The Perpetual Grocery List

The perpetual grocery list is your trick for taking 9 ingredients → and turning it into 30 different meals. So you can turn your brain off and rinse and repeat the same grocery list.

A few weeks ago, one of you messaged us with the kind of exasperation we all know:

Grocery Store Staples

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I have to grocery shop AGAIN this week. Help. Ugh.

Sooo relatable because why does Sunday seem to come around faster when the decision fatigue is unbearable?

And grocery shopping is its own specific kind of hard. It feels like 1000 decisions stacked on top of each other, made standing up in fluorescent lighting while someone's cart is in your way and you're trying to remember every health hack you saw on instagram that week . Which is a lot on a good week. It's unbearable if you're ADHD, overstimulated, or just living in 2026.

We are here to change this gals!!!!

First, we're gonna give you grocery strategies to make every week easier: how we plan our meals, write our lists, and actually shop so it's less of a chore. And the staples we keep on hand so dinner can pivot based on our mood.

But then, we have something insanely epic for you: the perpetual grocery list. One list, 30 different dinners.

Which means you can keep this list on your phone, or stored in your grocery delivery app, and be done with one click each week. Then... you can do it over and over without getting sick of what you're making.

Of course, the meals here are all simple enough that they'll actually work on a low bandwidth week.

How to Make the Grocery Store Less Annoying

As an ADHD gal myself, I've definitely fallen victim to the what-do-you-mean-I've-been-here-for-an-hour-and-I'm-not-even-done grocery trip.

But on the other hand, I loooooveee the grocery store. I mean kid in a candy shop level. I think it's a job hazard or maybe I'm just at the age where grocery shopping is fun?

Either way, I've realized one thing makes the biggest difference between the trip. It's having a perfect list, and making staples part of your rotation instead of something you rebuild from scratch every single week. So here's how to build.

1. Think through your staples

Your staples fall into basically two categories and if you think of them like this I promise it will catch every staple you need.

Things you use and replenish every week. Milk, eggs, yogurt, bread, kid snacks, your snacks, lunch goods. These go on the list automatically. Less of a decision... more of a restock.

Things you use frequently and like to have on hand. Your canned goods, flavors, and seasonings. This is the one you're already doing but probably never think about. You either buy them one recipe at a time, or you buy a bottle of something for one specific meal and then find it in the back of the pantry a year later. I'll also throw in household goods like papertowels and cleaning supplies into this category.

But the BEAUTY, I mean absolute game changer, about these ingredients is that they're what let you pivot when you change your mind flavor wise. Which I KNOW is one of the reasons you don't want to meal plan: what if I'm in a different mood come Tuesday? Fair.... also very navigable with these staples on hand. They can take the same simple ingredients and unlock completely different options.

Our Favorite Grocery Staples

You don't need all of these at once. You can just buy them as you work your way through the list or replenish. Do you have a favorite I didn’t list? Throw it in the comments! Found myself wanting to add a lottt more here but trying to keep the tried and true regulars!

• Dijon or whole grain mustard
• Asian flavors
  • soy sauce
  • sesame oil
  • rice vinegar
  • gochujang
  • coconut milk
  • red curry paste
• Hot sauces
  • buffalo sauce
  • salsa (red and salsa verde)
  • Hot Honey
  • Chipotle in adobo
• Tomatoes
  • canned fire roasted tomatoes
  • crushed tomatoes
  • tomato paste (I love the tubes with a screw on cap bc I rarely need a whole can)
  • jarred pasta sauce
• Beans
  • black
  • garbanzo
  • a white variation like great northern
• Onions, shallots, and garlic (jarlic works, ofc)
• Dairy
  • Cheese: shredded cheddar and parmesan if I had to choose 2, but goat cheese and feta deserve a spot too
  • Greek Yogurt
  • Heavy cream
  • Chicken or beef broth
• My go to seasonings
  • taco powder
  • cumin
  • chili powder
  • onion powder
  • smoked + regular paprika
  • garlic powder
  • dried herbs: oregano, rosemary, thyme, Italian seasoning. parsley
  • Cajun seasoning
• salt + pepper
• Oils
  • olive oil
  • butter
  • avocado
• Grains, noodles, and pastas. For the sake of the perpetual list, we're choosing the carbs for you, but if you're feeling creative and have a few extras on hand, this unlocks ten million more combos!

2. Write your list in the order you'll walk the store

1. Think through the grocery store you're going to. (I rotate between 3 and obnoxiously they all have different layouts, but my ADHD brain is always so grateful for when I do this.)
2. Arrange your grocery list in order of aisle. Look, I LOVE a handwritten grocery list, and if you've done the dopamine detox you know this is actually a game changer. But man, the notes app ability to drag and drop your list by aisle really does mean less backtracking at the store for me.
3. Actually check through it while you're standing in the store, not once you're already home.

Now for what you've really been waiting for - the perpetual grocery list!! Your 9 items to unlock 30 meals with everything you already have in your pantry.