Meal planners....I need a crash course!

[Mommyfaithe]

Ok, so I have my school schedule, extras schedule and family stuff schedule happenin':D. NOW, I need to get a hold of the food situation.

 

I need a crash course in food and meal planning, grocery planning etc.

 

I would really like some tried and true planning ideas ....and maybe a great app.

 

Thanks for any help you can give me. I have to have a set plan for our meals this week....going to do our big shopping tomorrow. I am going back to lunch boxes for all the kids....and want to do one day of massive food prep.

 

We do eat meat....and very low grains.

[dbmamaz]

Well, i can tell you what I do, but i'm not sure how helpful it is, esp since we dont pack lunches much.

 

but . . .i started getting more organized last year. I do use an app, but its mostly for recipes. Its for the ipad and its called Paprika. We have a lot of food allergies, so all my recipes have to be totally customized. this app can download recipes from many websites and you can still edit them after you download them, or you can type right in, or you can email the recipe and cut and paste. you make your own catagories (meat, soup, desserts, whatever), but you can also search titles, so its very easy to find recipes.

 

but i do love the menu planning part. You can type in the name of a meal, or you can select a recipe out of the recipe section. then when you open up to the meal planner section, it usually defaults to today, and you just click on the menu and it opens up. So there is no more cook books, no more loose printed reicpes, i love that!

 

anyways, the hard part is just sitting down to do it. I look at our calendar, and sometimes also at the weather (so i plan soups and stews on the coldest days and salads and sandwhiches on the hottest, that kind of thing). I make sure to plan easy meals on busy days, crock pot meals on days i wont be home until dinner, that sort of thing. I ask for input for everyone, and just start reading through recipe titles if i cant think of anything. and then . . just write it all down.

 

I have been doing my shopping list on the computer, though. I keep a list in the kitchen for things we run out of, and then i go through the menu plan and add items for each recipe. I sort the list by aisle so I dont have to run back and forth around the store.

 

I find that even when I'm tired or sick, its easier to stick to my schedule than to think of a newer, easier meal. its just a lot of work on the weekends.

 

Oh, and i dont do much cooking ahead, though. sorry i cant help with that part at all. in fact, i'm pretty groggy this morning so i have no idea if this is helpeful at all!

[Mergath]

I've found that the easiest way to go about it is to have each night of the week be a different theme, like Monday is Italian, Tuesday is Vegetarian, etc. You sit down and list all the recipes you have for each theme, and then go through each week and pick one meal per theme based on what's on sale, what you have on hand, that sort of thing.

[Mommyfaithe]

Thanks....

 

I am still:bigear: for as many ideas as I can get....

[Random]

I have to have a set plan for our meals this week....going to do our big shopping tomorrow. I am going back to lunch boxes for all the kids....and want to do one day of massive food prep.

 

Can you repeat the process you used to come up with this week's plan? Weekly planning is great...you can use the sales flyers to come up with your menu and it seems produce will last about a week (in my fridge, anyway) before spoiling.

[mandymom]

I was terrible at getting meals planned until I found Plan to Eat. I've been using it for 2 years now, and I completely swear by it. I can very quickly plan my meals by dragging and dropping things into a calendar. Then, it automatically generates a shopping list which I can then customize. I pull the shopping list up on my phone when I go shopping. You can also print the list off. Those are the main features I use, but the program itself has a TON of other features like cost tracking and nutritional info. Another feature that I like is the ability to save several days worth of menus (however many you like...I save a week at a time, but some people save whole months) to use later.

 

I also think that the ability to plan for once-a-month freezer cooking (cooking in bulk) was added, but I haven't really explored that feature.

Edited August 18, 2012 by mandymom

[Blueridge]

I got a desk-size calendar to write in my meals for each week, and hung it on the fridge. You might also look at e-meals, or this site (which is free)... http://www.thebettermom.com/bi-weekly-meal-plans/

Here is an old posting on FlyLady, where she was talking about her strategies for meal planning: http://www.flylady.net/d/habits-of-the-month/november/

Edited August 18, 2012 by Blueridge

[CarynB]

There's an online meal planning service called E-Meals. http://www.emeals.com

 

If you sign up they will email you a complete weekly meal plan, each week for however long you decide to use the service. You sign up based on how many people are in your family, which grocery store you shop at and you can also select: vegetarian, gluten free, etc. if that applies to your situation. You get a complete shopping list to go with each meal plan and an estimate of what the total cost will be for that week's plan.

 

I wasn't being faithful about getting our meal planning done and things were really suffering for awhile before we signed up for this. There's a great variety of foods each week as well.

 

Good luck with your planning!

[Susan C.]

I don't know if this will help or not, you have more kids and probably know more than I do!! But here are a few things I do:

 

When we grill, we fill the grill. If hamburgers, enough for a few meals and some lunches (if you put cold hamburgers in a covered cassorole to reheat, they taste just like they just came off the grill). Or we grill chicken and hamburgers to have leftovers.

 

My family doesn't mind eating the same meal for 2-3 nights. So I'll make a turkey (cheap and makes great leftovers). We will eat on it for a few days, lunch and dinner. If I knew more about freezing (and had a freezer) I would cut up extras and freeze to have a cooked meat for another meal later.

 

I make HUGE lasagnas and eat it two nights in a row.

 

If I make meatloaf, I make double of what we need and eat the rest on sandwiches and/or have it for dinner the next night.

 

I boil my roasts, and make enough for 2-3 days. I put the roast in the large pot, rub fresh garlic on it, salt and pepper, brown, add beef broth, boil covered few hours, then add potatoes and onions, boil more, then add carrots. We only eat potatoes in the winter. Then leftovers can be warmed, or can be soup.

 

We don't do a lot of carbs either, so we eat either dinner salads with a meat on top (taco salad, or chopped chicken). Or we eat meat and salad.

 

I get the huge bag of chicken breasts at Sams and make enough for two days of lunches (and maybe a meal to cut and put on top of a dinner salad).

[Erica in OR]

Like previous poster CarynB, we use eMeals. I had done my own planning before with middling success, but when DH switched to a low carb diet, I was at a loss for what to cook. We're trying out the three month low carb meal plan and have enjoyed it quite a bit. There are some meals we haven't loved, but I figure we'll just weed those out and go through the rotation again. I like that it has the shopping list ready to take to the store and includes a side dish with each entree.

 

We haven't looked into it, but I think they might offer lunch options also.

 

Erica in OR

[CarynB]

If you go onto the site and click the How It Works tab, you can click on any of the meal plans listed to see a sample.

[Excelsior! Academy]

We do similar to Mergath's suggestion. Each day has an assigned type of meal. Sit down as a family and pick everyone's favorite meals. Assign them days and times and rotate. Ours is a one week rotation, but yours could be two-week or even monthly. You would be amazed at the simplicity and lack of boredom this method uses.

[Mommyfaithe]

Thanks again! I am quickly formulating in my mind how I want to do this. Huge cooking in my house just ends up with huge eating:D. My kids will just keep going.....:glare: so I aim for no leftovers.

 

Hmmmmmm.....I could cook up all the chicken and brown ground beef for meals....so, that will work.

 

Ok.....off to find paper and pen....and the sale flyer from the grocery store....I think I can do this!

[ILiveInFlipFlops]

Huge cooking in my house just ends up with huge eating:D.

 

FWIW, we have the same problem. It took me forever to figure out a solution, but I finally started taking the part of the meal I needed for leftovers (usually enough for DH's lunch the next day, but sometimes fully half of the meal) and packing it away before anyone comes in for dinner. Of course, this may not work if you have teens who will rummage through the fridge and help themselves later on, but if you designate the food as Strictly Off-Limits On Pain Of Death, maybe you could hold them off?

[Mommyfaithe]

FWIW, we have the same problem. It took me forever to figure out a solution, but I finally started taking the part of the meal I needed for leftovers (usually enough for DH's lunch the next day, but sometimes fully half of the meal) and packing it away before anyone comes in for dinner. Of course, this may not work if you have teens who will rummage through the fridge and help themselves later on, but if you designate the food as Strictly Off-Limits On Pain Of Death, maybe you could hold them off?

 

:D oh yeah! Pain of death may work!

 

I can do big massive prep.....but once it is together in recognizable yummieness, It is done for.

[ILiveInFlipFlops]

recognizable yummieness

 

:lol: I suspected that might be an issue. Mine are still young enough to forage for only easily harvestable snacks.

[Susan in TN]

My meal planning is a bit boring, but it helps keep me sane. I have a kind of "seasonal" meal rotation and occasionally add a new dinner here and there. Here's basically what it looks like (B, L, D):

 

Sunday

B fried eggs, pastry

L (some combination of) bread or pita chips, hummus, veggies, fruit, cheese, summer sausage?

D pizza (usually cheap frozen or Aldi's take and bake if we're splurging :D)

 

Monday

B scrambled eggs, toast

L leftovers from Sunday or sandwiches

D baked chicken, veggies, salad

 

Tuesday

B oatmeal (set in rice cooker the night before on timer)

L Egg sandwiches or hot dogs, fruit

D Chef Salad and bread or Soup and bread

 

Wednesday

B Cheesy eggs, fruit

L Macaroni and Cheese, veggies

D Freezer casserole or Spanish Rice, veggies, salad

 

Thursday

B Yogurt (high protien Greek), berries, granola

L Egg/chicken/Tuna salad w/crackers or bread OR bean burritos, fruit

D Roast beef or cauliflower shepherds pie or ground beef/cabbage dish, salad

 

Friday

B Eggs and biscuits (gluten free)

L Baked sweet potatoes w/ butter and honey, sliced apples

D BBQ sandwiches or over rice OR soft tacos, veggies, salad

 

Saturday

B Blueberry pancakes (gluten free)

L Leftovers or sandwiches, fruit

D Pasta or roast turkey, veggies or take out Chinese (rarely)

 

So that's over the summer. Right now I'm planning for some of our favorite fall/winter dishes to put into the rotation - farmhouse chili, more soups (tomato bisque, cream of broccoli), more pulled pork BBQ, biscuit pot pie. These are freezer meals - I'll choose one or 2 for dinner per week, make a quadruple or so batch and freeze most of it for later.

 

For a while I tried using nifty apps for recipes and meal planning, but I found after a while that too many recipes had to be changed because of ingredients and were often too expensive or complicated to make regularly. I finally found it easier just to use my iPad "Notes" with my basic meal plan (as listed above). I have all the recipes either memorized or in recipe books in the kitchen. Or when I find a new recipe online, I put it into a "Note".

 

One app that I have found to be the most useful is called Errands. It's free, no adds, and works perfectly. I used to use it for menu planning and keep recipes along with the various "errand" meals. Now I primarily use it for grocery lists. One "errand" for each store (Kroger, Aldi, Whole Foods, Sam's Club, etc.), with a general list of all the things I might normally buy at that particular store (use the "notes as list" function) in the order I'd find it in the store. Then when I need something, I'll check it off on my list and it shows up at the bottom with a big red check next to it. When I'm actually shopping, I "uncheck" the item when I put it into my cart and it goes back up into the general list. I now never forget to buy anything on my list - maybe I'm weird that way, but I used to always look through my list a couple times when I thought I'd gotten everything and I'd STILL miss something. Drove me nuts.

 

Wow, that was long. Sorry. :o Hope you (or someone else) finds something useful up there.

Edited August 18, 2012 by Susan in TN

[xixstar]

I have had luck simply working with other people's meal plans. We're not really picky around here and so we are always willing to try something new. My first experience was the book 'Saving Dinner' that gave a meal plan and shopping list. I've purchased menu mailers from that website as well.

 

As my food preferences changed, I did a year or so with cookingtf.com a website on cooking traditional foods. I've considered some other mainstream sites like ezmeals or something or the 5dinners1hour site - but I have enough to work from. It's really just taking the time to do it.

 

When I do it on my own, we do the monday-mexican, tuesday-italian, wednesday-american, etc schedule and it's okay but I get bored. I really like working with new recipes all the time so I like the menu mailer stuff. My family, however, would really like me to just remember our favorite and cook those over and over - but I never follow a recipe exactly and always forget what I did that made a certain meal so amazing. :)

[Audrey]

I'm not a big planner. Meaning if the planning process is too complicated I won't stick to it.

 

So basically what I do is sit down once a week and write out a menu for the week. I take into consideration what I have on hand, what's on sale in the store fliers, something new I want to try, and what my schedule is like day to day. Then from that I make a list of the ingredients I need to buy. I put the menu on the fridge and keep the stack of recipes (if any) I plan to use conveniently located and bookmarked.

 

I also always have a back up meal or two in mind in the event something unexpected comes up or I feel too lazy too cook for whatever reason.

 

This is what I do, for the most part, but...

 

 

I was terrible at getting meals planned until I found Plan to Eat. I've been using it for 2 years now, and I completely swear by it. I can very quickly plan my meals by dragging and dropping things into a calendar. Then, it automatically generates a shopping list which I can then customize. I pull the shopping list up on my phone when I go shopping. You can also print the list off. Those are the main features I use, but the program itself has a TON of other features like cost tracking and nutritional info. Another feature that I like is the ability to save several days worth of menus (however many you like...I save a week at a time, but some people save whole months) to use later.

 

I also think that the ability to plan for once-a-month freezer cooking (cooking in bulk) was added, but I haven't really explored that feature.

 

I would second the above suggestion. Mandy turned me on to Plan to Eat when I was really in a bind schedule-wise and needed something faster and easier (and save-able) than what I had been doing. If you want a quick start on meal planning and a very helpful tool, then this is a what you want.