happyappygirl said:
OK..all you working moms (dads)...HOW do you plan your weekly meals and shopping trips?? I need some advice, I'm tired of deciding what to cook on the way home, and buying the same stuff when i go shopping, and never being creative...HELP!!
PS meals intended for working families always on the go are a PLUS!!
We don't do this - yet - but, growing up, my dad always wrote out the "menu" for the week on the fridge, starting on Monday. Then, the Saturday morning before, he would get the groceries to satisfy the menu he'd written, being careful to check what was IN the house already so he didn't buy stuff we already had. Although my mom did the cooking, my dad did the shopping, bringing along a little scratch pad so he could comparison shop (this was before the days of labels that showed you the price per unit volume or weight). He was also the one to make sure that there was meat thawing in the fridge for that night's menu item.
He also was an avid couponer and always checked the newspaper specials - so he always knew what day the best specials came out at what store. I can still remember him tearing coupons out of the paper using his little metal ruler. (He can STILL tell me what day the grocers have their weekly specials, and he usually gets there first, when they come out).
(He also mapped out the best driving routes for gas - this, in a time when gas was around a quarter a gallon.)
Since he'd been raised working his dad's meat shop - he was able to order whole sides of beef and cut them accordingly - and even ground beef.
NOBODY could spend two sides of a dollar like my dad could - to this day he still brags about getting good deals at the store - like getting FREE items by means of double coupons.
That site also has links to other types of cooking. 
A lot of my dinners come from watching her show. I can't always do them in 30 minutes, but I can do most in less than a hour and they are good!
