My meal & shopping plans for the busy week ahead

I have a busy week ahead! I'm off to visit a friend tomorrow to meet her new baby boy, and I'll be bringing her family a dinner to celebrate. Then on Tuesday, my son is turning four and I'm hosting a brunch-playdate party. On Thursday, I have plans in the evening and could foresee it being a hectic day. Saturday? I'm running 7 miles and attending a birthday party. I got an invitation for something for Sunday, too. Yikes. We'll see.

With all this going on I know I'm going to have to plan, plan, plan if I want to avoid trips to the store throughout the week or worse, trips through the drive through. 

I thought I'd share with you my strategy.

Step one. Assess my pantry and freezer. Looking at what I already have on hand, I'll plan the evening meals. I'll also note what I could turn into brunch foods. I noticed, for instance, I have some browning bananas in my fruit bowl. Banana bread, anyone?

Step two. Determine what items I need to fill out my meals. I'm guessing most of this will be produce. I still have some weight to lose and really want to concentrate on eating more fresh  produce and healthy items.

Step three. Make my list and plan my trips. Most of the time, I do NOT do all my grocery shopping at one store. I may hit one store up for particular deals, and then another up for basics that I know I can find at good prices. For instance, I've been digging Winco a lot lately for their bulk items. It's nice to buy items like brown sugar, rice, seasonings, and dried fruit in bins when I can't find a sale anywhere else. I need to incorporate the items for my brunch and friends' "welcome baby" dinner into my shopping, so this will take a little extra planning.

Step  four. Announce my plans! Once I've gotten everything finalized, I'll write out the meals and post them to the fridge so I know what we'll be eating when. 

Wondering how I'll do? Watch for a post tomorrow. I'll post my grocery trip finds as well as my meal plans for the week. I'll also let you know what I decide on making for my friends' dinner and then on Tuesday, I'll show you how I did for my son's birthday party brunch!

What's your plan for this week?