1) Clean out everything beforehand - Before going to the store, before even thinking about a list, clean your cupboards out. And not only your cupboards, your fridge and your freezer too! I have saved so much money by eliminating expired food and food I will most likely not eat. If you have trouble getting rid of food that isn't expired, donate it - friends, family, neighbors, food banks.
This is not only to get a clean space to put everything after your trip, but to really know what you have and don't have. One time I went to the grocery store without cleaning out the cupboards, and I bought a can of garbanzo beans. Now that doesn't seem very bad, one can....except for the fact I had 6 already! And I haven't but once in the last 2 years eaten garbanzo beans. I am not a stockpiler, and I am single person who doesn't eat every meal at home. After noticing this, I cleaned out my entire kitchen, and got rid of a lot of stuff. I reached back in the cupboards and found cans that were expired! Probably 7 or 8 of them.
Cleaning made it easier for me to make a list, not duplicate anything I already had (hence saving money at the store), and made it easier to unload groceries.
Don't believe I went crazy with my cleaning?
Here is a picture of what my freezer looked like after I got rid of everything:
A frozen meal, sweet potato tater tots, and a bottle of Jack Daniel's, haha.
2) Plan your week - So ideally, yes, we would all want to be able to make all 21 meals a week for ourselves... but it isn't realistic for a lot of us. For me, I would be eating the same thing over and over again because it is just me. My advice to you is be honest with yourself. If you never bring your lunch and want to start, I would suggest planning one or two lunches for the week that you pack, everything else will be as you normally would (going out, eating your coworkers leftovers, whatever). If you try and go from making no lunches to all lunches, you are setting yourself up to fail, make excuses and not keep promises you made to yourself. Write every meal you plan to eat (Even if it is at a restaurant) so you know what you need to get at the store.
This is what I do:
Breakfast for me is the easiest. I'm kind of boring with breakfast. Yogurt or cottage cheese or a protein bar, always paired with a piece of fruit.
Lunch can be tricky. If you are working and have to bring your lunch, make sure you have the proper accessories: lunch bag, freezer blocks, tupperware, utensils, napkins, something to drink out of.
Dinner is a little easier for me because I have time, I'm not rushing to work or rushing back to work. Set aside some time each night to fully make, or two or three nights a week to prep the night before.
3) Make a list of ingredients- Now that you have your menu for the week, now pull apart each meal and write those ingredients on your grocery list. Put each ingredient in a category (i.e. fruit, vegetables, dairy, frozen, etc.) and base it on how you naturally would go through a grocery store if you didn't have a list (from one side to the other).
4) Stick to your list - When at the grocery store, start at one side of the store that is on your list, and put only what is on your list. You will save so much money this way. If you tend to be forgetful and not put something that you need on the list, give yourself a 2 item flexibility. That way you aren't completely veering from the list and are able to get everything in one fall swoop, and not overspend.
5) Organize everything by meals - Once home, organize what you can by meals. For instance, put salsa, black beans and tortillas on the same shelf in your pantry or cabinet so you know you have all of the ingredients you need to complete the dish.
6) Make your food - Whether it's prepping your food a couple days in advance or the day of, give yourself enough time to get your food ready before the hungry monster comes. I don't know how many times I started getting hungry I through the idea of making dinner out the window and went to get a burrito from the fast food joint down the street because I needed food NOW.
Extra tip - Always have food leftover at the end of the week that has gone bad or will go bad by the time you use it? Leave a space in your meal plan for flexibility. I usually leave the last day of the week as a free for all with what I have left in the fridge. I tell myself if there isn't enough to make a meal, it is okay to go out, but I need to use up what I can before I do that.
Good luck shopping! Some of this may seem common sense, but we tend to get lazy with monotony!
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