Meal planning open poll

Lisa6255

I was wondering how you ladies plan and track what you're making when?

I plan my meals for the coming week usually over the weekend. I had been using my Franklin Covey planner writing in each day what I was making, but after using my phone with Google Calendar for my event scheduling, I didn't want to spend $30 for a refill to plan my meals out I have been struggling keeping up with a system so far this year. I downloaded this app called Food Planner which you can import recipes from certain websites (not Food Network's though :-( which is where most of my recipes come from) and you can make shopping lists on it. It's a lot of data input which is a pain but it's nice to be able to not have to carry a pen and loose soon to be crumpled piece of paper around at the store.

danies08

I used to be really good about meal planning, but any more I just don't know if I am going to feel up to cooking. So, I more buy meat (pack of chicken, pack of porkchops....etc..) and decide that night what I am going to make with it. There are a few times that I know what I am going to make so I go get the items for it, but that is getting less and less...haha! I know once LO starts eating real food I will have to actually make supper every night, but for now I am enjoying being able to pick and choose from leftovers and cereal. : )

Laurms15

Not really. Our work/commute schedules don't always allow for a really planned out week. So I keep Pork, burgers, Chicken Cutlets and drumsticks, frozen broccoli, carrots, peas, snap peas, string beans, cauliflower in the freezer along w/ my chicken soup and sauce and baked ziti. (and anything else that was leftover and freezable - currently some pulled chicken and leftover brisket) I keep potatoes and sweet potatoes in the fridge. I have a pantry full of rice/pasta/noodles.

Then when I get home I make something with what we have in the freezer. If I get home early I will run to whole foods or the fish market for some fish whenever I can and on weekends sometimes we'll have a treat of steak. Also DH buys Kilbase (sp?) and when he buys that from the fresh meat store in town I plan to have that twice usually. 

I had stopped buying fresh veggies because I was getting stuck at work and not eating them and tossing them. SO I love frozen veggies which studies say are still very good for you because I always have them on hand.

allioops414

On Saturday mornings, I plan out our menu for the week, and plan around nights that one of us won't be home or have something going on.  I mainly do it so that I don't overbuy food.  Also, I like looking forward to dinner HAHA  I'm such a loser.

But like Laurie, I basically have a stock of frozen veggies, canned chicken broth and beans, and dry cereal/pasta/couscous/rice etc. in the house at all times.  I only buy meat and fresh produce as needed.  Also, I love making soups and pasta sauces and freezing them.

And I lurk A LOT on cooking blogs and recipe websites for new ideas.  One of my favorite healthy sites is www.skinnytaste.com.  Everything I've tried from that site has been easy and amazing.  And she posts nutrition info and WW points for each recipe!!

 

Lisa6255

Allison, do you write your recipe names/ sources out somewhere on a calendar or anything to remember what you're making what day? Or do you just have your week of recipes and you pick from your list depending on what you feel like making/ eating? Or some other strategy?

TotallyLoCo

I don't really menu plan, unless you call saying to DH on the way to the supermarket "in the mood for anything particular this week?" menu planning. In a typical week I'll get whatever seafood looks good at the counter for one night, some sort of beef/steak for one night, pasta one night, chicken one night, and usually there are enough leftovers to get through the rest with a night of take-out thrown in there.

Honestly, now that I have a long commute and get home much later I've been doing more prepared foods - like meats that already have seasoning that I can just toss in the oven. Trader Joe's is awesome for this. I know it's more expensive but the alternative is having dinner at like 9 PM. Usually on the weekends I'll do more substantial cooking and try to make things that are good for leftovers to have during the week, such as last weekend I made a big thing of baked ziti.

mickylvr1

I usually just write things down during the week that sound good and then I will sit down one night and plan everything out.  I usually do 2 weeks at a time because our groccery shopping always come out of my paycheck.

I will just put it all down on paper and then hang that piece of paper on the fridge.  That way, DH will also know what is planned for dinner that night.

I do something similar for me groccery list.  We have a dry-erase board on our fridge to write things on if we are low or out of something.  So, when I am ready to sit down and make my list I usually use that, the ads and go thru the fridge/pantry to make sure I get everything.

dasmel30

Well we freezer cook so that's once every 3 months or so and have about 2 of those meals/week.  We still have other stuff in the freezer so we can make something if we feel the urge.  We usually make "fresh" meals on the weekends.  

RachieK10

Like Allison, I plan a menu for the week on Sunday and do my grocery shopping accordingly. I take into consideration if DH or I has dinner or lunch plans during the week. Then we just make whatever we feel like from the dinners we have chosen. It works for us. My sister painted above her stove w/ chalkboard paint and writes the weekly menu on there so her kids don't bug her with "what's for dinner?!??!" questions. I think that's cute

Marick

I would love to meal plan, and I try my best, but my hours just aren't regular enough. I have the frozen essentials in my freezer that I use when I don't have much time to cook, and I make an effort to cook something fresh a few times a week (usually on the weekend or if I get home from work early enough), and then put leftovers in the fridge or freezer.

It sounds like we are all quite healthy and frugal though, I mean most of my friends eat out several times a week instead of cooking!  GO us!

allioops414

RachieK10:

My sister painted above her stove w/ chalkboard paint and writes the weekly menu on there so her kids don't bug her with "what's for dinner?!??!" questions. I think that's cute

I LOVE that idea!

Lisa6255

@Julie and Rach- I love the ideas of the dry erase/ chalk board idea, I have a dry erase board i had tried to use to keep track of my chest freezer stuff but the marker dried on not being wiped off soon after. so i havent been using it for that anymore. I think I will use that for my meal lists, my stepdaughter often asks whats for dinner so that might be useful for more than just me! At least presuming I dont change my plan lol. Thanks for sharing!

festivegal2008

I grocery shop every other weekend so some time during the week before I go, I'll go through all my cookbooks and pick out what meals I want to make then I list them on a piece of paper for each day & make the grocery list as I go along.  I base the meals on what nights we do and don't have Amanda, for example she hates spicy food so I'll make spicy meals on the nights she's with her mom then I'll make the things she likes when she's with us. 

Each week I'm sure to do a chicken dish, a beef dish, a pasta dish, a seafood dish and a pork dish.  That way we don't get sick of the same thing too often.  I usually only cook Monday-Thursday though.  Sundays we eat over my mom's, Saturdays we almost always go out and Fridays differ each week depending on what we're up for - sometimes I'll cook, other times we'll get Subway, pizza or go to a sit down restaurant.

MandahGirly

I use something similar to this to plan out what I am making for the week. I usually do this on Saturday because I go food shopping on Sunday. If I am using a recipe, I will write the name of the recipe and the cookbook and page that it came from. Then I use an app on my phone called Ziplist that is my shopping list. That is the only way I can stay on top of it.

Lisa6255

MandahGirly:

I use something similar to this to plan out what I am making for the week. I usually do this on Saturday because I go food shopping on Sunday. If I am using a recipe, I will write the name of the recipe and the cookbook and page that it came from. Then I use an app on my phone called Ziplist that is my shopping list. That is the only way I can stay on top of it.

"this" was a reply to my original post, did you mean the Food Planner app or can you repost with the info? 

MandahGirly

Lisa6255:

MandahGirly:

I use something similar to this to plan out what I am making for the week. I usually do this on Saturday because I go food shopping on Sunday. If I am using a recipe, I will write the name of the recipe and the cookbook and page that it came from. Then I use an app on my phone called Ziplist that is my shopping list. That is the only way I can stay on top of it.

"this" was a reply to my original post, did you mean the Food Planner app or can you repost with the info? 

whoops! here is the link: http://www.amazon.com/Board-Dudes-Weekly-Planner-Combo/dp/B00114UD24/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1327020645&sr=8-1 

Lisa6255

Oh my goodness I LOVE Ziplist!! I like the board too, I might get that if the current dry erase board isn't working well for me after a little bit. Thanks!!!