Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's weird to plan out meals in advance.
I decide the day of.

You obviously aren't on a food budget.

or into healthy eating.

Anonymous wrote:This is my first week trying to plan our meals and it is a lot harder than I thought. Kudos to you men and women who do this on a regular.

Do you use a spreadsheet or planner? I want to be sure that I'm not replicating the same meal too often and that I'm shopping for what's on sale but its time consuming! Please tell me it gets easier and faster

I don't worry about cost, so sales are not an issue for me. Yet at the same time, I dislike wasting food. So if I buy broccoli and don't use it all one night, then the next day I make something where I can use it up. For me THAT is where meal-planning is useful. I make a little list on my iPhone. Before that I'd write it out on a scrap of paper. Between DH and I we probably have about 35-40 things we make regularly, so the only worry about replicating a meal comes from eating food that's in season.

This is my first week trying to plan our meals and it is a lot harder than I thought. Kudos to you men and women who do this on a regular.

Do you use a spreadsheet or planner? I want to be sure that I'm not replicating the same meal too often and that I'm shopping for what's on sale but its time consuming! Please tell me it gets easier and faster

Anonymous wrote:It's weird to plan out meals in advance.
I decide the day of.

You obviously aren't on a food budget.

Why plan it a week in advance?
Where is the spontaneity ?
What if you don't feel like eating what you planned?

I plan ahead of time so that I have groceries for the entire week and can take advantage of sales. However, I frequently buy things that I can change my mind about at the last minute mostly for the sake of time, sometimes for the sake of spontaneity. Decide to do rice instead of roast potatoes for my starch? Not so difficult--have the roast potatoes with the chicken instead of the salmon. Decide to make pasta with meat sauce instead of meat loaf? That ground turkey will work regardless, and pasta and breadcrumbs are always in my pantry. Change my mind and decide to have kale as a side instead of broccoli? Also fine.

Tamale Pie Recipe (I mostly made it up as I went along)

1.3 lbs ground beef
1 onion, diced
1 bell pepper, diced
1 jalapeno, diced - maybe less depending on how spicy you like it
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 T. chili powder
1 T. cumin
2 t. salt
~1 T. canned chipotle peppers, (I blend a can till smooth and keep this in the fridge)
1 can pinto beans (black would also be good)
1 14 oz can diced tomatoes
~1 cup frozen corn
1 1/2 cup cheddar

1 recipe for corn bread



Brown ground beef, add onions, bell pepper, jalapeno, and garlic. Saute till soft, then add spices, tomatoes, beans and corn. Simmer for a while till it cooks down a bit, adjust spices if necessary. When it still has a bit of sauce/liquid in it, turn off the heat and add the cheese.

Make cornbread recipe. Put meat mixture in a 9x13 pan, spread cornbread batter on top, cook until cornbread is cooked through. This took about 30 min at 350 for me...

Tonight - home made pizza and salad
Monday - beef tacos
Tuesday - spaghetti with meat sauce and salad
Wednesday - buffalo chicken sandwich and sweet potato fries
Thursday - spinach soufflé, green beans, salad
Friday - chicken, rice, green beans

Sun: baked flounder
Mon: Rosemary chicken breasts
Tue: out for pizza
Wed: quesadillas
Thur: ravioli
Fri: something precooked out of the freezer like chicken nuggets for the kids and trader joes entree for the adults
Sat: thai takeout

Sunday: BBQ/leftovers - this week its burgers
Monday: meatless mexican (this week burritos)
Tues: fish (salmon, rice, green beans)
Wed: chicken (whole chicken in a crock pot w/ potatoes and broccoli)
Thurs: pizza (make your own)
Fri: challah, chicken soup

Saturday: fried rice with leftover chicken
Sunday : French onion soup
Monday : chicken stew
Tuesday / Wednesday : out of town, son and DH will have leftovers, son may have some cold cuts in addition (he's 18 months)
Thursday: weekly restaurant night. This week, probably a new thai noodle place near us

Next week I'm thinking of doing pho if it's still freezing. Love all the menu suggestions on this thread!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's weird to plan out meals in advance.
I decide the day of.

Judgmental much? Really? About how people decide what they will eat?

Why plan it a week in advance?
Where is the spontaneity ?
What if you don't feel like eating what you planned?

We plan it out so we can shop more efficiently and take advantage of sales. We come up with a general list of meals for the week, cook some stuff ahead on the weekends, and then adjust as needed based on how the week actually shapes up. We always keep one or two quick meals on hand in case of illness, late night at work, etc. we don't list things out by day, we just plan 5 meals for the week and figure the other days will be leftovers, takeout, or something easy from the pantry/freezer. If you cook with fresh ingredients, you have to either do some advance planning or go to the grocery store everyday.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's weird to plan out meals in advance.
I decide the day of.

Judgmental much? Really? About how people decide what they will eat?

Why plan it a week in advance?
Where is the spontaneity ?
What if you don't feel like eating what you planned?

Is this a real question? I plan meals in advance so that I can shop only one time a week. I create my weekly menu around sale items so that I'm not wasting money. I also prepare meals based on our calendar. Some nights require quick and easy meals. Some nights I have more time.

Sunday - we'll go out after church for a big dinner. Everyone is on their own for supper.
Monday - spaghetti, salad, bread
Tuesday - steak fajitas with all the fixings, beans and rice
Wednesday - Roast with veggies (crock pot)
Thursday - stir fry chicken and rice
Friday - we'll probably order pizza
Saturday - pork chops, mashed potatoes, green beans, cornbread

Sunday is pancakes and fruit and eggs.
Monday is baked BBQ chicken, peas, cous cous
Tuesday is pasta and meat sauce and some veg
Wednesday is cheese tortellini and pesto
Thursday is Italian baked chicken, roasted veg, rice
Friday is beef and veggie stir fry with rice.

Just like PP, we cook it in advance and DH heats up when he gets home for all of us (2 parents, and two in preschool). If not, we'd all eat cereal every night.

Roast chicken and veggies
'Cozy Orzo' (orzo, cottage cheese, parm, peas)
Leftover chicken egg rolls
Rice and beans
Slow cooked lamb with apricots and chickpeas
Something TBD depending on ingredients and level of energy

I plan - and cook - meals in advance so that DH can just reheat when he gets home at six and we all can eat a hot meal when I get home at 6:30. We wouldn't eat home cooked meals if I didn't.