When my counter starts to look like this, I know it’s time to visit the bulk spices aisle.
Today, you are going to make a list of all the meals you want to make next month. Don’t worry if this sounds daunting – I’m going to walk you through it.
First, we will need to determine how many meals you will need to list. I cook in bulk most of the time, and I rely solely upon staples for breakfasts, so my monthly list is comprised of 10-15 meals. If you cook every day, you will need at least 30. As next month is November, if you are in the U.S.A., and you are primarily responsible for Thanksgiving food, don’t forget to include that meal, too.
Second, review what you will have in your kitchen once your staples are replenished. As I mentioned on Day 4 when we talked about snowed-in meals, it’s a good idea to do this every time you shop, but it’s really useful before you even plan. This review will take less time the more you do it. At this point, I am so aware of what is in my kitchen that I don’t even have to be home to tally how many and what kind of meals I can still make. List the meals you are already stocked to make and meals that you will be able to make once your staples list is restocked.
Third, pull recipe cards for other things you are interested in making next month, including holiday food, and list those meals. If you use coupons, try to match them with meals you can make, and list those meals.
At this point, if you still don’t have as many meals listed as you need for the month, go back and double up on those meal staples. There’s no shame in having spaghetti twice a month. In fact, I encourage it.
Repeat these steps as often as it takes to come up with the number of meals you will need to cook next month to feed yourself and your people. Tomorrow, we give them a timeline.
I’m sharing my Epic Meal Planning strategies for Write 31 Days – click to see the master list.
M. Suzanne Terry 
My meal planning is much more seat of my pants :p My lists are for staples and occasionally a specific meal (cause I really really want it) but I also have the nebulous category line (veg, meat, etc) where I get what’s on sale/seasonal and those purchases finalize my meal plan. With four kids, meals tend to be simple so I don’t have the worries of too many recipes but you will find me standing in the grocery store staring blankly at the shelf as I mentally flip through my pantry to see what I can do with this sale item, if I need to purchase extra items to cook it, and if it’s worth the cost of those extra items. 😀
That’s great that it works for you! It’s important to articulate what does. If I don’t have an active meal plan with things that I keep on my shelves, I know that I will always choose fast food, to the great detriment of my health and pocketbook. I hate thinking how much all those fast food dollars spent could pad the house fund.