Do y’all meal plan?

[moroccangirl]

For about 5 years I’ve been saying I’m going to start. Never started. I am now the leader for Sophia’s Girl Scout troop, plus all of my other commitments. I don’t love cooking but I think never having a plan makes it even worse. My usual routine is to text DH and lunch time and ask what he wants, then I go to the store after I drop Sophia off at school and get what I need for dinner. It’s stressful.
I printed a calendar for October, wrote down any daily appt or meeting, then plugged in dinners for each day, and made sure on days it would be hard to cook that the previous day I make something that has good leftovers.
It’s only the end of Oct 1 and I already feel a weight lifted off of my shoulders because I know what I’m making every day. I don’t know why didn’t do this sooner.

[Lintu]

Not for a whole month at a time - just for a week at a time.

[moroccangirl]

Not for a whole month at a time - just for a week at a time.

I started with the week but just kept going 

[BonitaApplebum]

You guys I’m moving this to food, since it seems like a good perennial topic. Please don’t pout or act like I’m overreaching, the reason we put stuff there is so we can find it again.

[blue sleep]

If we didn't have a weekly plan, we'd get complacent and eat out every night. We never stick to it exactly but it allows us to buy the ingredients to make our meals throughout the week.

[BonitaApplebum]

I’m a big fan of meal planning, because for me the worst part of making dinner is coming up with a menu on the fly when I’m tired and everyone is starving.

However, I often make the mistake of planning too many meals. And then I have too much stuff in the fridge that we don’t wind up eating.

I feel like having 2-3 weeknight meals/week planned is the sweet spot. The other nights we eat leftovers, or everyone just fends for themselves.

[moroccangirl]

You guys I’m moving this to food, since it seems like a good perennial topic. Please don’t pout or act like I’m overreaching, the reason we put stuff there is so we can find it again.

Quit picking on me!

  Kidding

[moroccangirl]

I’m a big fan of meal planning, because for me the worst part of making dinner is coming up with a menu on the fly when I’m tired and everyone is starving.

However, I often make the mistake of planning too many meals. And then I have too much stuff in the fridge that we don’t wind up eating.

I feel like having 2-3 weeknight meals/week planned is the sweet spot. The other nights we eat leftovers, or everyone just fends for themselves.

I’ve started with stuff we eat all the time that I know we like since DH is a vegetarian. I built in the leftovers (because I know which meals give us leftovers). I think I will just buy groceries for one week each weekend in case we make any changes.

[Run Amok]

I like to cook but mostly hate cooking dinner. It's a CHORE and a pretty thankless one (work all day and then do the second shift in the kitchen, yay!)

I do like to plan 3ish meals at a time. That doesn't get us through the week, but inevitably if I plan for more that that we skip it. I also tend to plan something super simple during the week. Like, we've been eating "tacos" that are a tortilla, soy chorizo, shredded cheese, & hot sauce-- and that is all. Or stirfry that is broccoli, tofu, & rice. Anything more complicated than that lately and we will just eat out instead.

[BonitaApplebum]

Something I like to do is prepping a bunch of stuff on the weekend. Like cooking a bunch of protein (a big package of chicken thighs, etc) and then having it available for a couple of different meals. If I make rice I make enough for a meal plus extra to make dried rice with. I chop a bunch of veggies so they are ready to go. Things like that.

I might not have a super firm plan for how to use the prepped stuff yet, but it’s so much easier to look in the fridge and think about how to assemble the prepped stuff than it is to start from ground zero.

[BonitaApplebum]

I like to cook but mostly hate cooking dinner. It's a CHORE and a pretty thankless one (work all day and then do the second shift in the kitchen, yay!)

Amen, sister.

[moroccangirl]

Something I like to do is prepping a bunch of stuff on the weekend. Like cooking a bunch of protein (a big package of chicken thighs, etc) and then having it available for a couple of different meals. If I make rice I make enough for a meal plus extra to make dried rice with. I chop a bunch of veggies so they are ready to go. Things like that.

I might not have a super firm plan for how to use the prepped stuff yet, but it’s so much easier to look in the fridge and think about how to assemble the prepped stuff than it is to start from ground zero.

If DH would eat chicken it would make my life much easier. So easy to prep chicken ahead of time so many different ways.

[Run Amok]

I like the idea of doing prep for the week and it does make the week go so much more smoothly. But, I am doing pretty good if I make a grocery list and go to the store! 

[BonitaApplebum]

If DH would eat chicken it would make my life much easier. So easy to prep chicken ahead of time so many different ways.

Will he eat ground beef? I will also brown a big package of ground beef and then use it a few different ways. I do it with ground lamb sometimes when I want to switch things up (or pork, but you probably don’t eat that either).

[Rejaneration]

You guys I’m moving this to food, since it seems like a good perennial topic. Please don’t pout or act like I’m overreaching, the reason we put stuff there is so we can find it again.

you should have moved that buttercream thread. So there.

[BonitaApplebum]

I’ve given up on trying to get MOS to post in this forum!

[Rejaneration]

As far as the meal planning, no.  I have a general idea of what ingredients I have and then, wing it.  I despise the idea of meal planning, but I like cooking...even dinner.  And, if I am too tired, we will order in or have a pizza.  That happens about once every two weeks.

I do like to do a lot of cooking on the weekend and have leftovers available to either have for dinner or take for lunch though.

[BonitaApplebum]

As far as the meal planning, no.  I have a general idea of what ingredients I have and then, wing it.  I despise the idea of meal planning, but I like cooking...even dinner.  And, if I am too tired, we will order in or have a pizza.  That happens about once every two weeks.

I do like to do a lot of cooking on the weekend and have leftovers available to either have for dinner or take for lunch though.

You don’t have dependents clamoring FEED ME FEED ME FEED ME come 6pm, though... the thing I hate about dinner is I can’t just skip it if I’m not in the mood, the kids need to eat.

And yeah, they can do yogurt or cereal if I don’t feel up to it, but I don’t feel like much of a parent if that’s happening constantly.

I like cooking a lot, but I mostly hate dinner.

[Rejaneration]

You don’t have dependents clamoring FEED ME FEED ME FEED ME come 6pm, though... the thing I hate about dinner is I can’t just skip it if I’m not in the mood, the kids need to eat.

And yeah, they can do yogurt or cereal if I don’t feel up to it, but I don’t feel like much of a parent if that’s happening constantly.

I like cooking a lot, but I mostly hate dinner.

But I did.  For me, it just wasn't a stressor.  Which is pretty funny, because I stress about a lot.  They each had to take a night starting at about age 14 though.  I wasn't allowed to complain either.


ETA: Thinking about on the days when I just returned to the US, I did lose my love of cooking so those dinners were sometimes 'mailed in'.  It had to do with the shock of the break up.  It was something I did to show my love to my family and my ex took great pride in my cooking.    Took a good year for me to love cooking again.

[bookworm1]

We do, partly because we are trying to follow a healthy eating plan and partly because we both get really busy during the week and would end up ordering out every day if we didn't plan.

[diablita]

I'm terrible at meal planning and greatly prefer to wing it for one or two days in a row.  Sometimes I'll do a little bit of the meal prepping and, say, roast sweet potatoes and some vegetables and put them in different containers to turn into combinations for a few days.  It's especially helpful when I'm trying to follow a certain eating style, like macro counting or clean eating.

I definitely cannot do the meal prep thing where people make 10 of the same containers for the week and then eat that very same thing for all lunches/dinners.  I've tried it for 5 lunches and I never end up wanting that same thing by day 5 -- or something comes up.

[picote]

We don’t meal plan, but we do have pretty regular rotations and I’ll usually think about the week and when we’ll want the ‘easy’ stuff, though most of what I make these days is pretty easy. Since we’ve moved the delivery options are just unappealing, so we’ve cut our take out bill substantially.

Growing up in the Midwest means I’m a prepper at heart, so we buy in bulk and make use of the freezer. We pretty much always have chicken breasts and thighs, steak, pork tenderloin, lamb chops and ground beef and pork. Our dinner is some form of protein, salad and a veggie, sometimes beans. DH picks up fresh fish or seafood twice a week. Now that my herb garden is up and running I usually have most of what we use regularly on hand. Lately almost 100% of our veggies have been frozen from Costco—we love them and haven’t gotten bored yet. I basically do a Costco trip once a week and DH picks up things like green onions, garlic and other misc stuff when he buys fish.

I think it would be harder if we were vegetarian, because you just need more to be fresh. I do get tired of the regular stuff, so try to add something new to the rotation every few weeks. But still usually follows the same pattern. Last weeks new dish was pan seared ahi with cilantro, garlic, lime, soy and ginger dressing. All from the pantry or the garden with the exception of the Ahi and an avocado (though hoping the avocado tree  starts producing soon). It was amazing! But we ate it with our Costco veggies and a salad

I’ve tried to meal plan before and just ended up with a mess of wasted food. I find this way of cooking gives us some flexibility and doesn’t waste as much.

[moroccangirl]

Will he eat ground beef? I will also brown a big package of ground beef and then use it a few different ways. I do it with ground lamb sometimes when I want to switch things up (or pork, but you probably don’t eat that either).

I wish. He’s been vegetarian for maybe 2 years. Now, he will eat a good steak when we are back home. But he’s totally done with chicken. He doesn’t eat any red meat here in Saudi.
We had more options with tofu before but tofu and soy (and black beans) don’t agree with him anymore. So those are out too.


Take out options here are just meh. We have a chili’s on camp, but you can only eat so much of that. Places off camp will deliver, but not to your door. We have to drive to the security gate to pick up. There’s only one place off camp DH likes enough to have delivered.
I’m making him sound picky but he’s not at all. He will generally eat whatever I make and eats leftovers as well.

I don’t know why I just have never liked cooking. It feels like a chore to me. And not knowing what I am going to make until it’s time to make it every day is even worse.

[diablita]

I know it's hot there for soups and stews but they're such a good option for veg/vegans and don't have to be served piping hot.  When you make one, double or triple the quantity.  The rest goes in the freezer in portions that make sense to reheat for your crew.  It's not traditional prepping but will get you through the days where you just can't even.

[moroccangirl]

I know it's hot there for soups and stews but they're such a good option for veg/vegans and don't have to be served piping hot.  When you make one, double or triple the quantity.  The rest goes in the freezer in portions that make sense to reheat for your crew.  It's not traditional prepping but will get you through the days where you just can't even.

DH used to think I was crazy making soup when it’s 115 degrees out. I tell him to turn down the AC and act like it’s soup weather. Otherwise no one gets food that day. 
I love soup because the few that are favorites are so easy and I don’t need to read a recipe to make them. I always add a huge salad and baguette so it’s not just -soup-.

[Chasing Amy]

Sometimes. If I will be home for the week (not traveling) and have some time on a Sunday afternoon, I enjoy cooking and baking stuff to eat throughout the week.

Billie Holiday is my cooking soundtrack (no idea why) and wine is my beverage.

[Rejaneration]

Sometimes. If I will be home for the week (not traveling) and have some time on a Sunday afternoon, I enjoy cooking and baking stuff to eat throughout the week.

Billie Holiday is my cooking soundtrack (no idea why) and wine is my beverage.

I love cooking to the blues!

[Magic Microbe]

I hate planning the meals but I like cooking so I pay ridiculous amounts of money for a 2 meal a week meal box.

[BonitaApplebum]

I hate planning the meals but I like cooking so I pay ridiculous amounts of money for a 2 meal a week meal box.

I kind of wonder if I would like that. I’ve never tried it.

[Magic Microbe]

I kind of wonder if I would like that. I’ve never tried it.

You can try the different companies out for pretty cheap...most give you a couple weeks free or at a significantly reduced cost when you first join and its easy to cancel.

[BonitaApplebum]

This story I read today reminded me a bit of this thread.

https://theweek.com/articles/864481/much-more-than-cooking

[radial]

You can try the different companies out for pretty cheap...most give you a couple weeks free or at a significantly reduced cost when you first join and its easy to cancel.

Yep, there's no reason to wonder.  I test drove five different meal services before I found one that suited me. 

[picote]

We loved blue apron when we were doing it. I don’t want to spend the extra $ now, but it’s really nice as a way to mix things up. There can be a fair amount of prep though, which is a drag if you’re tired and don’t feel like cooking.

[nadra24]

Yes. It's one of my least favorite chores, but there's not enough time in between when I get home from work and when Cletus goes to bed to do anything on the fly. On Saturday evenings I plan Sun-Thurs and do a grocery order, which we pick up on Sunday afternoon. I prep what I can on Sunday (usually dinner for Monday, plus washing fruits and veggies). Friday and Saturday are some combination of eating from the pantry, leftovers, and takeout.

I really should put more responsibility for this on kenyan. He is good about making dinner a couple of nights a week, but his repertoire is limited. Which I guess makes meal planning easier, since we know it's always gonna be Taco Tuesday and Breakfast for Dinner on Thursday. Also the final decision making about what the family eats seems like it should naturally fall to me, given that I'm the nutrition expert. But it's so exhausting sometimes.

[Rejaneration]

This story I read today reminded me a bit of this thread.

https://theweek.com/articles/864481/much-more-than-cooking

 

Then, about a year ago, I had a sobbing meltdown in the kitchen in front of my spouse. It had started out innocently enough: He'd invited a friend over for dinner, but I was on a high-pressure work deadline and had no time or mental energy to spare. "I'll make dinner!" he said. "You don't have to do a thing."
That evening, he waltzed through the door from work, bubbling with enthusiasm. I met him in the kitchen, exhausted and hungry. "Okay, I'm ready to start cooking," he said. "What do we have in the fridge?”


Sounds familiar.

[moroccangirl]

This story I read today reminded me a bit of this thread.

https://theweek.com/articles/864481/much-more-than-cooking

For me, everything is about the mental aspect. Taking care of the kids every day, appointments, pick up drop offs, etc, food, cooking, grocery shopping. It’s not the actual thing that exhausts me, is the thinking about 50 things every day all day.

[moroccangirl]

I wish we had a meal delivery service like blue apron here.

Well, if no one else likes my meal calendar, Sophia LOVES it. I put it on the fridge so DH could see it. I had “breakfast” down for dinner on Thursday (that’s our Friday night). I picked Sophia up from school for lunch on Thursday and she said “don’t forget, tonite is breakfast for dinner. You wrote it on your calendar”. 

[BonitaApplebum]

For me, everything is about the mental aspect. Taking care of the kids every day, appointments, pick up drop offs, etc, food, cooking, grocery shopping. It’s not the actual thing that exhausts me, is the thinking about 50 things every day all day.

Yes. A million times, yes.

[Run Amok]

You can try the different companies out for pretty cheap...most give you a couple weeks free or at a significantly reduced cost when you first join and its easy to cancel.

I have heard these are a lot of chopping. Have you found that not to be the case?

I want my meal-in-a-box to involve relatively little prep on my part. Otherwise, it's not worth it to me.

Tonight we did a stir-fry meal-kit from Trader Joes. Honestly, stir-fry is pretty easy. But this was like open a bag and dump veggies into a pan, chop up some baked tofu & add it, add noodles & seasoning and done! That is my kind of meal kit.

[diablita]

I like those for a quick meal, RA.  They really are pretty decent.

[Magic Microbe]

I have heard these are a lot of chopping. Have you found that not to be the case?

I want my meal-in-a-box to involve relatively little prep on my part. Otherwise, it's not worth it to me.

Tonight we did a stir-fry meal-kit from Trader Joes. Honestly, stir-fry is pretty easy. But this was like open a bag and dump veggies into a pan, chop up some baked tofu & add it, add noodles & seasoning and done! That is my kind of meal kit.

So Home Chef has different options...they have quick meals (5-15 mins or so where everything is already cut or a salad) but that's only like 4 of the options a week. The rest are more involved ranging from 30 mins to cook to an hour. But as a vegetarian you wouldn't have the choice of the full set of options (there are 17 different options each week...we choose 2...but only 4 of those options are vegetarian). I wouldn't do any of the companies I have tried as a vegetarian.

I see a completely vegetarian one advertising on TV and it looks like its zero prep but I dont remember what its called.

[BonitaApplebum]

I agree, the prep is what is worth the money for me. I definitely don’t want to do lots of chopping for a meal kit.

[Magic Microbe]

I agree, the prep is what is worth the money for me. I definitely don’t want to do lots of chopping for a meal kit.

I just want the reprieve from figuring out what to cook. I don't really mind actually prepping the food.

[caribougrrl]

I just want the reprieve from figuring out what to cook. I don't really mind actually prepping the food.

I sometimes think I would like to have a business where people tell me what food they have around, and I send them instructions for what to make for the next couple of days.

[BonitaApplebum]

I sometimes think I would like to have a business where people tell me what food they have around, and I send them instructions for what to make for the next couple of days.

There’s an app (ok, several) for that!

https://www.escoffieronline.com/top-apps-for-finding-recipes-for-ingredients-you-already-have/

[caribougrrl]

There’s an app (ok, several) for that!

https://www.escoffieronline.com/top-apps-for-finding-recipes-for-ingredients-you-already-have/

I am not surprised.

[Magic Microbe]

I sometimes think I would like to have a business where people tell me what food they have around, and I send them instructions for what to make for the next couple of days.

Its hard to make boneless skinless chicken breasts very exciting and that's generally what I tend to have around. 

[ihop]

I create a list of meals by Friday for the upcoming week.  Anyone can write down a suggestion - I need to do quicker meals certain days so there is some editing.  I shop on Saturday for the week - but usually end up with a quick run to the store midweek. 

I might shuffle days around but, for the most part, we stick to the list.  Every now and then I just can't deal so we will have sandwiches.

It works for us.

I can't stomach more than a day of leftovers so prepping for the week or cooking in big batches doesn't work.

I cook dinner Sunday - Thursday (DH often does the protein on Sundays) and I usually enjoy it.  I could not do it if we didn't plan.

DH is rarely home before 7 and often still on the phone when he gets home.  DD is busy with school and activities. We try to catch up with each other during dinner.

[Chasing Amy]

Its hard to make boneless skinless chicken breasts very exciting and that's generally what I tend to have around. 

I follow a few cooking pages on Instagram and I've found some good inspiration from the recipes posted. I need a lot of variety in my diet, definitely can't eat the same thing day after day.

Edited to add the IG pages I like:

smittenkitchen
ambitiouskitchen (you have to weed through some of her "wellness" and "happy pregnancy" posts, but her recipes are solid)
pinchofyum
cookieandkate (vegetarian)

[moroccangirl]

I follow a few cooking pages on Instagram and I've found some good inspiration from the recipes posted. I need a lot of variety in my diet, definitely can't eat the same thing day after day.

Edited to add the IG pages I like:

smittenkitchen
ambitiouskitchen (you have to weed through some of her "wellness" and "happy pregnancy" posts, but her recipes are solid)
pinchofyum
cookieandkate (vegetarian)

I love cookie and Kate. DH won’t eat fish taco unless I make her mango salsa.

[Run Amok]

Amy listed some good ones! I also follow
"healthyish" from Bon Appetit
yottam ottelenghi
heidi swanson (101 cookbooks)
J Kenji Alt Lopez (from the food lab)

I agree it's a great low-key way to get some inspiration. Of course, none of the above are great boneless/skinless chicken breast jazzer-uppers.   

[Magic Microbe]

But that's the whole point...I don't want to put energy into it! That's why I pay to have someone else do it for me.

[moroccangirl]

It’s the 19th and my meal plan has worked perfectly!! Only a couple of times I had to change things but it wasn’t a problem. DH wanted to try a new healthy place that opened on camp today. We never made it so I scratched out tomorrow’s dinner on my calendar and replaced it with take out from the new place.

[Run Amok]

I just wanted to record this somewhere because it was good. Could be lunch/breakfast/dinner. Based on Kaelyns Kitchen master breakfast casserole recipe.

1 lb bag of trader Joe's fresh cauliflower rice
1 onion
2 large garlic gloves
A big pour of cumin & chili powder
16 oz lf cottage cheese
2.5 cups shredded mexican blend cheese (I like trader joes)
1 small can black olives
1 small can diced green chilis
6 eggs

Sautee the veggies until really broken down & dry. Save half the batch for next time. Layer half into the bottom of an 8x8 pan. Then add 4 oz of cheese. Sprinkle the peppers and olives. Break eggs & mix with cottage cheese & 4oz of the shredded cheese. Poor on top of veggies. Top w. remaining 2 oz cheese.

Bake for 20-30 mins at 375.

350 calories 26 g p, 23 g f, 12 g c per serving. You can save about 100 calories per serving by using egg whites and lf cheese.

Top with sourcream and salsa or enchilada or ranchero sauce.

[BonitaApplebum]

Mmm that sounds good, and very flexible too.

[Run Amok]

Yep, very flexible in terms of the flavor profile. She has a lot of suggestions of various mix-ins to change up the flavor profile. https://kalynskitchen.com/breakfast-casserole-many-wayswho-knew/

[BonitaApplebum]

That’s my favorite kind of recipe now - a general formula I can adapt to whatever I have.

[diablita]

It's going on my list too.  I always have a bag of TJ's frozen cauli rice on hand but I can grab some fresh next time.