Janna Posted August 10, 2008 Share Posted August 10, 2008 I just absolutely loathe meal planning. So I don't do it - same feelings and response I have towards ironing, LOL. But then I get myself in trouble with overspending on food. I don't know why it bothers me so much. Anyone else share this feeling? For those who don't mind meal planning, or better yet, have overcome their negative feelings towards it, care to share? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jen500 Posted August 10, 2008 Share Posted August 10, 2008 The part of meal planning I don't like is trying to think of meals that will get the fewest complaints. Sometimes I let the kids come up with meals that they'll eat. Then I just have to add the veggies.;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cricket Posted August 10, 2008 Share Posted August 10, 2008 Yes, I hate it. I used to love it back when I could eat whatever I wanted. Now that my diet is limited I don't like cooking very much. I try new recipes that sound so good to me (but I can't eat) and no one else in the family likes them. It's depressing. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy in Orlando Posted August 10, 2008 Share Posted August 10, 2008 I just absolutely loathe meal planning. So I don't do it - same feelings and response I have towards ironing, LOL. But then I get myself in trouble with overspending on food. I don't know why it bothers me so much. Anyone else share this feeling? For those who don't mind meal planning, or better yet, have overcome their negative feelings towards it, care to share? Me too! I also detest ironing. :lol: For me, though, the thing that works best is to write out what is for dinner everyday at the beginning of each month on my big calendar. I don't always stick to it, but it really helps with shopping and sticking to my budget. I've put my older boys in charge of two dinners each per month and they have to fill in those dates. That's been kind of fun seeing the tables turned on them. I've been doing this for a while. I tend to save my old calendars and use them for reference when I'm making up a new month of meals. I have a couple of things that also help. Tuesday night is always a soup night. The boys' activities go late that evening and soup's the easiest thing to make and feed them as they come and go. Friday night is the night I make spaghetti or something equally inexpensive and that's the night the kids can invite anyone they like for dinner. Saturday night is almost always leftover night. Sunday has become dh's night to cook (he loves to cook) - he usually grills or has a pizza-making session with the kids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdWTMer Posted August 10, 2008 Share Posted August 10, 2008 I just absolutely loathe meal planning. So I don't do it - same feelings and response I have towards ironing, LOL. But then I get myself in trouble with overspending on food. I don't know why it bothers me so much. Anyone else share this feeling? For those who don't mind meal planning, or better yet, have overcome their negative feelings towards it, care to share? Right there with you! My mom had such a gift making her dollars stretch...I missed that gene! She had the meal planning down. Even when times are really hard, I have a really hard time. :svengo: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lwilliams1922 Posted August 10, 2008 Share Posted August 10, 2008 I just absolutely loathe meal planning. So I don't do it - same feelings and response I have towards ironing, LOL. But then I get myself in trouble with overspending on food. I don't know why it bothers me so much. Anyone else share this feeling? For those who don't mind meal planning, or better yet, have overcome their negative feelings towards it, care to share? I've shared this before but you've got to check it out. I wanted to eat healthy but I didn't have the skills or experience to do so. Then I read about a menu mailer on a board somewhere. this has been a great hit in our house. It not only helps me serve healthy food my picky eaters enjoy but it breaks down and does the organization work for me! When I first heard about the site I wasn't convinced but she has a free sample week posted. It's based on Nourishing Traditions/Weston Price info which I did not have a lot of previous knowledge about. I printed it and those 7 pages and it changed the way we eat forever. I am a FORMER processed food junky now. :) here is info from her site and the link to the free sample... The menu mailer covers 6 dinners (including side dishes) and one dessert every week. It contains a full menu, shopping list, a preparation plan, and serving suggestions for each meal. Tips and information are included in every mailer as well. What makes the Cooking Traditional Foods menu mailer unique? A preparation schedule is included with every menu mailer. It reminds you when to thaw the meat, prep the crock-pot, make the stock or soak the grains. Because lack of planning is a major hurdle in getting healthy meals on the table, this schedule helps you make sure everything is done. It also contains blanks so you can write in your own reminders for breakfast, snacks and lunches. Are you new to whole and traditional foods? Have you just gone gluten/dairy-free and don’t know what to eat? Want to fix meals that your kids will actually like and want to eat? Learning how to cook or plan menus and not sure what to do? Need a consolidated plan to save time? Need help with menu planning? Have trouble remembering the advanced preparation required for healthy meals? Want to try something new? Want to be able to chat with other Mailer users and ask the menu author questions? Cooking Traditional Foods can help! See a FREE sample weeekly mailer here: http://www.tfrecipes.com/forum/index.php?referrerid=117 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janna Posted August 10, 2008 Author Share Posted August 10, 2008 Even when times are really hard, I have a really hard time. :svengo: Yes, this is the case with me as well. It's why it's on my mind. Payday was yesterday and I have already spent over half my food allotment - and I have 2 more weeks left. Part of it is what another poster said - eating differently than the rest of the family, part of it is what you said - I missed that "conserve and save" gene too (LOL, but yet not really). But what's really sad is that even *now*, when the food prices are so high, the economy is so unstable...I *still* am not being smart. I just hate the mere thought of meal planning, let alone the actual process. I need to buck up and take it like a man, LOL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plucky Posted August 10, 2008 Share Posted August 10, 2008 Yes... and grocery listing, grocery shopping, putting the stuff away, cooking... the whole thing. I'm not very domestic and meal preparation can be such drudgery for me. :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WTMindy Posted August 10, 2008 Share Posted August 10, 2008 I just absolutely loathe meal planning. So I don't do it - same feelings and response I have towards ironing, LOL. But then I get myself in trouble with overspending on food. I don't know why it bothers me so much. Anyone else share this feeling? For those who don't mind meal planning, or better yet, have overcome their negative feelings towards it, care to share? Ask your dh if he would help you plan the meals. My dh has actually started doing this for me. I really don't mind cooking, but I really don't like planning the meals. Plus, he gets the side benefit of having the meals he likes best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdWTMer Posted August 10, 2008 Share Posted August 10, 2008 Yes, this is the case with me as well. It's why it's on my mind. Payday was yesterday and I have already spent over half my food allotment - and I have 2 more weeks left. Part of it is what another poster said - eating differently than the rest of the family, part of it is what you said - I missed that "conserve and save" gene too (LOL, but yet not really). But what's really sad is that even *now*, when the food prices are so high, the economy is so unstable...I *still* am not being smart. I just hate the mere thought of meal planning, let alone the actual process. I need to buck up and take it like a man, LOL. Oh man, I'm sooooo there with you Janna! Maybe we should keep in touch with each other for the accountability factor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoughCollie Posted August 10, 2008 Share Posted August 10, 2008 Here's how I plan meals. I have a list of vegetables (if it is a plant it goes here, except for fruit & grains), a list of fruits, a list of different kinds of carbohydrates (pasta, noodles, rice, bread, garlic bread, muffins, cornbread, rolls, stuffing/dressing and the like). I group similar (in my mind, anyway) veggies together including how they are fixed: baked sweet potato, baked potato (red), roasted potato, mashed potato. It's easier for me to pluck veggies from the list this way. We eat chicken, some fish, and beef. Underneath each meat type I write the name of a dish I know how to fix. When I'm planning meals, I make a dinner chart with these categories: Protein Protein Starch Starch Vegetable Vegetable Vegetable Dairy Then I consult my food lists and fill in the blanks. The reason I have 2 rows for protein is so my chart won't look messy on the days I cook, for example, both salmon croquettes and chicken stir fry. DH love salmon (the rest of us don't like it) and he won't eat the cabbage in the stir fry. I eat brown rice daily, but the rest of the family doesn't, which is why I have 2 rows of starches. I serve 3 veggies with meals, one of which is always a salad. Dairy is on there just because I like to write the word "milk" 7 times. Some of the main dishes on my dinner list are: spaghetti and meat sauce, salmon croquettes, chicken stir fry, baked chicken, barbequed chicken, pot roast, steak, chili, salisbury steak or meatloaf, pizza, hotdogs or hamburgers, soups and stews, and fish. For breakfast, I list the main dish from these choices: eggs, cereal, French toast, pancakes, muffins/bagels/English muffins. The drink is always orange juice and milk. I serve cereal and pancakes twice a week. I add biscuits or toast to egg day, and bacon to French toast and pancake days, and yogurt to the muffin day, and I'm done. I eat oatmeal, but no one else likes it so it's not on the menu plan. Morning snack is always a piece of fresh fruit. Lunch is a sandwich or macaroni & cheese or pizza or hotdogs or soup & crackers. Salad and carrot sticks. Fruit. Non-dairy drink. Sandwich fillers are peanut butter & jelly, liverwurst, grilled cheese, tuna salad or deli meat. Afternoon snack is fruit and/or something like cheese & crackers, cookies & milk, popcorn, yogurt, pudding, graham crackers, vanilla wafers, ice-cream. I don't plan the snacks, I just make sure I have all this stuff available for the kids to eat. This works for us because this is how my family prefers to eat. If I want to try a new recipe, I put it on the menu plan and grocery list. I don't try new recipes every day. Mostly I stick to what I already know how to cook without a recipe. I always have whatever I need on hand if I want to bake something, and I don't put this stuff on a menu plan, although it is on the master grocery list. I have graham crackers on hand just in case I don't feel like baking cookies, for example. I keep a loaf of store brought bread on hand, just in case I'm not in the mood to make bread. I keep a box of powdered milk in case we run out of milk and I want to make macaroni & cheese. And so forth. I have a master grocery list on which everything is listed that I need for these recipes, categorized by shopping aisle in my grocery store. I print it out, cross off what I don't need, revise the list (without saving it so it doesn't obliterate my master list), and go to the store. If you want it, PM me and I'll figure out how to send you the master grocery list (on which the fruits and vegetables, starches, etc. are already listed). Hope this helps, RC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather in the Kootenays Posted August 10, 2008 Share Posted August 10, 2008 But life is easier when I plan. I try to sit down with a coffee and turn it into a relaxing session. Too often though it just become drudgery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suzanne in ABQ Posted August 10, 2008 Share Posted August 10, 2008 I'm going to print this out, if you don't mind. I have hit a wall with meal planning and cooking, and my family is sick of the "instant" things I've been coming up with. I need to get my act together, and this might help. I used to do something similar to this, but fell out of the habit. Maybe this new format will help. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrothead Posted August 10, 2008 Share Posted August 10, 2008 I don't mind meal planning on a monthly basis. What I don't like is those months i don't do it and have to find ways to eat what we have on hand on a daily basis. "What do you want for breakfast?" "I dunno." "What do you want for lunch?" "I dunnol." "What do you want for dinner?" "I dunno" So it is all left up to me and then I get told that, "I really didn't want this." That mostly disappears when I have a monthly menu. But it is so hard sometimes to sit down at the end of the month and find time to plan a menu. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFSinIL Posted August 10, 2008 Share Posted August 10, 2008 Since my family is so picky, there are only a few items I can have for dinner anyway that at least half the group will eat. Two nights a week I am not home until dinner time due to one kidlet's martial arts. So if I can, I have a roast or other large chunk o' meat a day or so earlier to have leftover meat for burritos, hash, or simply just eating. But what chunk o' meat depends on what I have in the deep freeze to thaw, or see on sale at the store. Otherwise - pasta. Pasta. PASTA. We buy about 40 lbs at a time each month. I am so sick of pasta! We also buy 25lb bags of jasmine rice at the local Oriental store - plain rice is also a very frequent side here. Before coming here to post I got the last of the holiday sale turkeys out of the freezer and set it in a cooler of water to thaw. Tomorrow or the next day I can roast it...and then we are eating turkey for about a week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desert Rat Posted August 10, 2008 Share Posted August 10, 2008 I hate it too. That's why we have the same 10 or so meals that I know the kids will least complain about. Sad but true! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mysticamethyst Posted August 10, 2008 Share Posted August 10, 2008 I have read the post and noticed a common thought behind most of them, that YOU hate menu planning. I suggest this for older children, post a blank menu in the kitchen or discuss it during school time, ask each of them what they would like to eat that week for dinners; even have dh put down a day. Obvisouly this works better if you have more than one child, the more the better, lol. Then make shopping list from that. If your children can cook, have them help cook, and clean-up on for the dinner that they chose. If you are really having hard time www.foodnetwork.com and just seach a meat, I spend as much time there as I do here. I am trying to enjoy cooking and baking again; it helps. There is also www.allreciepes.com that is another fav of mine. This is just what we do, and it works---this month.;) Now, off to do my menu and shopping for the week.:001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Buckin' Longhorn Posted August 10, 2008 Share Posted August 10, 2008 Yes... and grocery listing, grocery shopping, putting the stuff away, cooking... the whole thing. I'm not very domestic and meal preparation can be such drudgery for me. :( :iagree: I SO thought I was the only one. I do meal plan religiously every month of every year of my natural life. But I have to admit, I get absolutely positively NO JOY from it whatsoever. I'm missing a seriously big chunk of the Mom gene. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mekanamom Posted August 10, 2008 Share Posted August 10, 2008 Not only do I hate doing it, but I'm incredibly bad at it. We would end up eating the exact same meals every single week if I didn't feel so guilty. When I just can't bring myself to do the meal planning, which is most of the time, I cheat and use the Saving Dinner meal plans. We usually end up with dinners we enjoy that way. Or, sometimes I do freezer dinners ahead of time... either prepared at home (again, using the Saving Dinner plans) or made at one of those Dream Dinner places. It all depends on how much money I have available to spend on food, and how much time I have on my hands. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest wendykee Posted August 17, 2008 Share Posted August 17, 2008 When I don't have time to do meal planning (which is quite often), I rely on the free website menus4moms.com. They will email you every week with the next week's menu, recipes, and shopping list. I enjoy going to the grocery store knowing what I'm going to buy and trying some new recipes, too. Hope this is helpful! Wendy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peela Posted August 17, 2008 Share Posted August 17, 2008 Rather than meal planning, I have a meal timetable up on the fridge- it was a one off thing i did last holidays to help me get through the term. it just says things like Monday night- mexican- nachos/ enchilados/ tacos/ taco soup. Tuesday Lunch- meat dish with kids. Tuesday Night- Pizza/Pasta. Friday Night- Fish/ potatoes. Basically, i just give myself some memory joggers, so that when I am standing in the kitchen at 5.30pm wondering what's for dinner, I can look at the fridge and get some instant inspiration. Its not rigid though, I give myself permission to cook something different if i want :) Also, I have a shopping list pre-designed by myself on Word which has all the groceries we normally buy or have in the pantry, arranged according to aisles. It took me an hour one day, but its been so worth it. Then i pull out a highlighter and mark off items we are low on, before I go shopping. It helps a lot, and it doesnt mean I need to menu plan, it just means I have a perpetual pantry/ freezer of food we eat regularly. I am no good at regular meal planning, and I always change my mind anyway because my energy levels and enthusiasm for cooking fluctuates so wildly, one night its frozen pizza or cereal and the next it's gourmet food. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starr Posted August 17, 2008 Share Posted August 17, 2008 Yes :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laylamcb Posted August 17, 2008 Share Posted August 17, 2008 I just absolutely loathe meal planning. So I don't do it - same feelings and response I have towards ironing, LOL. But then I get myself in trouble with overspending on food. I don't know why it bothers me so much. Anyone else share this feeling? For those who don't mind meal planning, or better yet, have overcome their negative feelings towards it, care to share? Yes, I hate meal planning, too. So I've made it easy on all of us: We have salad every night! Personally, salad's my favorite food; it's different every time you make it. It has veggies, it has legumes, it has herbs, it has fruits, it has dairy--it can even have meat, for whosoever desireth! What's not to love?! NB: Every woman on this list who routinely prepares a real entree for her family has my permission to print this out for her DH to remind him how good he's got it. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoyfulMama Posted August 17, 2008 Share Posted August 17, 2008 I realized long ago that my week goes smoother if I don't have to think about meals. I loved the idea of meal planning, but not the drudgery - do I have to do it EVERY week? So, I took a short-cut. I wrote down the meals my family likes best. Then I chose from those to make the first week. Next week, I took the same list, and chose a second set of meals. I have three great menus, which I can rotate easily. I also have a leftover night each week (with spaghetti as a standby for any time I need it). And if I make a substitution, then so be it - at least I didn't have to replan the whole week!!! Broke up the task, by not having to do a whole month at a time - besides, I can't always plan that far ahead! Now I'm working on trying to get more meals into the freezer - to accomodate schedule needs for this year. Today I'm slicing up a whole loin of pork (for boneless chops easy to broil or bake). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MicheleB Posted August 17, 2008 Share Posted August 17, 2008 So I hope I'm not repeating what someone else already said. I do hate meal planning and therefore, overspend as well. I finally sat down about a month ago and made a rotating list of about 15-20 meals we all like. Then I made a corresponding master shopping list to go with it. I also added staples to the master list. I write in things that we need, but aren't necessarily a every month thing. Now, this is mainly my supper planning. Unfortunately, I am AWFUL at coming up with things for lunch. I don't know why... We're not big sandwich people. And sometimes, you know, I'm just not hungry for lunch so I don't have a particular interest in planning it. :D I try to shop my "big order" (as my Grandmother used to call it) once a month. I am going to be going soon and I feel SO much more relaxed now that I have a list all planned and all I have to do is print it out on the computer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Once Posted August 17, 2008 Share Posted August 17, 2008 I actually like meanu planning. I have a very simple system. I take an 81/2 by 11 inch page and fold it down the middle making two sides about 4 by 51/2 inches. Top of one is "menu" top of the other is "grocery list". Down the side of menu I put the days of the week. I fill it in with a variety of food (see below) and add the ingredients I need in the grocery section (which can be sectioned off like a grogery store fruit, veg, meat, dairy, freezer, other stuff, and ailse) I ask the kids what they want to eat that week, they give me an answer and slot it in. I sometimes put extra activites in like soccer so I know a meal has to be easy to make and clean up. I *always* put on pay day so I know if we can go out for supper. ;) I then fill in the rest....spacing apart beef, fish, chicken and vegetarian meals so we do not get sick of a main dish item. When I'm feeling smart :) I space out the rice, potatoes and bread too. Always add the ingradients you do not have and try to think of recipes that you have the ingredients to. I am consistantly suprised at how short our shopping list is and then I can fill it in with extra friut and veggies that I know my kids will eat and add sale items to my cart and think of things to do with them the next week. Sometimes I substitue on the go because I have my menu and my list to shop with. I put the list on my fridge and look at it each night to thaw meat for the next day. Maybe this will help. For the record, I have Saving Dinner and it is great!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweetbaby Posted August 17, 2008 Share Posted August 17, 2008 You loathe mealplanning! Why that's just blasphemy! Oh the horror! I'm covering my eyes. I won't read anymore. Oh, my eyes! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laure Posted August 17, 2008 Share Posted August 17, 2008 That's my plan and has been for the last year or so. I don't like to meal plan because of complaints and because of a child with food allergies who, I'm sorry to admit, made cooking much less enjoyable. But it's not her fault and she doesn't know I feel that way. Here's what came to mind to try a year or so ago--ask the children to each come up with a list of meals they like and write each child's list under their name on a piece of paper that we have kept and occasionally added a new meal on their list. Then, (Here's the great part) we printed a calendar off the computer and assigned each child a night to cook every week. We have four children but only three do the cooking (my 4 yo isn't cooking!). They each cook two nights a week and I cook only on Sunday! My kids are 12 ds, 10 dd, 8 dd, and 4 dd. My 10 yo loves to cook and does so most of the time with VERY minimal from me. The 12 yo also does most of it himself, although he'll try anything to get his 10 yo sister to cook for him (she frequently does, if I don't catch it). I do help the 8 yo quite a bit. My point is to help them learn meal recipes, learn safe food handling practices, and to take over this job I don't enjoy. It is working beautifully. We make a calendar and then the grocery list. It does take some time but it's worth it for us. Laure Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doran Posted August 17, 2008 Share Posted August 17, 2008 About the farthest ahead I ever manage to think is one day. A day ahead, I might pull a hunk of meat out of the freezer to let it thaw, or I might soak some beans, but I just don't think that far out in terms of our meals. This is why I (a) am often posting here for last minute recipes, (b) am often found at 5:00 pm with no idea what we'll eat for supper (as is the case right now), © often get dinner on the table later than I'd like and (d) often end up serving what-have-you of refrigerator. The good news is, I'm pretty good at making something tasty out of what-have-you, and my family generally likes what we end up with. One justification for my lack of pre-planning is that our meals often center around whatever we find fresh that week at market. The vegetables are, quite often, the featured items. I might mix up a ground meat and rice medley to add some protein, or a sausage fry, because those things thaw quickly, kwim? Larger cuts of meat, roast chickens, etc. are the things I manage to plan out a day or so in advance. Another justification for my style is that I keep a chest freezer full of a variety of meats purchased in bulk or from a co-op or farmer. I always know there's something in there, so I'm not planning a shopping excursion around what we eat. Does that make sense? I realize this is no help to you. Just commiserating and maybe hinting a bit that planning doesn't have to be the only way to manage a life of happy eating. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenschooler Posted August 17, 2008 Share Posted August 17, 2008 I'm just horrible at it. I've tried and failed many times to have a rotating menu, and it just gets to be the same old, same old. Part of my problem is that I have to make such a small amount, as my girls don't really eat food. Unexpected leftovers are a problem in meal-planning. I like the idea of salad every night! Unfortunately, I'm the only one. I'm going to have to reread this later and take notes. Rough Collie - wow. Just wow. That is beyond awesome. I'll bet your kids never wander around at 7 pm, starving. I'm definitely missing a big chunk of the mommy gene. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoughCollie Posted August 17, 2008 Share Posted August 17, 2008 I've only been doing this for a short time, starting when the guilt of having starving children or dinner at 9 p.m. got to me. I admit to feeling virtuous about this every week, and I hope that lasts because it's a new feeling! :D RC Rough Collie - wow. Just wow. That is beyond awesome. I'll bet your kids never wander around at 7 pm, starving. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linders Posted August 17, 2008 Share Posted August 17, 2008 I've tried planning out each day 1-2 weeks in advance. The problem is that half the days, I am the one who doesn't really want what was planned for that night. Some days I really just want a big tasty ceasar salad, others I want pasta, others I want something spciy like Thai-something. And I really don't know until afternoon. Guess that's the problem with having 15 years of single adulthood prior to marriage/kids, where I could plan dinner at 5 pm. Obviously, I spoiled myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom-ninja. Posted August 17, 2008 Share Posted August 17, 2008 I don't have tome to read the whole thread right now so I don't know if anyone has mentioned my all time fave book. "Saving Dinner" This book does all the planning for you....including grocery lists. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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