Spin off of meal plan……empty nesters

[Scarlett]

Ds22 has been out since mid May.  I am still trying to figure out how to buy groceries and plan meals.  My fridge has way too many leftovers and some of it needs to be thrown out even though we eat leftovers often.  
 

In addition Dh and I both need to eat healthier.  Mediterranean/plant based high fiber sort of thing.  
 

And in conflict with that we have beef in the freezer…..so any ideas for meal planning in this new phase of our life?

[regentrude]

I don't "meal plan". I keep a pantry stocked with staples (flour, grains, pasta, a few canned goods, plant milk), and cheese, eggs and yogurt in the fridge, and I buy whatever fresh vegetables and fruits are in season and look appealing.
I cook each day from scratch,  from the ingredients I have on hand. If there are leftovers, they get incorporated into the next meal, or at the very latest, the day after that. I just have to be intentional about that and not push the leftovers to the back of the fridge. It's easy. We have no food waste.

Edited July 29, 2023 by regentrude

[KatieJ]

It can be a challenging transition!

Thankfully my husband will eat any and all leftovers. I try to cook meals several times a week and then we have “planned” over meals the rest of the week. I freeze lots of things (like soup)  that really make more than a meal or two. I use a dry erase marker to write on lids.

When I make something like meatloaf, I make some of it into meatballs, which then becomes a different kind of meal.

We eat many salad meals…leftover grilled chicken or steak will be salad later in the week.

I frequently make an egg bake using up fridge stuff like, peppers, onions, sausage, ham, etc.We can warm that quickly for breakfast or make it supper with fruit or a salad. 
 

I make individual pizzas using low carb tortillas and leftovers again. Meat, peppers, etc. 

 

Beef in the freezer.. Make a roast then it becomes stew (using veggies you have cooked with the roast) or hash later in the week. Stew freezes nicely. 
 

Italian beef in the crockpot is another easy meal for roasts…freeze the leftovers for later.

 

we really try to shop less, and check fridge often ..
 

 

 

Edited July 29, 2023 by KatieJ

[regentrude]

I often plan "leftovers" intentionally. I cook a box of pasta and save the half we don't eat for a pasta salad the next day. Or I cook extra potatoes, and those find a life in a frittata the next day. Or extra rice or grains to use in a salad later.

[KatieJ]

2 minutes ago, regentrude said:

I often plan "leftovers" intentionally. I cook a box of pasta and save the half we don't eat for a pasta salad the next day. Or I cook extra potatoes, and those find a life in a frittata the next day. Or extra rice or grains to use in a salad later.

Exactly this.

[Ali in OR]

We don't have a complete plan but we do have a few habits.

Saturday nights we do meatless bowls/salads with roasted spicy sweet potatoes, black beans, tomato-avocado pico de gallo, tortilla chips, and then either lettuce (for a salad), quinoa or rice (for a bowl). Leftovers of any ingredient become part of a lunch for dh.

Tuesday evenings I go see dd at her foster care home then stop at a Mexican place and get some tostadas or street tacos to go.

Fridays are homemade pizza night, often grilled on the Weber grill in summer. These are meatless and not overly cheesy, usually with mushrooms but also tomato/basil in summer.

That leaves Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays to wonder what's for dinner. Sundays are often a more time-consuming meal and leftovers would be great to incorporate into Monday's dinner. During the school year the M,W,Th meals can be something very quick and not great--scrambled eggs, chicken caesar salad if I have grilled chicken in the freezer, ravioli from fridge or freezer with jarred pasta sauce, etc.

[Grace Hopper]

When I cook a favorite dish, I don’t scale it back. I make the same amount as I did when all the kids were home. I did invest in some nice meal prep containers, so often I do portion out a good half of the batch and those individual serving sizes go to some family elders, or to the freezer. DH and I are quite content with leftovers, that helps. My sister’s husband won’t eat leftovers, but she loves to cook and share with her adults kids and neighbors, so they are a good pair. 
 

I don’t often make those big recipes anymore, though. We try to eat simple meals of near single-ingredient items. A protein, vegetables steamed or roasted, maybe some rice or potatoes. Sometimes all tossed in a green salad or bowl with quinoa. At the end of the week any leftovers can be diced and made into soup; fruits frozen for smoothies. 
 

But yes, OP, I agree with you that it’s an adjustment! I would also like to eat more Mediterranean diet style. I think our local culinary center teaches a class on it, now I’m off to look. 

[Indigo Blue]

For that it can’t be any easier than keeping tons of dried beans, red rice, quinoa, carrots, and sweet potatoes on hand. Buy fresh or frozen greens. Mix and match and add in any other vegetable you like. Lot of fresh fruits. Kiwis and dates keep fresh in the refrigerator for a couple months. 
 

Eat lots of oats. I sweeten mine with one date and top with chopped pecans. 

[Corraleno]

For me the key is to have a repertoire of dishes that use the same basic set of ingredients so my weekly shopping list is pretty much the same, with the addition of whatever fresh fruit is in season plus a couple of different veg. So some of the ingredients that I always have on hand include tomatoes, red (or tricolor) peppers, cucumbers, green onions, mushrooms, zucchini, "power greens" (mix of baby kale, chard, spinach), broccoli slaw and/or shredded cabbage, yellow potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, onions, bananas, apples, and tofu. In my pantry I always have quinoa, several kinds of rice, rolled & steel cut oats, whole grain pasta (I like Trader Joe's brown rice & quinoa pasta), assorted types of flour + whole wheat berries, 3-4 kinds of canned beans, canned tomatoes, canned coconut milk/cream, boxed veggie broth and plant milk, dried fruit (especially dates), nuts, and seeds (chia, flax, hemp, pumpkin). In the freezer I always have frozen fruit (usually mangoes, blueberries, and strawberries), frozen garlic & ginger, some frozen veg, and usually some frozen leftovers like soup or chili in single serve portions. I also have a really well-stocked spice cabinet. When I go grocery shopping, I top up whatever staples are low plus add some fresh fruit, 1-2 additional leafy greens (could be romaine and bok choi one week, lacinato kale and a bag of spring mix the next), broccoli and/or cauliflower, and anything else that looks interesting that week.

Nearly all of those veg can go in a wide variety of meals, including breakfast scrambles, salads, stir-fries, curries, pastas, soups, and grain bowls, plus power greens also go in smoothies. I eat cucumbers in a salad almost every day, but they can also be used for raita to have with curry or tzatziki to eat with falafel and pita and humus. I will often roast a whole bunch of vegetables like gold potatoes, sweet potatoes, cauliflower, carrots, and onions, and have them in a grain bowl with garlicky greens and sticky tofu one day, then the next day the leftover veg goes into a curry with chickpeas, tomatoes, and coconut milk, to be served with the leftover brown rice. Or the leftover gold potatoes and onions can go into a frittata with sautéed peppers and zucchini for breakfast and the leftover roasted cauliflower, carrots, and sweet potatoes can go into a salad with kale, chopped apples, toasted pecans, and a maple-tahini dressing. Or the cauliflower, carrots, and gold potatoes go into a soup and the onions and sweet potatoes go into burritos with the leftover rice, canned black beans, and cheese. The key is to think in terms of "modular meals" where you can mix and match different ingredients depending on what you have, and can reuse leftovers in different ways.

Small portions of leftovers can be incorporated into other meals. For example, if you have a stir fry for dinner but don't have enough leftovers for another full meal, instead of putting it in a container at the back of the fridge where it gets moldy, chop up the leftover veg, dice or grate any stragglers in the vegetable bin, add a couple of eggs or cubed tofu and make fried rice for lunch. A small portion of leftover chili can be mixed with rice or potatoes or even scrambled eggs for burritos, and even a very small amount can go into quesadillas to eat for lunch with a salad.

Today I had overnight oats for breakfast with chia seeds, vanilla soy milk, half a banana, fresh berries, and chopped pecans. For lunch I'm having my usual salad with mixed greens, shredded cabbage, broccoli microgreens, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, green onions, chickpeas, hemp seeds, pumpkin seeds, and nutritional yeast, with balsamic dressing. Dinner will be quinoa & brown rice pasta with mushrooms, zucchini, peppers, asparagus, and cannellini beans, in a pesto sauce. Any leftover pasta can go into a salad tomorrow with cherry tomatoes and marinated artichoke hearts served with romaine lettuce.

[Bootsie]

There are some things that I enjoy cooking that I just can't manage to make in small quantities.  Many of those, like gumbo, freeze well.  I try to make sure that I am only cooking one "large quantity" food at a time; in other words, I don't make gumbo, a brisket, and tortilla soup in the same week.  If I know that I am going to be cooking a meal which will create a lot of leftovers, I plan on ways to use some of those leftovers and I plan on filling in the week's meals with items that do not perish quickly or that do not generate more leftovers.  I place some leftovers in individual containers, ready to  grab to take for an at-work lunch.  

And, when we have too many leftovers in the freezer, I send them home with DS.  

[popmom]

Meatballs freeze well. Today I pulled out a few just for me. Swedish style. 🙂 I sautéed onions and set aside. Then I poured some chicken broth, some whipping cream, dried rosemary, tsp of Dijon, sprinkle of Worcestershire, pat of butter, salt and pepper in a skillet…heated and stirred over medium until slightly thickened. Tossed the frozen meatballs in at some point to heat up. Stirred in the onions. I had leftover pasta in the fridge, but I decided it would be filling enough on it’s own. Super easy and yummy lunch. It sounds like a lot to do, but it took less than 20 minutes total. 
 

The other day I used the meatballs for something a bit more Mediterranean. I had picked some green beans and tomatoes in my garden. I sautéed the beans with onion and chopped celery in EVOO. Tossed in fresh basil and diced fresh tomatoes at the end. Served over pasta. Also less than 20 minutes total. 
 

I like to keep some onions and peppers prepped in ziplock bags to make things go faster. I rarely buy spinach because it goes bad before I can use it all. I think that is one key to empty nest cooking is choosing produce that keeps awhile since you’ll be using smaller portions. I have found my veggies that I don’t mind frozen or canned and keep a stock of those. 
 

I’ve been on a coleslaw kick lately. It keeps for  a good while in the fridge. I love and keep a head of cabbage at all times because it’s so nutritious and versatile. And it keeps a LONG time in the fridge.  I shred it in my ancient Cuisinart. Or just cut it up in chunks to roast or sauté. 
 

Turnip root also keeps a long time and is a good sub for potatoes in stews and stuff with less calories/carbs. 

 

[Laura Corin]

3 hours ago, regentrude said:

I don't "meal plan". I keep a pantry stocked with staples (flour, grains, pasta, a few canned goods, plant milk), and cheese, eggs and yogurt in the fridge, and I buy whatever fresh vegetables and fruits are in season and look appealing.
I cook each day from scratch,  from the ingredients I have on hand. If there are leftovers, they get incorporated into the next meal, or at the very latest, the day after that. I just have to be intentional about that and not push the leftovers to the back of the fridge. It's easy. We have no food waste.

This sounds like us. The fixed points in our week are milk deliveries on Tuesday and Friday, fish vans from the coast twenty minutes away that stop in our street also on Tuesday and Friday, and organic veg box delivery on Wednesday. There is a butcher across the street that Husband sometimes goes to.  So we eat fresh fish twice a week,  use our fresh veggies through the week, and work with what we have rather than planning meals and then buying food. I make yoghurt on Friday and Kombucha at weekends. We cook from scratch. 

Tonight we had

sauteed turnip greens with onion,

potato salad,

plus mint/chive/walnut oil/ lime salad of young turnips, garbanzo beans and cucumber. 

We both eat leftovers for lunch, including packing them for when I go to the office. We have a shared electronic shopping list for replacement of staples.

Edited July 29, 2023 by Laura Corin

[Lynn in al]

It is a challenge.  My middle son use to work a few minutes from our house so I would bring him left overs for lunch, he has since changed jobs and I end up throwing away left overs so much waste.  I try to plan ahead for lunches but sometimes we just change our mind.

[Bambam]

We are adjusting again too after having one child home for the summer.  I'm handicapped by the fact my DH really doesn't like leftovers typically. 

We don't regularly eat beef except roast. I make roast/potatoes/carrots/green beans one night - trying to just have enough veggies for one night. I freeze the leftover roast beef in freezer baggies - to become either barbecue, hash (using leftover potatoes from another meal), roast quesadillas, roast nachos, etc. 

Usually I make chicken - grilled or oven baked - often Mediterranean inspired recipes. We will have that one night with pita bread, veggies, tzatziki sauce, etc. The leftover chicken is frozen - again to show up on a salad or a bowl (farro, cucumber, spinach, tomatoes, feta, olives, etc).  Chicken Shawarma, chicken souvlaki are my main favorites. 

Friday is usually pizza night here - sometimes homemade, sometimes pick up, sometimes Mediterranean (pita, olive oil, red wine vinegar, spinach, tomatoes, olives, feta cheese, DH wants protein on his). 

Saturday night is always Breakfast as dinner - bacon, biscuits, eggs, smoothie. We used to do turkey bacon as it was healthier, but it isn't as tasty as regular bacon, so we've switched back and just one night a week, it doesn't feel too awful. 

Sundays we pick up something on the way home from church from a to-go place. Often it is enough for supper too. 

For bigger meals, I make my usual amount, freeze some or take to others who can use a semi-healthy meal. 

I do try to keep track of what leftovers I have frozen as most of those can be turned into a quick meal without too much prep work - thus saving us from going to pick something up. 

We went out to eat lunch together today in a real restaurant. We haven't done that in ages (pre-COVID) and that felt really luxurious. 

[kathyl]

It took me a long time to come to the conclusion that I'm basically cooking for myself.  And sometimes I think I have a handle on it, and then one of our kids will come to visit and everything goes to pot.  

Currently, it's just me, dh, and middle ds who's living with us for now.  We all 3 eat very differently.  So what I've been doing is letting everyone fix their own foods.  I fix what I like and make sure I have enough for a few days for myself, or, if they want to eat some, it's enough for them.  Today I made a pot of Tunisian Stew.  I also zapped some frozen brussel sprouts in the microwave. 

Dh wants meat a lot and seafood is about the only meat I can really cook OK, but I don't cook it much.  So he cooks his own or grills whatever he wants because he prefers beef and pork.

Ds eats weird stuff.  He runs a couple times a day and drinks a lot of weird juices (cucumber juice??  🙄 ).  So he shops for his own ingredients and cooks his own food, too.  

I keep burrito ingredients on hand.  Tortillas, refried beans, salsa, avocados, etc.  I eat a lot of those.  They eat it sometimes.

As you can see it's kind of a mess. 

Good luck with your cooking. 

[Ellie]

I've been an empty nester for over 20 years, and I'm still tryina figure it out.

Mr. Ellie is not retired; he's eligible, but he was offered a position with such a good salary that he couldn't turn it down (because, you know, our Social Security payments are based on his last two (?) years of income, so  this will help). He doesn't always arrive home at the same time, and it's hard to figure out what to eat that I can begin cooking when he walks in the front door such that we can eat before 6 p.m. So I try to "plan" meals with only just as much as I know we'll eat with no leftovers, that can be ready in an hour, but my week is never the same, and that totally weirds me out. Even as I type this out, my method/reasoning seems lame, lol. I have cookbooks for two people and everything. ::heavy sigh::

[Scarlett]

9 hours ago, Ellie said:

I've been an empty nester for over 20 years, and I'm still tryina figure it out.

Mr. Ellie is not retired; he's eligible, but he was offered a position with such a good salary that he couldn't turn it down (because, you know, our Social Security payments are based on his last two (?) years of income, so  this will help). He doesn't always arrive home at the same time, and it's hard to figure out what to eat that I can begin cooking when he walks in the front door such that we can eat before 6 p.m. So I try to "plan" meals with only just as much as I know we'll eat with no leftovers, that can be ready in an hour, but my week is never the same, and that totally weirds me out. Even as I type this out, my method/reasoning seems lame, lol. I have cookbooks for two people and everything. ::heavy sigh::

My Dh also never gets home at the same time.  He works 45 min from home so I have that much time at least.  It is annoying because I do like structure….but it is what it is. 

[livetoread]

Both my kids started cooking for themselves when they were teens since they generally liked different things and ate at weird times. I've always cooked extra and incorporated leftovers so when the kids left it wasn't much different. The kids still cycle through when they are around, but either eat with us or don't, no biggie. I enjoy cooking and eating, and dh is pretty flexible, so I meal plan and cook what appeals to me. 

Since Jan, dh and I have moved to an almost total plant-based, less processed diet at home. We were vegetarian before, but it's still a pretty big shift in cooking, and I've enjoyed learning lots of new dishes and ways of cooking. I generally meal plan for the week based on what sounds good to me and what I need to use up. The only regular schedule I follow is soup on Friday night, and lately I've been doing Taco Tuesday about half of the time. Otherwise I look at websites and my cookbooks, plus I keep a notebook of tried and true recipes I turn to in a pinch. I am generally making new things at least half the time though. We have little food waste because I eat leftovers for breakfast and lunch and dh eats them for lunch. If any are left, we have them for dinner, too. I get bored with the same thing easily, so I'm motivated to try new recipes.

[City Mouse]

Most of the time I am cooking for only 1 or two people. I grew up in a large family, so I learned to cook large amounts. It has taken me many, many years to get used to cooking in smaller amounts. I look online for recipes for 1-2 servings. Here is a favorite site https://onedishkitchen.com/, and I have a few Cooking for 2 cookbooks.

I have the most trouble with downsizing soups since I don’t use recipes, but I will just freeze the extra in multiple small containers. Desserts are also hard unless I find a small size recipe. If there is extra dessert, I will eat it.

I also go back and forth with mail order meal kits. I am currently using Hungryroot which seems to be the best fit for me of all the ones have tried so far.

I came back to add that when I want to purchase items in smaller quantities, I like to shop at Dollar Tree. One example- I like the boxed Suddenly Salad pasta salad mixes, but the standard grocery store size box is too much for us for just one meal. Dollar Tree carries the same mix but in a smaller size package which is perfect.  Some Dollar Tree stores have refrigerated and frozen foods than are in smaller portions that what I can get at the grocery store. (But watch out the for “fake” cheese)

Edited July 30, 2023 by City Mouse

[Jaybee]

I'm still working on it. Technically, our youngest two still live with us, but one is in and out so much that I don't try to cook for him unless I know for certain he will be here, and it is a rare occasion that I know. He might find leftovers in the fridge or might cook something for himself. But I figure if he can't let me know whether he will be here or not, then I'm not going to worry about it. The other one tends to eat with us most of the time, so I try to at least allow for three. But it has been hard for me to lower quantity, especially because for years I have cooked with the mindset that "it is just as easy to double it as to cook one recipe" which isn't always true, but often. I am getting better at going ahead and freezing extra servings, which are always nice to find later. And I am trying to get better at making smaller amounts of those things that can't be frozen. I'm a work in progress.

One thing I struggle with is letting fresh vegetables spoil. I buy them with good intentions, but then our schedule gets disrupted, or they don't stay good as long as they should so I pull them out to use and yuck, or whatever. I hate that waste. I now tend to buy more frozen ones that can be used when we actually need them, but it makes salads not happen as often.

[mmasc]

I think sheet pan dinners are easily adapted for 2 people. For example, 2 chicken breasts, then your veggies (maybe green beans and cherry tomatoes, or asparagus and sweet potato chunks, or broccoli and potatoes, or whatever.) Season to your liking, or pour a marinade/sauce on. Bake. 
 

For the beef, just make one cut of something and pair it with healthy veggie sides. Example—roast, after slow cooking, you could shred it and mix with BBQ sauce, then serve on top of a large shredded cabbage salad. I do this with chicken breast, and actually prefer it cold. 

Steak—only make one, then slice/shred, serve over baked potato, with a homemade chimichurri sauce. That sauce is seriously delicious with steak and potatoes!

IOW, make the meat the small portion of the meal. 

[Scarlett]

You guys are great. Lots of great ideas. 

[KungFuPanda]

Dh and I have been on a kabob kick lately. He has a small hibachi grill and we make 3 or 4 kabobs. That’s enough meat and veg for dinner with a little left over. (I have the foot long metal skewers) I make a starchy side to go with them. 
 

When my parents came up on Friday we made kabobs and had them over cous cous with some hummus and tsaziki sauce. It’s just easy to scale up or down. 

[SHP]

On 7/29/2023 at 11:07 AM, regentrude said:

I don't "meal plan". I keep a pantry stocked with staples (flour, grains, pasta, a few canned goods, plant milk), and cheese, eggs and yogurt in the fridge, and I buy whatever fresh vegetables and fruits are in season and look appealing.
I cook each day from scratch,  from the ingredients I have on hand. If there are leftovers, they get incorporated into the next meal, or at the very latest, the day after that. I just have to be intentional about that and not push the leftovers to the back of the fridge. It's easy. We have no food waste.

This is what we have always done. The only thing we do differently is intentionally freeze some leftovers to make meals for the future. One example if my husband makes potpie or quiche he makes an extra and once cool cuts into individual portions and freezes, another, if I am cooking food that would be good as a burrito filling I make extra and once cool I make burritos that I freeze. We do this more in winter months.

In the heat of summer meals are simple, fresh fruit and veggies with lean protein. 

[wintermom]

On 7/29/2023 at 10:11 PM, kathyl said:

It took me a long time to come to the conclusion that I'm basically cooking for myself.  And sometimes I think I have a handle on it, and then one of our kids will come to visit and everything goes to pot.  

Currently, it's just me, dh, and middle ds who's living with us for now.  We all 3 eat very differently.  So what I've been doing is letting everyone fix their own foods.  I fix what I like and make sure I have enough for a few days for myself, or, if they want to eat some, it's enough for them.  Today I made a pot of Tunisian Stew.  I also zapped some frozen brussel sprouts in the microwave. 

Dh wants meat a lot and seafood is about the only meat I can really cook OK, but I don't cook it much.  So he cooks his own or grills whatever he wants because he prefers beef and pork.

Ds eats weird stuff.  He runs a couple times a day and drinks a lot of weird juices (cucumber juice??  🙄 ).  So he shops for his own ingredients and cooks his own food, too.  

I keep burrito ingredients on hand.  Tortillas, refried beans, salsa, avocados, etc.  I eat a lot of those.  They eat it sometimes.

As you can see it's kind of a mess. 

Good luck with your cooking. 

This is very much how things roll in our house now. Dh was making dinners for everyone (i.e., me and whichever dc was around), and there was so much waste. Now he just makes the perfect amount for himself. I do the same for my food, as it's usually very different than anyone else. Once in a while we'll do a combined effort with a BBQ. I kind of enjoy the freedom of not being tied to a meal I may not feel like eating. And I never really enjoyed cooking at the best of times. 😉