Personal Progress: Good Works #2

Food planning and prep (yeah, that is what this one is all about)
Ok, so as a teenager this experience would have been the death of me. Now, it's just part of my everyday life, so I shall list what I have learned about this through my mothering experiences.
#1 Learn to cook before you get married, or have a patient husband. (Ask Jerry about the experimental chickens of our newly wed days)
#2 Learn what food costs, so you aren't shocked on your first trip to the grocery store as a grown up. It also helps you know what really is a good "sale" price and what isn't.
#3 Plan a menu and make a shopping list of what you will need to make those meals. Stick to the list, so you don't go over budget.
#4 Never go to the grocery store hungry.
#5 Always read the label of what you are buying. I have made this fail too many times: jalepeno olives, beef bacon, no sugar added nesquick
#6 Set a timer (I often get distracted and remember something was in the oven only when I smell it burning)
#7 Sometimes it is best to just walk away. What I mean is that you can't hover over hashbrowns if you want them to be brown.
#8 Don't be afraid to try a new recipe. This is where I have found some of my favorite dinners.
#9 Eat together as a family at the table. You talk, you laugh, you learn manners, your living room floor stays much cleaner, you are more likely to pray....good things
#10 Teach manners to your children young. It's harder to teach them when they get older.