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How Do You Plan Your Meals?

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iheartscience

Super_Ideal_Rock
Joined
Jan 1, 2007
Messages
12,111
Do you make a weekly/monthly meal plan? Or do you just throw meals together each day? Just curious what everyone does. My husband and I are doing well with cooking/eating at home more and eating out less but we haven't come up with a system for meal planning, buying groceries, etc.

I would love to hear what you do!
 
I so desperately wish that I was a planner! I don't cook full meals on a daily basis (since often it is just me), but when I do I'm much more of a "throw it together" kind of cook.

Under normal circumstances I tend to be pretty well stocked on food (I'm kind of a food hoarder). I don't generally make meals that require a recipe or certain ingredients - it is more protein + starch + vegetable in various combinations. I keep a lot of proteins (beef, chicken, pork loins, shrimp, scallops, fish fillets) in the freezer, so I'll defrost those overnight or in cool water for a few hours. If I'm pressed for time, usually chicken breasts or seafood, sometimes a quick flank steak. When I plan in advance, roasted chicken or pork loin. Marinating the night before or morning of is a huge benefit with meats that can handle a long marinade.

I love roasted vegetables, since they require almost no effort, particularly if I already have the oven on, but I'm not too proud to steam a bag of frozen veggies if that's what the occasion calls for. Sautéed spinach is another quick and easy thing I make a lot.

Dinner isn't dinner to me without starch, but I tend towards pretty quick options (roasted or mashed creamer potatoes, quick sides of pasta, couscous) to round things out. Sometimes rice, although I can never seem to cook it properly!

It isn't quite ideal, but I'm honestly not good at keeping to a schedule. This way I have lots of options and can tailor dinner to whatever my mood is!
 
This is a huge weakness of mine... huge. If I could conquer this I could solve several issues at once. Overspending, overeating, waste, shopping too frequently, healthier choices, on the spot indecisiveness...

Back in the day when my husband was military I clipped coupons and made out a weekly plan and it worked pretty well. I was very creative and half the time at least I was trying new recipes.

Right now I have a sort of reprieve as my ayi does a lot of cooking and most days I just tell her to make whatever she wants and she does and it's always chinese food lol About 5 minutes ago she came in here and asked me if I wanted dumplings and I was like sure - she asked what kind of meat and I was like whatever you want lol So I don't really have to think about it... but it isn't going to last forever and I need some new plan that doesn't involve clipping coupons. Whatever $25 I might save per month is worth the expense to NOT have all of the newspapers and coupons to monitor. But I should go back to setting aside a time once a week to making a meal plan.
 
Plan? Ha! I am a scatterbrain when it comes to shopping. I am home 5 out of 7 days a week, so for me grocery shopping is wandering the store with my toddler, a new recipe in hand that I scribbled down from a cooking show I watched during her nap.

Things like bread, fish, poultry, meats, and produce I buy only what I need and fresh daily. You won't open our freezer and see much but ice and in-case-of-emergency frozen dinners. DD's staples like milk, snacks, juice and water are usually bought in bulk at the beginning of the week.

If we ever add another child to our brood (unlikely) my shopping habits will have to become more scheduled but for now it's pretty impulsive yet surprisingly none wasteful.
 
When I know I'll be cooking, I do menu plan for a week. I don't know if this is the best or most efficient way to menu plan but here's what I do: I'll sit down with my cookbooks or whatever recipes I have printed with a note pad. I think of the main ingredient for each main dish for the week, say, Monday, salmon, Tuesday, pasta, Wednesday, beef, etc, and list them on my pad. I leave enough space between days to write in a grocery list. I think of sides (veggies, salad, soup or grain) and list them below the main dish. Then I look for recipes to for the first few days and write the ingredients I need to shop for below each day. For the last several days, I look for recipes that contain the ingredients that I'll be using for the first few days so that I minimize the waste. For the first half of the week, I use my cook books. For the second half of the week, I usually use websites, like www.epicurious.com, foodnetwork.com, cookinglight.com, or eatingwell.com, unless I already have something off the top of my head, because I can search for recipes by entering the ingredients I want to use.

My method does take a bit of time but with practice, it comes easier, as there are standards you'll rely on but you can add new recipes to try in between.

Bon appetit!
 
I buy what I want for dinner on the day I'm going to eat it usually. I like fish and seafood and salads a lot, so it needs to be really fresh anyway. On days when I have less time, I do keep some standby stuff in the freezer - I batch cook and freeze stuff like chilli, pasta sauce, casserole, lasagne and make sure I have rice and pasta in the pantry and some fresh veggies in the fridge.

I don't waste a lot of food, and I try not to shop in supermarkets, so I probably don't spend too much either or over-buy. I'm not tempted by special offers, coupons etc and only buy what I need day to day. Seems to be working fine.
 
I am a planner. I sit down three days before grocery shopping and I go through my recipes and make my grocery list. I have on the right side days of the week and what we are having. I have my list broken down into categories. I have produce, meats, canned, dairy, freezer and other. It works out great for me. We usually only eat out once a week.
 
I typically just throw dinner together when I get home from work each night. I'd like to plan things out a bit better because I feel like we have the same things all the time. Planning things out ahead of time might help me break out of the rut and try something different.
 
I do somewhat plan meals before we go shopping, but for the most part we make the same meals on rotation every week or two. I get the things I need for fajitas every week, and I get the things for peanut sesame noodles every couple of weeks, etc so it's easy to shop for everything on the weekends. I hate going to the grocery store after work. I usually only try new recipes, that aren't super simple, on the weekends. I also keep a supply of chicken, ground meat, sausage, and shrimp in the freezer so I have pretty much any meat I decide to cook with.

If we do go to the grocery store mid-week, it's typically because we ran out of produce for the bunnies and not because we need anything for our own meals. We always have the supplies to at least make pasta with some veggies and chicken if we run out of everything else. I'm good at throwing things together too, so I can always make some sort of meal out of whatever we have.
 
sillyberry said:
I so desperately wish that I was a planner! I don't cook full meals on a daily basis (since often it is just me), but when I do I'm much more of a "throw it together" kind of cook.

Under normal circumstances I tend to be pretty well stocked on food (I'm kind of a food hoarder). I don't generally make meals that require a recipe or certain ingredients - it is more protein + starch + vegetable in various combinations. I keep a lot of proteins (beef, chicken, pork loins, shrimp, scallops, fish fillets) in the freezer, so I'll defrost those overnight or in cool water for a few hours. If I'm pressed for time, usually chicken breasts or seafood, sometimes a quick flank steak. When I plan in advance, roasted chicken or pork loin. Marinating the night before or morning of is a huge benefit with meats that can handle a long marinade.

I love roasted vegetables, since they require almost no effort, particularly if I already have the oven on, but I'm not too proud to steam a bag of frozen veggies if that's what the occasion calls for. Sautéed spinach is another quick and easy thing I make a lot.

Dinner isn't dinner to me without starch, but I tend towards pretty quick options (roasted or mashed creamer potatoes, quick sides of pasta, couscous) to round things out. Sometimes rice, although I can never seem to cook it properly!

It isn't quite ideal, but I'm honestly not good at keeping to a schedule. This way I have lots of options and can tailor dinner to whatever my mood is!
Click to expand...

I do the same thing sillyberry does. I have two refrigerator/freezers and they're both full. Dinner is a fresh mixed green salad, plus whatever protein, veggie and starch each of us likes. For my husband I keep ground beef for meatloaf, pork chops, boneless spare ribs, hamburgers, hotdogs, sausage, keilbasi, chicken cutlets, my sauce already cooked and portioned into containers with meatballs, steak, stuffed clams, frozen shrimp, frozen ravioli, etc. For me I keep chicken, ground chicken, S.B. turkey thighs, ground turkey, frozen salmon and fluke, and I defrost whatever I'm going to make for dinner in the morning. I rotate red potatoes, yams, white, brown and flavored rices etc. and at least eight different veggies. I'm not a recipe cook either. The proteins are baked, broiled or grilled, potatoes are roasted, veggies are mostly steamed, some boiled or grilled. I keep everything we both like in the house all the time. Weekly shopping for me is just filling in something I may be low on or picking up things that are on sale.

And if all else fails? I try to order a large cheese pizza once every two weeks and freeze the leftover slices individually for those night when my husband quits work at 9:00, calls home and asks "what's for dinner?" On those nights he eats a few slices of pizza with a big green salad with sliced pepperoni and mozzerella in it.
 
I do my main grocery shopping on the weekends so I can leave the kids at home with my husband. We sit down together and decide what we want to make. We try to come up with one new thing a week, so we often look on cookinglight.com or foodtv.com for ideas. Then we write down on the list what meals we're having for the week and write down any ingredients needed for those meals. We shop at Sam's, so we have a freezer full of chicken, fish, hamburger meat, steaks, etc. that we just pull out and use. We also have some "go to" meals that we like from our local deli (kind of like a small scale whole foods) that have ready to go healthy things like soups/quiche/pastas in case we get too busy to cook that night.
 
A guy here and I live alone so much easier for me.

I have a small little veggie garden that supply most of my greens.

Only do my groceries once my eggs, fruits, buy more when on deal and make jams, and bread ran out, 3 loaves of bread at the same time and freeze 2 of them. Buy very large portion of rice once in a blue moon, 20lbs last about 5-6 mths, and soy beans, make my own soy milk. Meat just stock up if there is a deal in the local store, divide out into meal portions and freeze in separate packets.

And that's it.
 
we plan meals weekly based on what is on sale :bigsmile:
 
I cook every week night, so I have to plan. I put together a menu for the week, then do my grocery shopping early Sunday mornings. I hate the grocery store and don't want to go more than once per week, so this works best for me. I have about 20 recipes I love and rotate, then try to introduce something new every week or two. Very few of the "new" recipes make it onto the regular rotation, but I enjoy trying new things.
 
I've never been a meal planner. I sort of wish I was, but I'm realistic enough to know I'll never do it. We're eating pretty simply these days with lean protein and lots of veggies, so we sort of need less planning as it is. I try to buy what's in season and on sale, so it sort of limits what we can make and narrows it down a bit.
 
I'm all over the board. Some weeks, I do a good job of planning our menu over the weekend, doing one large grocery shopping (complete with coupons) and others, I'm at the store almost every day, trying to figure out what the heck to cook. I found it easier before we had kids, since I knew hubby eats anything, is willing to try new things, etc. With the kids, it's kind of discouraging...even what I would consider "kid friendly" meals (i.e. a recipe with noodles, cheese and meat) aren't well received, so it makes me put off planning til the last minute.
 
I plan at least a week ahead of time. Now that DD is back to school, the schedule is crazy again. I like to plan dinners so I can have leftovers for another quick dinner or lunches for me. One night a week is a salad night usually with leftover chicken or fish. One night soup (when it gets colder out) and sandwiches - so if we can't eat together it is easy for each of us to make ourselves.

Sometimes I will cook a roast in the crockpot and then slice it and freeze portions for some quick last minute meals. Same thing with a turkey breast. I always have turkey meatballs as well as stuffed shells in the freezer as well. I then just heat up in the microwave or on the stove and serve with veggies.

I always have fresh veggies on hand and either saute or cook in a steamer.
 
For a long time DH and I planned out our meals every week, coming up with some new recipes and some old favorites, and buying the ingredients we needed for those. However, we felt like we were actually spending more money that way, because a lot of times we would buy some sort of expensive ingredient that only got partially used in a recipe and the rest either went to waste or is just sitting in the fridge/cabinets. So now we are trying more of a spontaneous plan. We buy a lot of things in bulk at coscto (rice, pasta, chicken, canned tomatoes, canned beans) and are now just picking up whatever veggies and dairy are on sale and putting together meals that way. It works for me but DH says he has a hard time imagining what he should do with what's in the fridge/freezer/pantry. Our grocery bills are definitely lower right now though!
 
i go to a farmers' market every wednesday and buy in season produce. whatever is in the refrigerator gets used. i don't necessarily preplan exact meals..... hubby also takes his meals to work despite there being a cafeteria. so leftovers are always used.....which is good because i still tend to cook in large quantities. meat is bought directly from the ranch and kept frozen in the freezer. pretty much what it comes down to is what is in the refrigerator, what did i thaw out, and what am i in the mood to cook. no, i don't cook every night......with leftovers there is no need to do that!

MoZo
 
This is timely! I have to figure this out today for a grocery trip & am DAUNTED! :) Oh & the answer to the original question is "badly".

R. Ray apparently has a new show coming out on Food Network called "Week In A Day" where she shows folks how to create meals for the whole week in just one weekend day of cooking. I'm guessing there's no grilled fish in there. Lots of casseroles. Hmmmm. I got nothing.
 
I used to live across the street from a fabulous local grocer with fresh produce and EXCEPTIONAL, local, meat selection. I would get home from work/school and shop for exactly what I needed that night, go home and cook/grill. It was great, fresh, and there was little waste.

I am struggling with that now that I have to plan ahead more for meals, live a state away from that local grocer, and I get home much later due to my commute. I shop 1-2x per week, and try to cook every other day/every two days, but make a larger meal that will yield some leftovers. I also will make some things (lasagna, for instance) on the weekend and freeze them, so a day where I don't feel like chopping and measuring I can stick something in the oven that doesn't come from a box.
 
I plan my meals on a weekly schedule right before shopping. I leave it open to which night I will fix what.

I usually try to do one of the following per week (which makes it easier to plan)

- a pasta main dish...spagetti with meat sauce, lasagna, chicken alfredo...
- something on a roll...hamburgers, buffalo chicken sandwiches, sloppy joes, meatball subs etc
- salad entree...ceasers with chicken or shrimp, taco salads, chicken/cranberry salad...
- a meat entree...roast, steak, pork chops, pork or turkey tenderlion, baked chicken
- a seafood/fish entree...talipa, fish tacos, grilled salmon, salmon with cream cheese, shrimp on the grille...
- casserole type dish...breakfast casserole, enchalidas, baked ravioli, mac&cheese with ham (sometimes these work for 2 meals)
- pizza (need I say more)


I also have a list organized by meat of the different entrees I cook. That way when I dont feel like
thinking I can just look at my entree list to help make up my grocery list.
 
I don't plan meals ahead because I don't know what I want to eat tomorrow. I am 5 minutes away from an independent grocery store with a fresh meat and fish department so I stop there almost every other day. I've done it this way forever and cooked full meals for my family of four for 20 years. If grocery shopping took more time time I'd probably have to plan better but I don't like prepackaged or frozen meats. I also like to make large pots of spaghetti sauce, chili and soups that can last for 2 days.
 
We wing it almost every day and if we want something different we go to the store and get it...but for the most part we just eat what we have in the house and go from there....
 
I love reading about these topics!

I have to do a bit of planning for two reasons: 1) I'm not good enough to wing it, and 2) I like to buy fresh, whole foods as much as possible so I don't really keep much in the house.

I plan our lunches for the week in two chunks: 1st for Monday and Tuesday, and then 2nd for Wednesday through Friday.

For lunches, I make whatever I'll need for our lunches for M and Tu on Sunday night, and then the rest on Tuesday night. We bring really boring lunches everyday: tuna salad, egg salad, whole pieces of fruit, celery, carrots, etc.

For dinners I typically make the same thing every Monday night for a long chunk of time. All summer I've been making pasta with either shrimp or tomato, fresh mozzarella, and basil. I like having a standard Monday night meal because it's DH's latest night of work, so I'm usually sleepy by the time I start cooking and it's just easier to make something I know well that doesn't require much thought.

For the rest of the week I'll plan what I want to make during the day, and if I need to stop and pick something up I'll do that on the way home. If I don't stop on the way home the odds that I'll go back out to pick something up are pretty close to nothing, so I have to force myself to stop.
 
Wow, so many good ideas! (And plenty of people like me who don't plan at all! :cheeky: ) Thank you for all for sharing! I need to think about all of the different ways and figure out what would work best for me and the hubs. Part of the problem has been that I don't have a set schedule, but I'm starting a new job that will be 8-5 every day, so I'll actually have time to eat dinner at home.

Now I just need to read the recipe thread and figure out more things I like to eat. I've come to realize I don't really like typical meals, like a piece of meat, a side of veggies and/or a starch. I'm weird and picky and I wish I wasn't-it makes figuring out what to do for dinner so hard!
 
I have a basic repertoire of meals that I choose from, and I just buy what I need for each at the store each week. I decide the night before what I'll make the next day and defrost it. Basically I buy 1 thing of ground meat, 1 thing of steaks, and 2 things of chicken each week, plus fixing for one complicated pasta dish like lasagna or stuffed shells. I do either steak stir-fry or grilled steaks, tacos or hamburgers, and a variety of chicken things, so I tend to have enough stuff to make all these options for 2 weeks in the pantry/freezer.
On the other nights, we do something easy like simple pasta, soups, pizza, breakfast foods, or order out.
 
I can't plan ahead, these days it's just the two of us or may be the 3 of us... I take a tally in the morning by email, and then go and get what I need..

My grandparents would go every Monday and shop for the whole week!!! My Nanny never got why I went to the store so much.. I said oh puuhhlease,. I may just may want something else than that what was planned. She said then you would be wasting good food. I said BINGO and why what I do, works for us!!!! ;)) :devil:
 
Sabine said:
I have a basic repertoire of meals that I choose from, and I just buy what I need for each at the store each week. I decide the night before what I'll make the next day and defrost it. Basically I buy 1 thing of ground meat, 1 thing of steaks, and 2 things of chicken each week, plus fixing for one complicated pasta dish like lasagna or stuffed shells. I do either steak stir-fry or grilled steaks, tacos or hamburgers, and a variety of chicken things, so I tend to have enough stuff to make all these options for 2 weeks in the pantry/freezer.
On the other nights, we do something easy like simple pasta, soups, pizza, breakfast foods, or order out.
Click to expand...
My husband would LOVE eating at your house, Sabine! I don't cook with that much animal protein because I'm too cheap, and I was raised vegetarian so while I eat meat, I don't like to eat it that often. Poor guy gets stuck eating quinoa at least once a week.

Do you make your own pizza dough and sauce? That's next on our list of things to try; I'm excited!
 
Answer: not at all.

We don't plan anything now that we have the kid. But before he came around, I would plan and purchase over the wkd for us like 3-4 weekday nights of 'meals' and we'd eat out the other 3-4 days depending on the week. We love eating out.

Now most of our meals are on the fly as in... I managed to get to the store today... or I didn't manage so we go get take out or rummage in the pantry. We eat out like 5 nights a week now. It's kind of sad and I wish I could coordinate better but with a FT job and the kid I just feel lucky I somehow manage to still eat.

People who can work, have kids and still make meals are amazing.

ETA I should add that sometimes one of us vetoes 'at home meals' based on how we feel. aka I could say oh I am going to make us lasagna tonite and G might say .. well I had pasta for lunch and then we'll save it for the next night and get take out.
 
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