F2: Grocery Lists

Welcome again to Friday's Feast. Today I'll be talking about my ever changing grocery list. If you don't know what Friday's Feast is all about, please read the Friday's Feast page for a more detailed explanation. If you want to join in on the feast— be sure to leave a comment and include the URL to your post so I and others can know of your contribution. Also, if you want to see a particular topic— feel free to suggest it as well (I'm always looking for new inspirations).

Participants in this weeks Feast are as follows:

• Mina @ The World According to the Little Fish
  Here is a great grocery story that relates to the check-out counter.
• m²I @ Ca-Joh
  Here is my experience with my new shopping cart and what I learned in the process.

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The more things change— the more they stay the same.

When I was growing up, my parents used to keep a grocery list on the refrigerator. Whenever we ran out of something we put it on the list so that we can get what we need. I like the way that my mother writes up her grocery list. She typically looks at the sales that are going on in the grocery stores and plans out her meals based upon what she can get on sale.

By the time I was living on my own I made up a list on the computer which had any and all items I would typically buy at the store. I organized the list according to where in the store I would buy the items. I then printed out multiple copies of the list and posted it on the refrigerator. Any time I needed something I placed a check-mark next to the item on the list. After I bought the item, I would scratch the item off the list.

By the time I was living with my wife my method soon outgrew its effectiveness. My wife has a much broader range of culinary dishes to pull from and my list would have grown to more than one page in size. So I went back to the old method of writing what we ran our of on a list posted on the refrigerator. When we go to the store, my wife menu plans in her head and bases what to buy based upon what is on sale in the store. This is very similar to what my mother does, only she does it more "on the fly". Since I am the one who does most of the cooking, I am typically asked by my wife: "so, what do you think we should be making?". This forces me to menu plan in my head as well and try to double-up on items that could be useful with multiple recipies.

I have seen other methods of obtaining grocery lists as well. I remember one of my sister's friends in college who kept a chalk board on the wall to which everybody in the house would write what they need on it. I never asked if they menu planned or not (my guess is that they didn't because this was college life)— but still, I liked the idea. So how do you keep a grocery list? Do you post things on a board, keep a master list of all possible ingredients, or do you sit down with the coupons and the sales fliers and write up your list before you go?

Happy shopping.

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Next weeks topic is Pizza.

Who doesn't like pizza— do you? What do you like— Thick or Thin crust? Perhaps there are some ingredients that you swear should never be considered pizza toppings. Are there any pizza places that are "to die for".

So… if you have anything that relates to this topic, be sure to leave a comment and include the URL so I can include you in next weeks feast. Even if you have already posted related to this topic in the past— your links are always welcome.

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