Meal planning: Ant in grasshopper's clothing?

I've never planned meals more than a day or two out. Most of what we eat is created in a moment of inspiration, the result of 5pm Internet recipe searches for a 6pm dinner, limited to whatever hodgepodge is in the pantry. That approach to food ends in a lot of waste, as I don't always have a plan for my perishables and they end up, well, perishing. It also results in lots of last-minute delivery food at the end of a long day on the brink of exhaustion. This means that not only are we wasting food, but we're spending too much and eating more calories than we need (pizza two nights in a week? Yessss! Wait--I mean Nooooo!).

So I'm feeling pretty good about this, like I've got this.

Today I sat down and attempted to plan two weeks of meals. I'm almost finished! Tomorrow I'll go to market to buy two weeks' worth of food, armed with my list (almost complete!) and my greatest money-saving discovery (that most people already know about), coupons.

If I plan my meals in advance, I can plan around the coupons and store specials (accessible online so I don't have to physically clip anything). I can also stock up on sale items, placing them in my menu for the weeks ahead. This is perfect for my new place-for-everything-and-everything-in-its-place attitude I'm trying to cultivate. (A great big ADD challenge!)

Most grocery retailers are hip to making coupon shopping more convenient for those of us who spend a lot of time on line. At sites like albertsons.com, fredmeyer.com, or safeway.com, in addition to store specials, you can even select the coupons you will use, save them to your "customer loyalty card" and print out a list for you to take with you. The discounts are taken at the register when you scan your club card.

So, my summation is that meal planning will save me:

• time (less trips to the market!),
• money,
• calories,
• from wasting food.

I love it when these things "together" people do start to make sense to me!