with high heels and slides and strappy awesome foot coverings.

I have never liked shoes before. Especially shoes that aren’t kicky sneakers.

b. Preoccupation with football. Despite growing up in Packers country, I’ve never really cared much about the game. Since pregnancy? I can’t get enough. Game day on Sunday, the Superbowl, all of it… I’m on web sites and I can keep up with banter and and and, I care passionately about football.

My passion for food will return, I know it. It’s just some strange biochemical protective strategy my hormones have cooked up in the presence of a fetus. The other two? Time, and my wallet will tell.

Once a week, I plan all of my meals on a separate piece of paper.
Then I write the meals on another piece of paper and post it on the fridge.
You can see all of them here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/helenjane/sets/72057594098854946/

On the back of the first piece of paper, I write my grocery list.
Once a week, I go to the grocery store and buy the things on the list.

It’s only once a week,
the meal planning takes an average of 15 minutes, and
there’s only ONE trip a week to the grocery store.

I’m able to better plan for leftovers, waste less and try new recipes.

Plan your meals for next week! Get to it!