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Shopping is a science. There are many things to keep in mind while shopping, to cut down on the amount of time needed to complete a successful foray, without spending Junior’s college fund on the three bags of groceries you put in the trunk.

First and foremost, I’m sure your mother told you time and time again (at least mine did):  never shop hungry. Shopping hungry sets you up for impulse buys.  Always eat a snack before you go. If you are bringing anyone with you (spouse or child), make sure they are fed as well.

The best time of day to shop is just that – the day. Early mornings are awesome, though when I walk in with my kids still in pajamas, I do get some strange looks.  Or maybe that’s because of my pajamas.

I know that daytime doesn’t work for most people. I have stopped at the local grocery store around the dinner hour and been simply amazed at the sheer number of people rushing to grab that last minute item they need to make supper for their family waiting at home. Phew!

The second best time of day to shop? After the dinner hour. Everyone who was rushing through the store just a couple of hours earlier is now home enjoying their family, or doing dishes. The store is typically less crowded and it’s easier to maneuver through the aisles and actually see the shelves. The lines to the checkout are far shorter and even nonexistent at this hour.

I also try midweek shopping, but that all depends on when the new sales flyers come out. Hitting the store on the day the sale starts will ensure you can take advantage of it, but you also won’t be he only person who thinks of this.

In addition, shopping alone is a wonderful thing. While this may not always be practical, it’s far more enjoyable and inexpensive when my children stay home. I am better able to focus on what it is I’m looking for, organize my coupons, use my coupons, and not spend the time breaking up minor squabbles amongst siblings, and saying for the thousandth time, “No, you cannot have pop tarts.”  It definitely leaves me less frazzled. However, I sometimes do look a bit crazy as I mumble and grumble to myself about the high cost of everything. 

Then again my ideal shopping trip does not always happen. I have been known to shop with children and I have developed a few tips to help them … um, I mean, me … survive.

First, I lay out the ground rules before even walking through the door. They know that their best behavior is expected. Second, I’m not above bribing them.  An extra three to four dollars at the checkout for a special treat is worth my sanity in the store.  Third, be prepared to remove unruly children (only yours) from the store for a little talk in the vehicle before either venturing back in or making plans to go another time – without kids. Make sure they understand this possibility as well.  You might have to do it once to show them that you mean business.

Whatever time of day you shop, be sure to head in with a plan. Say Mmm can help with this. A few extra dollars in your pocket to bribe the kids wouldn’t hurt either.

Posted by Robin

The grocery store is such an oasis of good smells, yummy foods, and tantalizing treats. It’s amazing what one can find in the aisles of her local food market. There is everything from apples to carrots, cookies to cakes, chicken to milk and so much more. So what is the best way to navigate a grocery store in order to stay within budget?

Grocery stores have a strategy in how their wares are placed on the shelf. The wise shopper knows this and accounts for it when shopping.

Shopping the perimeter of the store is not only healthier, but also more frugal.  Have you ever noticed this is where the fruits, veggies, dairy, and other fresh and yummy essentials are placed? The center aisles of the store have more processed food. Impulse buying has a field day in these aisles. Ask me how I know!

Are you looking for a good deal or a sale? Check the end caps of the aisles. This is where many stores will place items that are on sale. Just be sure to double check the aisle in order to cost compare. Stores will also place higher-priced food here from time to time in order to snag you as you’re quickly walking by, perhaps towing a child or two.

If you decide to check out an aisle, be sure to look high and low on the shelves. Manufacturers can and do pay more to have their product placed at eye level – either yours or your child’s!  Be sure to look higher and lower in order to see if there is an inexpensive alternative.  There typically will be more than one.

My best “go to” strategy for shopping and staying on a budget? It’s my grocery list. I simply don’t leave home without it. As we use things up, they get added to the list. The day I go shopping, I then add the remaining essentials to the list. 

To make the best use of your time and to avoid extra trips down the cookie aisle, organize your grocery list according to your store’s layout. Place all the produce together, all the canned goods, all the dairy, and so on.  The grocery lists on Say Mmm will automatically categorize most items for you. This will streamline the process, cut down on the amount of time you are spending in the store, and, more importantly, cut back on the number of impulse items you walk by while circling back to pick up all the items you missed on your first pass through the store.  Your grocery list will become your treasure map.

Be sure to never ever shop hungry, but you already knew that right?  And if you can, leave the spouse and kiddos home. Not only can they be distracting, but typically your grocery bill will go up. At least mine does.

Posted by Robin

Do you really like circling back to the produce section because you forgot you needed bananas?  Especially with kids in tow? 

Before I became faithful to the grocery list, my path through the grocery store looked more like a spider web than a straight line.  I would remember the spaghetti sauce while looking at the shredded cheese, and remember the sour cream while staring at the frozen tater tots.  And inevitably, by the time I got all my groceries into the trunk, I would decide I needed to go back inside for a bottle of merlot.

Let’s face it:  going into the grocery store without a list is just planning for chaos. 

Now, I am a list fanatic.  Now, I have the “rough draft” list taped to the refrigerator, and my Say Mmm grocery list for organizing the things I need for the meals I have planned for the week.  Now, if my family wants to eat something, they better make darn sure they add it to the list or it’s just not happening.

And once we are in the store, nothing goes into the cart that is not on my list.  And rarely, rarely do I have to double back for anything. I have the layout of my grocery stores memorized, so I organize my shopping list according to the store’s layout.

My list also saves me time with my coupons.  I no longer spend time standing in the cereal aisle sifting through dozens of expired coupons looking for that Cheerios coupon that I just know I had.  Now, I match my coupons to my list before I ever leave the house.

I am in and out of the grocery store so much quicker, and I rarely forget things!

It also helps me to split up my lists.  I have a farmer’s market list and a list for each of the two grocery stores I frequent. 

Probably the biggest time saver of all?  Because I use a grocery list, I don’t have to make extra, impromptu trips to the grocery store every night.  You know, like you’ve cooked the noodles, and then you realize that you don’t have any spaghetti sauce, so you tell your family to continue watching King of Queens, that you’ll be right back?  That is a real drag!  A real time-wasting drag.  And I don’t do it anymore.

Toady, I am an efficient grocery-shopping-mother-machine.  All thanks to the grocery list.  But believe me, I wasn’t always like this!  Kids will do this to a woman!

Posted by Robin

Nutrition.  Health should always come first.  Meal planning enables you to make healthier choices for your family.  Meal planning puts you in charge of your nutrition, and you will always know what you are eating.  And planning ahead helps you dodge the fast food temptation!

Good food!  Meal planning helps you cook meals you and your family actually enjoy!  It helps you keep track of meals that work, and it keeps you from getting stuck in a rut!  And with meal planning, you will never find yourself staring into an empty cupboard!

Stress.  I would imagine you’ve got enough of it in your life.  Meal planning saves you stress.

Money.  Meal planning saves you money.  Meal planning makes it easier and more efficient to use coupons and to take advantage of sales.  Meal planning also helps you avoid spending money on take out.

Time.  There’s never enough of it.  Why spend it in the grocery store, or in the fast food drive thru?  Meal planning will save you time.  Organization always does!

Family bonding.  Get your kids involved with the meal planning.  Let them have a voice.  Meal planning with your children teaches them that mealtime doesn’t have to be a hectic, harried, scary process, but that it can be calm, fulfilling, and fun. 

Eating together.  Meal planning makes it easier for families to eat together, which has been shown to be beneficial in terms of health, and also in terms of your children’s social development.

Your freezer.  Meal planning will help you use your freezer, and your freezer will save you in a mealtime crisis!

Record.  Meal planning gives you a record, available any time online, of everything you’ve eaten.  It is a great resource to refer back to!

Shopping list.  Meal planning makes the shopping list 300% easier.  No more silly extra items.  No more accidental duplicate purchases.  No more waste!

Posted by Robin

Here are some of the new updates we added this week on Say Mmm.

Finding ideas - For the past couple months we have had weekly ideas for basic meals and interesting recipes from the web to help people get started on Say Mmm.  Users can just click to add any of these recipes or links to their account, and with Say Mmm Plus all the shopping items needed can be automatically added to shopping lists.  Now there is new page for searching through these past ideas when you are looking for something specific. 

Printing recipes – One of the nice things about Say Mmm is that you can save and organize all your recipes in one place online and easily sort and search through them on your computer, smart phone, or even an iPad or iPod touch (when connected to the Internet).  There are some times that you may want to print out a recipe though, so we have made this easier with a simple print button that goes to a more print-friendly view of the recipe.

News and updates – We have updates of the latest news, tips, and recipe ideas on Twitter and Facebook, and we made them easier to see as well from within the Say Mmm site with a Facebook widget you can see when logging in.

Shopping list tip – Now you can add extra details to any item by enclosing it in parentheses and still have it easily categorized right in your shopping list.  For example, if you enter “Ground beef (1 lb.)” or “Ground beef (on sale)” it will know to categorize this as “Ground beef” in the Meat & Seafood area.  This makes it easy to put any notes you need to help you in the store.

Are you making the most of your freezer?  Has your freezer turned into a place to stack the recycling? Have you turned it into a changing table? Do you even own a freezer? If you dust off / clean out / fire up your freezer, you might find it to be your biggest ally in planning meals and saving money.

With freezer meal planning, you can make meals ahead of time and then freeze them until you need them. I remember my grandparents’ freezer was a veritable restaurant of delectable choices. My grandmother would cook all day on Sunday and freeze multiple batches of everything.

But you don’t have to endure an all-day cooking spree, if you don’t want to. Instead, when you do make something, you can make a double batch, and store half of it. Before long, you will have a stockpile of frozen meals.

Are you thinking, why would I want to bother? Well, the next time you get home frazzled, with no time or energy to think or cook, you don’t have to give in and order the panic pizza. Instead, you can take a healthy, home cooked casserole out of your own freezer and slide it into your own oven! You will save time, money, and your own sanity!

Need some ideas of what types of meals to freeze? Here are a few of my family’s favorites: sloppy joes, homemade mac and cheese, chili, chicken pot pie, enchiladas, homemade pizzas, stir-frys and any and all kinds of casseroles.

Freezer meal planning can also help you take full advantage of sales when they happen. Let’s say there’s a real steal on lean ground beef. You can buy 10 pounds of it for pennies, but then what would you do? If you utilize freezer meal planning, the answer is simple. You make several batches of hamburger-based meals, and freeze them for later use.

Having several (or even a few) frozen meals ready to go in the freezer can also make you a better friend, or neighbor. If a neighbor has an emergency to take care of, you automatically have an easy way to help – you can offer them a meal, one of the best, time-honored, non-invasive ways to show your support.

Another neat idea is to get hooked up with a freezer meal co-op. (This doesn’t have to be as official as it sounds.) If you can’t find one, start one! Simply get a few friends to commit to a cooperative. (Sometimes this works great with sisters.) Then ask them to make you a freezer meal. When you make your famous chili, you make an extra batch for each person in the co-op. Each of them does the same. Suddenly, you have a whole collection of offerings from a diverse group of cooks!

When you plan to freeze a freshly cooked meal, be sure to cool your food as quickly as possible, but don’t put hot food directly into the freezer.  (This could bring your freezer temperature down and harm your other foods.)  To prevent bacteria from getting a foothold, food should not be left out for more than two hours.  You can speed up the cooling process by dividing food into smaller portions, or setting a well-sealed dish into a shallow tray of cold water.

The options with freezer meal planning are truly endless, but be confident that you will at least save time and money, no matter how you go about it, and of course you can use your Say Mmm online meal planner to help you stay organized.

Posted by Robin.  

Groceries are expensive. We know this. But with a little strategizing, you don’t have to sell the farm to pay for your food. In fact, over the course of a year, meal planning can save you thousands of dollars.

When most people hear about saving money on groceries, the first word they think of is “coupons.” And for some of you, just the sight or the sound of that word will make you groan. But, just like meal planning, couponing doesn’t have to be laborious. Planning a week of dinners is easier and faster with online meal planning tools like on Say Mmm. The same goes for coupon clipping. Online coupon sites allow you to be the speediest coupon clipper in town. And these websites prevent you from having to scour through several Sunday papers. You can actually search the product, or category, for which you need a coupon, and then you can print your coupons out.

So, once you have your stack of coupons, you can plan your meals around them. Instead of starting with the meal plan, and then making a grocery list, you can do it the other way around. Make the grocery list based on what will save you money, and then create your meal plan from your grocery list. The end result will be the same: You will be more organized, more efficient, and wealthier thanks to meal planning.

And don’t forget to plan around local sales. (For this, you might benefit from scanning those sales fliers that land in your mailbox.)  Rarely will you find coupons for fresh produce and meat, but these items frequently go on sale. So keep these sales in mind when you are planning your meals. Are chicken thighs on sale this week? Well then that takes care of Tuesday, doesn’t it?

Meal planning also prevents impromptu trips to the local fast food restaurant. If you stick to your meal plan, you will never have to order that panic pizza. And on the way home from the daycare, you won’t need to consider the temptation of a burger from the drive-thru, because you know you have a tasty meal ready to go at home. Avoiding fast food altogether will save you hundreds of dollars each year, and meal planning is the best way to protect yourself from the fast food temptation.

Not only is fast food expensive, it is also unhealthy. A bucket of fried chicken with a side of coleslaw might excite your children, but their pediatrician wouldn’t approve. Home cooked meals are healthier and will keep your family healthier. And nothing saves money more efficiently than a lack of medical bills.

Meal planning also prevents food waste. If you only buy food that you know you will eat, then you won’t end up throwing away those avocadoes you forgot to use. Your meal plan is easily transferred to a grocery list, a grocery list that doesn’t contain any extra items. You will only come home with those things you actually intend to eat!

Unless you live within walking distance of a grocery store, you probably have to spend a little bit of money to get there. Whether its cab fare, or bus fare, or gasoline plus the wear and tear on your vehicle, travel isn’t free. Planning ahead prevents you from having to make those extra dashes to the grocery store.

So, spend a little bit of time online and set your inner penny-pincher free. Then you can be one of those people at the soccer game bragging about how much money you saved at the grocery store.

Posted by Robin

I know some people who put leftovers into plastic containers and then put them into the refrigerator.  Then, as the days go by, those plastic containers slowly and magically migrate to the back of the fridge.  Then, months later, these people find these mystery containers, wonder where they came from, open them up, make some variety of a retching noise, and throw the whole business away.  Are you one of those people?  I think we all have been at some point.

At least you, or they, were trying to save the leftovers.  We err when we don’t plan for the leftovers, so we forget about them, and then they end up going to waste. 

But there are several ways to deal with leftovers.  You might even learn to enjoy and appreciate them!

The most obvious and maybe the most common:  tonight’s dinner is tomorrow’s lunch.  Whatever is leftover in the evening goes to work or school with someone the next day.  This will not work 100% of the time, because some things need to be kept cool, some things need to be reheated, some things require knives, etc., but it will work often.

Another option is to create what my dad used to call a “kitchen sink” meal.  (As in, he said he threw in everything except the kitchen sink!)  Are there leftovers in your fridge that could work together?  I recently had some leftover tater tots, and some extra mushrooms I hadn’t used yet, and those were easily transformed into a tasty cheesy casserole.  (Of course, I didn’t tell my children that leftovers had any part.)  This one too, isn’t 100% effective.  You’re probably not going to mix leftover fish chowder with the leftover chili.  Sometimes, things don’t work together.  But when they can, be sure to cash in on the opportunity.

And lastly, have a leftover night.  Designate one night a week for a leftover buffet.  Clean out the fridge and have everyone grab what they want.  This one works great for older children who enjoy having a say about things.  If you don’t have enough leftovers to feed the family, you can whip up something quick and easy to go with the leftovers, and have the principle of the evening remain the same.  This idea works especially well if your schedule offers one night that is crazier than others, and you can mark it in your meal planning calendar on Say Mmm. Is Thursday the night that you will be at Yoga class?  Then Thursday gets to be the leftover night. 

Paying close attention to your leftovers can help you with future planning.  If you weren’t able to finish the veggie lasagna (and you weren’t excited about it the second time around either) then make a smaller batch next time, or scratch the veggie lasagna out of your meal plan reservoir.  

Posted by Robin

Many successful meal planners fall into a weekly schedule. Seven seems to be the magic number yet again. So, if you are just getting started, a weekly system seems like a smart place to begin.

A weekly plan is successful in part because most of us have a slot of time each week that we can devote to meal planning. Maybe it’s Saturday morning, before the kids get up. Maybe it’s Sunday afternoon, after church.  It doesn't even have to be on the weekend. Maybe for you, it’s Wednesdays during Leno. The point is, try to pick the same time every week to devote to planning. Then sit down with a cup of coffee, your cookbook or recipe box, your stack of coupons, your family calendar, and your Say Mmm page, and get to planning.

Weekly meal planning also facilitates a weekly grocery store trip. Sure, you might need two carts, but at least you’ll only be going to the store once, only be getting stuck in traffic once, only be fighting for a parking spot once, and only standing in the checkout line once per week. The weekly shopping trip prevents those panic trips to the grocery store when you are already starving. (And for many of us, hunger does not help us make smart shopping choices.) And the weekly shopping trip will save you travel money. Unless you go by foot, it costs money to go to the supermarket. So, you automatically save money when you only go once a week.

A weekly meal plan is also helpful because we usually (hopefully) know what our lives will look like a week in advance. When you sit down to meal plan, be sure to have your day planner with you. Dance class on Monday, baseball game on Tuesday, choir practice on Wednesday, book club on Thursday, and Friday night you’ve invited the in-laws over. You know that all of that is going to happen, so you can plan for it all while you are planning your meals.

Weekly shopping will also help you monitor your grocery store’s sales cycle. Every store is different, but most stores do have a sales cycle.  A regular routine will help you become familiar with prices, so that when prices are lower, you can be ready to pounce! 

So, a weekly meal plan is better than a daily meal plan for sure, and many times is better than a longer plan, say a monthly plan, because you can buy fresh produce that will last the week. So you really can buy tomatoes and bananas on Sunday and have them survive until the following Saturday. 

Posted by Robin

Meal planning puts you in complete control of your (and your family’s) nutrition. 

You decide whether to use butter or olive oil. You decide whether to use agave or artificial sweetener. You decide what you want to eat, and just how healthy you want to be.

If you plan and prepare your meals, you will know what is fueling your kids.  If you notice that your kids aren’t reacting well to a certain meal or food, then you know where to begin to protect the problem.  

And meal planning is almost a necessity if someone in your family needs to follow a special diet. If someone suffers from diabetes, celiac disease, allergies, or any other number of diet issues, meal planning can be a lifesaver!

Concerned your daughter isn’t eating enough? Worried your son is eating too much? Worried that you might not be getting enough calcium? Worried that your kids are eating too much sugar?  Each of these viable concerns can easily be addressed with meal planning.

By devoting time out of your busy schedule to meal planning, you can become more aware of what you are eating. You will have time and opportunity to read labels, observe calorie counts, and be aware of daily nutritional values.

Meal planning also allows you to modify familiar or favorite recipes just to make them a little bit healthier. Plan to throw in a few extra veggies, and you’ve doubled the nutritional value of your meal!  Or plan to use whole wheat to make your pizza crust. Or, when possible, treat your family to organic food. It often tastes better and packs an extra nutritional punch!

Planning your menu ahead of time also helps you take advantage of seasonal produce. Be sure to utilize what is available in your current season. Fresh food is the healthiest (and seasonal food is often the cheapest, too). In the spring, treat yourself to mustard greens, strawberries, rhubarb, and fiddleheads. In the summertime, stock up on cucumbers, summer squash, tomatoes, blackberries, and raspberries. Then in the fall, enjoy winter squash and apples. (Or whatever is in season where you live and eat!)

I think we all know that fast food is the devil when it comes to healthy eating.  Again and again, fast food has been linked to a multitude of health problems including obesity.  If nothing else, meal planning will save you from relying on frequent fast food meals. Fast food is so convenient – it can really help out in a pinch. But if you’ve planned ahead, you won’t get yourself into that pinch. 

You can also use your meal planning time to educate your children about nutrition. They don’t even have to know that they are learning, but if you involve them in the process, allow them to ask questions, and seek out ideas together, you will be helping to foster healthy eating habits that will stick with them for the rest of their lives.

Posted by Robin