Who meal plans here?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Tonight -- leftover lasagna, salad, garlic bread
Tuesday -- cod in saffron broth, cucumber radish salad
Wednesday -- chicken marbella, mashed potatoes
Thursday -- sausage stuffed portobello mushrooms
Friday -- no idea

MMM. Love chicken marbella (I would have the leftovers on Friday)

[Anonymous]

I keep a well stocked pantry/freezer but still meal plan. If I don't know ahead of time, I end up at 5pm with no meat defrosted and defaulting to the same boring pantry meals. When the kids were little and I was working out of home, I had a pretty strict plan because reducing what I had to think about reduced stress in my life, e.g. Monday=soup (leftover used for my lunches), Tues=pasta, Wed=variety because I WAH that day, Thurs=Mexican, Fri="breakfast for dinner".

Now that I'm always home, one kid is off in college, and the other is in HS we're a bit more loose about planning but I still generally know the 3-4 things I will make this week and consider dinner the night before so I can stick something in the fridge to defrost or plan to set up something in the crockpot in the a.m. if I know I'll be working into dinner time. We try to keep grocery trips to once a week or so + Costco once a month.

[Anonymous]

Absolutely -- I plan dinners for each week, although sometimes you have to make adjustments at the store. Meal planning is good for reducing food waste, saving time and mental energy trying to figure out what to eat every night, and helping us eat more variety.

[Anonymous]

Reducing food waste is the primary reason I meal plan. Getting kid buy-in and saving money are big secondary reasons. I WFM so going to the store isn't a big problem but I'd prefer to consolidate trips to once or twice a week.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How can you not? I mean, how can you not without putting on weight, spending a ton, and/or having dinner take three times as long to make?

I plan out our meals on a weekly basis. Often, one will flow into the next -- so leftovers from one night's pulled pork will get used another day for pork tacos, quesadillas, pozole, etc. Or an uneaten salmon filet gets put into a quiche or crepe the next day.

I try to do a mix of crowd favorites and new ideas, and a mix of time/attention-intensive recipes and easier/quicker/set-and-forget stuff. Plus there's always pasta and breakfast-for-dinner if we run into a bind.

This just seems like basic adulting. It's not an exceptional skill.

I don't meal plan specifically and have no problem going to the grocery store once a week. I have plenty of staples on hand, and buy an assortment of proteins. It's not hard. I find rigid things like "taco Tuesday" boring because they quickly become repetitive. I do love to cook, though, and spend a fair amount of time finding and trying new recipes.

Same. I keep a variety of produce, proteins, and breada on hand. My pantry is always well-stocked with staples. I shop once a week and cook dinner most nights.

+2. I never meal plan, because I hate feeling locked into a weekly plan. But a huge part of my cooking enjoyment is coming up with new things regularly, and having to come up with something based on whatever is left.

[Anonymous]

Meal planning is one of the primary ways I keep my sanity.

I am similar to OP in that we eat primary vegetarian meals and I cook everything from scratch... so 4 people x 3 meals a day + snacks. It's a lot. I am also very committed to eating as locally as possible, and with grocery stores being so difficult right now (shortages and covid), I utilize as many creative eating tools as possible.

For starters, I keep basic things on hand for breakfasts and lunches (plus leftovers) and we have a set "theme" for each day of the week for dinner... for example: Sundays I make soup, Wednesdays we eat Indian, etc. From there, I get supplies and make individual meal plans based on what is available.

I keep my pantry and freezer well-stocked with spices, grains, lentils, beans, stock, oils, etc. and mainly utilize online ordering for staples (amazon or le panier). For perishables, I use two farms:

South Mountain Creamery home delivery for weekly deliveries of eggs, milk, other dairy, some pantry staples, and sometimes produce.

Local farm CSA with weekly pick-up year-round for fruit and vegetables. Whatever day I pick up produce is the day I plan my weekly meals - I take what is available in the farm share and work from there.

It's not a perfect system, and I do need to utilize the grocery store sometimes for harder to find items, but I really, really try to avoid it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For those who mentioned frozen vegetables, what do you do with them? Which vegetables? I'd love to keep them on hand, but need ideas.

Any you like...look at the store. So simple to microwave or cook on the stove. You have really never used them?

So helpful.

Yes, I've had frozen vegetables, they've been pretty lacking, which is why I'm asking for recommendations on what people buy and how they prepare them.

[Anonymous]

Regarding frozen vegetables, the easiest to use is spinach - I throw it into pasta sauces, omelettes and quiches - really anything saucy can take the addition of spinach. I add frozen carrots and peas and corn to soups. Frozen corn, peppers and squash to burritos, enchiladas. Also Trader Joes has lots of good frozen veggies that come with sauces or spices, quinoa, etc. I have a yummy looking TJ parmesan brussels sprouts bag in my freezer right now that I will make alongside our next spaghetti night.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For those who mentioned frozen vegetables, what do you do with them? Which vegetables? I'd love to keep them on hand, but need ideas.

Any you like...look at the store. So simple to microwave or cook on the stove. You have really never used them?

So helpful.

Yes, I've had frozen vegetables, they've been pretty lacking, which is why I'm asking for recommendations on what people buy and how they prepare them.

Frozen spinach in quiche or frittata or other dishes
Frozen riced cauliflower to mix in with regular rice for “fried rice” or rice substitute
Assorted vegetables for soups
Frozen cauliflower in curry

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I hate meal planning and only do it if we are hosting people. I love cooking and like to make whatever inspires me on a given day. In order to pull this off without a lot of extra work or waste, I keep an extremely well-stocked freezer and pantry. We get grocery delivery once a week from Washington’s Green Grocer, and in addition to their large organic box, I’ll add a few things from their a la carte menu that look good. I then come up with a dinner plan each day based on whatever vegetables remain from the box for that week. I go to the grocery store for random items once a month max.

My family are fortunately not picky at all, and love trying new things, but they do have favorites that I work in every few days. Left to my own devices, I would rarely make pasta or meals with ground beef, and I’d make a vegetarian or pescatarian dinner the majority of the time instead of just a couple days per week. But those are really the only constraints, so I’m free to try several new recipes each week. I’ve been very grateful to be able to work from home these last couple of years since I have more time and energy to explore new cuisines and make more elaborate meals. I totally understand why meal planning reduces stress for some families, but it would make me feel too boxed in.

Could you share some of the successful things you've made? Pasta with ground turkey or beef is a staple here because it requires no thinking. I would love to get some new ideas.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How can you not? I mean, how can you not without putting on weight, spending a ton, and/or having dinner take three times as long to make?

I plan out our meals on a weekly basis. Often, one will flow into the next -- so leftovers from one night's pulled pork will get used another day for pork tacos, quesadillas, pozole, etc. Or an uneaten salmon filet gets put into a quiche or crepe the next day.

I try to do a mix of crowd favorites and new ideas, and a mix of time/attention-intensive recipes and easier/quicker/set-and-forget stuff. Plus there's always pasta and breakfast-for-dinner if we run into a bind.

This just seems like basic adulting. It's not an exceptional skill.

I don't meal plan specifically and have no problem going to the grocery store once a week. I have plenty of staples on hand, and buy an assortment of proteins. It's not hard. I find rigid things like "taco Tuesday" boring because they quickly become repetitive. I do love to cook, though, and spend a fair amount of time finding and trying new recipes.

Same. I keep a variety of produce, proteins, and breada on hand. My pantry is always well-stocked with staples. I shop once a week and cook dinner most nights.

+2. I never meal plan, because I hate feeling locked into a weekly plan. But a huge part of my cooking enjoyment is coming up with new things regularly, and having to come up with something based on whatever is left.

+3. I keep a lot of frozen proteins, starches, and basically do a produce order per week. I have tons of spices, some sauces, etc. Occasionally I'll find a new recipe I really need to plan for, but generally I look at what I have or ask the family what they feel like generally, ie "fish" and find or come up with something based on what I have.

[Anonymous]

Frozen vegetables:

Spinach to put in sauces, smoothies, etc

Broccoli to cook with egg scrambles or stirfrys

Riced cauliflower to bulk up lots of dishes - 1/2 frozen fried rice with 1/2 cauli, or throw frozen cauli in with box Mac and cheese

Mix of peas, carrots, green beans for fried rice or cottage pie /pot pie

Frozen peas - I just dump in a bowl and microwave with water. Add salt and butter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For those who mentioned frozen vegetables, what do you do with them? Which vegetables? I'd love to keep them on hand, but need ideas.

Any you like...look at the store. So simple to microwave or cook on the stove. You have really never used them?

So helpful.

Yes, I've had frozen vegetables, they've been pretty lacking, which is why I'm asking for recommendations on what people buy and how they prepare them.

I roast or air fry broccoli or cauliflower. Spray with olive oil and add kosher salt. Can also pan fry. I also cook frozen broccoli with pasta (add at same time) and it comes out perfectly done. I don’t like microwaving frozen vegetables for the most part.