Who knew that a little bit of time invested in meal planning might save me frustration, aggravation, and maybe even some time in the long run?
Yesterday I needed to grocery shop, so before I went and wandered the aisles aimlessly, I made a menu list for six days. This is the scribbled list on the blue index card above. I had two trout in the freezer from fishing last weekend, and fresh snow peas in the refrigerator from the garden, so yesterday's dinner was easy. Then I just started writing down possibilities for the remaining five days. I'm not a big fan of pork chops (dinner tonight), but I'm a grown-up, don't have to eat any pork chops, and I'm also making a pasta salad that I do like. I thought about things that I haven't made in a long time (corn salad, broccoli salad, and a raspberry jello salad) and put them on the list. I have a wild turkey breast in the freezer from Justin's spring turkey hunt that should be used, so we'll be having wild turkey nuggets this weekend.
Then I made a grocery list from the meal planning list so I would be sure to have all the ingredients on hand and wouldn't be running back to the grocery store for raisins or black beans or something else I was missing. (Shredded cheddar and bacon are both on the list twice, but you can never have too much bacon or cheddar.) I'm really not much of a planner so this is not my usual modus operandi, but I hope it pays off in the long run. (We'll see how long I stick with it.)
So how do you deal with the eternal question of dinner? Do you plan? Make things on the spur of the moment? Are you lucky enough to be part of a family that shares cooking, offers meal ideas, or is at least happy with a good salad in the summertime? I'd love to hear how things work at your house!
I plan my meals weekly. I look at our schedules first and determine how much time/energy I will have for preparing and cooking dinner. Then I look at the sale flyer for my grocery store and see what meat/chicken/fish is on sale. I mostly build my menus from that and if nothing we like is on sale then I turn to the freezer. Dale will pretty much eat whatever I make so I'm lucky that way!
ReplyDeleteI have started planning the week's meals in the past year or so. Partly this is because my husband does the grocery shopping, so planning out the meals helps me to make the shopping list for him. But it's also helpful to plan the meals with input for the whole family so that I make sure that what I'm making every night is something everyone will eat. It also helps me to keep in mind our family schedule and what nights someone might be out or when we'll have to eat earlier because someone has a meeting. I can't believe I didn't start doing this earlier! But I'll also add that it's much easier now that my husband and I share notes via our Apple devices. I have a meal plan note and a shopping list note and update them every week and as needed. Plus I keep a magnetized notepad on the fridge that I use to make note of what we need when we're running low or out of something so I don't forget to add it to the list.
ReplyDeleteI have a general idea of what we'll eat for the week, but don't necessarily plug the meals in by day. One of my favorite tools is an app called Paprika. I put my recipes in it (you can find most recipes online & just download them). Since it's a searchable database, you can search recipes by ingredient if there's something you want to use up. When it's time to make dinner, just pull it up on your phone and go. You can also make shopping lists based on your menus. Or you can check a recipe while in the store to make sure you have all of the ingredients.. or take advantage of a sale item you're not sure you have a recipe for.
ReplyDeleteI sometimes plan, and sometimes don't... but I'm usually happier when I do! Everything is so much easier when I plan, and I almost always plan for leftovers (lunch), too. Sometimes I enjoy cooking and sometimes it's a bother, and that's when it helps that Rusty takes over, though his repertoire is EXTREMELY limited.
ReplyDeleteEven though my husband has seemed to totally lose interest in eating these days, I still plan what we will eat for dinner, not by the day, but by the week. I look in the freezer/frig to see if there is anything I need to use, check staples to see if they are low, and think about what I would like to cook (usually nothing - ha!), what the weather will be like, and make a list of 7 meals and a grocery list based on my plan. I don't always end up following the plan, but most of the time I do. I also make a concerted effort to cook a few things early in the week that will provide 2 meals. This really comes in handy when I have been very busy or am very tired, and I just don't want to cook. Sometimes I fix a big casserole or soup in the winter, and lately I am have been grilling meat all at once for several meals. Then I only have to come up with a vegetable and heat the meat in the microwave. My husband does not mind eating leftovers, and he will eat just about anything I put in front of him, but I try to make sure we maintain a balanced diet. It seems to be more palatable if we don't eat something 2 nights in a row, so I space out the leftovers and usually add a fresh vegetable. I am very lucky in that my husband and I are both very happy to eat a "big" salad in the summertime. I always add a protein to the salad if it is the only thing we are going to eat. This answer is long, I know, and I hope you are not sorry you asked! I hate it when I don't plan because I use way too much brain space thinking about it off and one all day.
ReplyDeleteI try really hard to think ahead for the work week. I'm lucky because my husband and I take turns cooking, so I don't have to come up with something for every single day. But I was considering being more mindful of it, and planning in more detail, since sometimes I'll have the main thing thought out, and be at a loss for sides, etc.
ReplyDeleteI fly (badly) by the seat of my pants. We go out a LOT!
ReplyDeleteThat previous comment was me. LOL
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We don't cook much, especially in the summer, and eat a salad with a grilled protein 4-5 nights a week, then snacks on Saturday, and one "nice" meal on Fridays. Our shopping list is pretty much always the same to be sure we have salad and snack stuff. I'm glad you're rotating in a few of your favorite salads along with John's meat (I do love pork chops, especially grilled).
ReplyDeleteI usually have an idea for 3 or 4 nights, which gives room for "spur of the moment" inspiration. I have found in our house that planning every night does not work well... and Steve is the pickiest eater on the planet. That fish looks incredible!
ReplyDeleteLike an artist I like to have a palette of 'foods' that I can quickly cook something last minute. I always have spaghetti and sauce, sausage (I make rice with it), burgers and home made fries, breakfast for dinner. Our 'new' thing is to buy a whole chicken (made with roasted potatoes on the side) then that chicken is my husband's 'lunchmeat' and we also use the meat for 'buddha bowls'. I'll stir fry some veggies (cabbage, mushrooms and carrots for example) put the chopped cold chicken on the bottom of the bowl, add hot cooked rice, then the veggies. I love kimchi on the side!
ReplyDeleteI am a long-time weekly meal planner, although things ease up quite a bit in the summer . . . when I am more apt to plan loosely (like "a salad with something grilled"). I am the cook (although Tom does the grilling), and I am the meal-thinker-upper. It becomes very tedious, and I am always looking for inspiration. Sometimes, I choose a cookbook and just try a bunch of new recipes from that book for weeks. It does tend to spice things up a bit, and definitely gets us out of our "dinner rut." When my kids were still at home, I made up a set of menu index cards and then we each chose cards each week, depending on our schedule. It helped . . . (any port in a storm).
ReplyDeleteI'm not a planner, either Bonny and I rarely make lists. I forget things all the time, too! BUT, we do okay with a standard diet of meat and potatoes! Smith cooks/grills the meat (it can be fish or chicken and sometimes beef) and I do what can't go on the grill, plus all the shopping and ideating.:)
ReplyDeleteI usually plan four main dinner dishes each week and make sure I shop for necessary ingredients. I keep some staples (for us) in the pantry like pasta, black beans, chick peas, lentils, tomato paste. I freeze lots of tomatoes and tomato sauce at the end of the summer and keep some frozen and fresh veggies and fruits on hand. I am the meal planner, grocery shopper, and cook and that's ok with me although after all these years I am a wee bit tired of cooking. If I ever win the lottery (doubtful because I never buy a ticket but occasionally my husband does) I'd hire a cook. Lately I've been trying to plan a meal or two by shopping my pantry and freezer.
ReplyDeleteP.S. I'm glad John does not do electrical and plumbing work at the same time!
ReplyDeleteI could have sworn I wrote a comment and it disappeared! I have a plan somewhat for 3-4 meals and always have at the ready meals in the freezer or cupboards for those days when we ask 'what's for dinner'. (burgers and fries, spaghetti, baked potato and fish etc)
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