In response to the needs of a fast-paced society, there are numerous culinary shows dedicated to showing you how to whip up a meal in minutes. While celebrity chefs such as Rachael Ray make it seem easy, it takes a bit of advance planning to put together fast and healthy meals every night of the week. It all begins with the weekly trip to the supermarket.

Smart Shopping with a List

Never go grocery shopping without a list. There's nothing worse than having to make repeated trips to an overcrowded supermarket for a few items. A list also helps eliminate impulse purchases, which inflate your shopping bill and, worse, may end up forgotten in the vegetable crisper or back of the pantry shelf.

Before you begin writing a list, plan your meals for the week. Don't forget to take previously frozen food and leftovers into account. For example, if you're making Quick Fettuccine and Tuna with Marinara Sauce, you could prepare a double batch of the sauce to use for soup (see Turning Sauce into Soup). Those cooked chicken breasts you froze earlier can be thawed and used to make Leftover Coconut Chicken.

For lettuce and other highly perishable vegetables, buy as much as you need to last a few days and then plan a return trip to stock up in the middle of the week.

Consider the supermarket layout when formulating your list. Most super-markets (including ethnic groceries) tend to work from the outside in, placing the fresh produce and perishable items around the perimeter, and the dried goods in the aisles in the middle. Organize the list so that the items are placed in the order you would find them in the store. This will prevent wandering back and forth between aisles, and shorten your total shopping time.

Let Your Computer Do the Work

A computer can be an invaluable aid in preparing a grocery list. When working out a meal plan, it's easy to forget staples (both food and nonfood items) that need replacing on a regular basis, such as cereal or soap. Keeping a basic list of items on file, and adding or subtracting from it each week as needed, will make this task much easier and help prevent repeated trips to the supermarket. Besides, a printed list is often much easier to read!