I'm sure you'll get a million different replies on this. I grocery list (sort of...) and grocery shop on Saturdays (sometimes sunday morning early pending the week) and cook a number of things on Sundays to "start" my week. I do the same thing again tuesday or wednesday - this saves me from going overboard at the store once a week and actually being mindful of what's in the fridge.
I am a meat eater and usually have meat in 1-2 of my meals per day. I do try to do one meal without meat as a protein source. I try to keep my red meat intake to 1-2 times weekly.
I almost always cook bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts (two come in the pack). This is a pretty cheap cut of meat, I don't like dark meat and obviously this is only white meat. I cook them, get rid of the skin and pull off of the bone and use the meat in one of a dozen different ways. Pending the week I will use the chicken straight to go with veggies and rice/quinoa, make healthy chicken salad, etc.
Good chicken salad recipe if you're into it is chicken, vegenaise (I dislike mayo), carrots, apple, cucumber, zuccini, lemon juice, garlic. It's mega crunchy and gets in some extra veggies - and isn't half bad for you.
I usually make one soup/stew per week. I live alone and cook for myself most of the time so I will usually half or quarter whatever recipe I find. These include veggie soup, chicken or beef with veggie, chicken/rice, chili, etc. This one is easy but I try not to give myself more than about 4 portions because I am NOT a leftovers person. that being said, soup is ridiculously easy to freeze. I tend to do 2-3 meals of this the week i cook it and save 1-2 for another time in the freezer.
Veggies - I like them. I usually take either cucumbers or carrots as a mid-day snack for work. Also have another with at least one meal (definitely dinner but sometimes, pending what it's paired with - i will have at lunch too). These include green beans, asparagus, etc. I switch up how i cook them but really like roasting veggies.
Fruits - Same goes - I will usually get a few apples and then whatever is in season and looks the best - right now for me that's melon. I have at least one serving of fruit a day (sometimes two - i have a sweet tooth and this seems to make it happy).
Quinoa - LIke someone else said, this stuff goes a long way - is good cold, hot or room temp and goes with most things. You can season with whatever (I tend to just soak mine in chicken or veggie broth and add some garlic). I have also been known to make breakfast quinoa (you can find some recipes online it's like oatmeal but the texture is WAY better).
Meats - Tend to get 1-2 other meats - pork, fish, the occasional steak to cook for dinner for 1-2 dinners with the expectation that i will take the same thing as leftovers for lunch the next day.
When I go to the store on Sundays I tend to get the above as "staples" and then swap up what i do with them.
The trick for me has been figuring out what saves time, what heats up well, and realizing that i hate leftovers more than like once in a week so to cook accordingly. I work out in the morning first thing so I have a pretty large caloric-intake breakfast (I will have a carnation instant breakfast prior to the gym and then eat "real" breakfast after my workout). I usually go 1-2 eggs, a carb and a meat a few mornings a week. The other mornings end up being protein shakes, breakfast quinoa or something a little lighter but still filling. I found that me having a pretty hardy 400-450 calorie breakfast keeps my eating in check for the rest of the day.
Honestly at first, I don't know that it really matters WHAT you decide to cook or prep in advance - the important part is actually getting into the habit of cooking, preparing and pre-planning your meals so that you are not eating out a lot. I have found that this has saved me a lot of money and calories. Once you get into that routine you can start to tweak what you're making, and what's important to you.
Sorry for the ramble... good luck!
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