Weekly meal planners... Question...

[DMickey28]

How do you plan a meal for the week? How do you stick to it? Does it really help you? Does it help save money? Does it help with time management?

Any tips on getting started? Thanks!

 

[Miss Jasmine]

The day that I go grocery shopping DH and I sit down and decide on our meals for the week. He does most of the cooking during the week since he gets home from work earlier than I do (he also goes in earlier than I do). We stick to it because that is plan. Yes, it helps to have things planned. We never have to guess what we are having for dinner. I would say it helps with money because it keeps us from getting take-out or eating out. And yes it helps with time management because you have everything on hand and you aren't wondering what you are going to cook and eat.

I say dive in and just get started.

 

[mtemm]

when I plan our meals for the week it makes big difference. doesn't mean I always do it, though. lol. I do it one of 2 ways...either looking at circulars and seeing what's on sale and planning meals around that, or I figure out what meals sound good and shop from there.

It really does help cut down on the number of visits to the store, and the number of visits to the take-out restaurant. definitely a time and money saver. but again, I don't always stick to it. more in the fall and winter, probably, when I actually feel like cooking.

 

[Jenn Lynn]

I have recently started doing menus. I use the planning sheets from organizedhome.com. I find that when I write them down on the sheet, in the actual day, and hang it on my fridge, then I make what I am supposed to. I remember to thaw out the meat, stop at the store for any fresh produce I might need, etc.

I have also learned to plan for leftovers. It helps to look at your calender and see what are your busy nights (need something quick or leftovers) and what nights you can spend a little more time on a meal. I use the calendar from yahoo.com to keep my families activites organized. I also have it as my home page so I look am always looking at it when I sign on to the computer. I also like to do crockpot type meals on the weekends. It's nice to throw in some chili in the morning, do errands, soccer games, etc. and come home to it ready to eat.

Good luck!

 

[texasthree]

I plan a menu then write my grocery list around it. I saves time and money since I am not stopping at the store everyday for dinner items and we dont eat out as much. I also try and plan meals around my husbands schedule so he can have left overs for days he's working long or need to take a lunch. I also wash lettuce and cut veggies for salad on sunday nights so its ready for the week. I try and plan my meals around the grocery ads since we have HEB and they have meal deals. Most weeks If I buy whatever they have on sale you get all the items to finish the meal for free. i.e. last week I bought preseasoned fajita meat and I got shredded cheese, sour cream, chips, salsa and torillas for free. I also bought spagetti sauce and got the noodles and croutons for free.

 

[Annette_VA]

We just started doing this about a month or so ago. It is a *huge* help!

We were always doing the "what do you want for dinner?" tango and most of the time we couldn't decide anything and ended up just going out. We wasted SO much money eating out.

Now, we sit down and plan out what we want to eat for the week and tie it in w/ what we have going on during the week. Like today, DS5 has soccer practice from 5-6. I dont' want to just be starting making dinner at 6:15-6:30, so today is a crock pot meal day. When we get home from practice, dinner will already be ready. I also plan stuff that cooks in the oven for about an hour on Tae Kwon Do nights. Before we leave for TKD, I put dinner in the oven & when we get back, dinner's done!

I make my grocery list according to the menu, so I don't waste as much food as I used to. I used to buy stuff thinking "maybe we'll have this one day this week" and it would end up one of us wasn't in the mood for it & the food would go to waste. Now, we plan our menu & stick to it!

 

[DMickey28]

Thanks for the replys! I need to do this.

Can you post any menu's that you have or rough ideas? Thanks!

 

[goodeats]

It definitely helps us. I buy less at the grocery store because I have a list of what we need. It also definitely stops us from going out to eat or ordering take-out. We still do occasionally, but not as much as before. And it's more of a treat then, which is nice. Also planning meals is good to see the week as a whole - which nights are we going to be busy (leftovers), which nights is DH out of town on business (lean cuisine!), etc.

Usually we stock up on chicken, fish, and steaks at Costco. I freeze them and then defrost them in the fridge the night before.

A typical week:

Sunday - Lasagna or some sort of other 'pan' meal, salad
Monday - Salmon, salad, broccoli, brown rice
Tuesday - Leftover Lasagna
Wednesday - Apricot chicken, mashed sweet potatos, green beans
Thursday - Homemade pizza or tacos
Friday - Grilled steak, salad, on-sale veggie,
Saturday - Out or take in

Then on Sunday I make my list, taking into account what I have on hand and how many days DH plans to bring lunch that week. I usually bring leftovers for my lunches.

ETA - Since I always put the list on the fridge on Sunday you would think it would stop the "what's the plan for dinner questions?" Sadly it does not. I hate that question more than anything!

 

[Jenn Lynn]

My menus run Sunday to Saturday.

Here is this weeks:
Sunday-Meatloaf, baked potato, corn
Monday-Leftovers
Tuesday-Tomato, Basil, and Broccoli Chicken (with rice)
Wednesday-Mexican Casserole
Thursday-Leftovers
Friday-Super Speedy Chicken on Angel Hair Pasta
Saturday-Runzas

Here is a link to the Organized Home printable meal planner pages.
http://www.organizedhome.com/printable/showgallery.php/cat/506

 

[disykat]

I make a "list of meals I have ingredients for" rather than a menu. I keep the list on the fridge and then I glance at it and choose as I go along.

Every time I go to the store, I ask the family for suggested meals, think about what I need to use up in the freezer, what's on sale, if we have company or special events coming, etc. and plan my list of meals. I try to mix it up with some easy meals, slow cooker meals, and meals that take more prep for when I have more time.

I don't want to commit myself to a menu, but the list of meals works well for me.

 

[DMickey28]

I like the list of meals idea. Same as making a menu plan but being able to switch up the days ifyou want right? Thought that lenency might lead to us going out to eat when we don't feel like ANYTHING on the list, as opposed to we are having X tonight for dinner... TOUGH!!

 

[grlpwrd]

I use the Saving Dinner cookbooks and their meal plans by subscription at www.savingdinner.com .

I also cook a lot with the crockpot and lots of Asian foods. Twice a week I use a Saving Dinner recipe, twice a week it's a crockpot meal, and the rest is Asian or vegetarian meals or recipes from Taste of Home.

 

[Nevergrow'nup]

I also plan my meals for 2 weeks as my DH gets paid biweekly. I also stock what I call, "just in case meals" like hotpockets, frozen pizza, chicken fingers, etc. That way if something throws off the evening, I have a quick meal instead.

I try to plan one italian meal (spagetti, veal parm, lasagna, etc), One hamburg meal (taco's burgers, meatloaf), one chicken meal, (alfredo, teriyaki, stirfry), one big meal (baked chicken, roast), one quick meal and one leftovers or breakfast for dinner. I alternate thru the month and co-ordinate with our schedule.

I hate trying to decide what to cook everyday and would much prefer to look and see what to cook than to decide all the time.

 

[hydster]

We do this and it has helped tremendously!!! DH and I figure out what to fix during the week *let the kids help too* and then we go to the store on Sat morning. We spend pretty much all morning Saturday making everything we can ahead of time and then we freeze it. We just unthaw and cook when we get back from the gym. We've also started going to My Girlfriends Kitchen every month. We can put together 24 meals in less than an hour if we both go and they are always home cooked and healthy and easy.

When we cook our own we do a pasta either with cream sauce or red sauce, a chicken, tacos or sloppy joes, bbq burgers and some kind of enchilada either beef or chicken that we slow cook in the crock pot. It has really helped us and we've actually LOST weight since doing it since we eat a lot less take out food.

 

[LindsayDunn228]

I sit down usually the day before shopping and decide what I am making for dinner the following help (husband usually gives me some ideas too). Then I make my grocery list from there. It saves a TON of time and I don't have to scratch my head each day wondering what I am going to make that night for dinner.

Then again, it's just my husband and I so that probably makes it easier.

 

[DMickey28]

Thanks! It's just hubby and me now, as well. I started making a list of all the meals that we eat on a semi-regular basis. I am going to go through the pantry and organize it on saturday and then make my list for the week!!

I am trying to learn to budget better for the baby. That way I have an even better shot of being able to stay home longer with him/her.

 

[Swimnoid]

I decide what I'd like to eat for the week and take any requests from DH or DD if she's home then make a list and shop. IT really helps cut back on eating out. Sometimes I get home and I'm just too tired to cook so I can either rearrange what I had on the schedule or make somethin like ravioli from the freezer. Sometimes we plan for just sandwiches for dinner, like ruebens. Our leftovers are usually used for lunch so we dont usually have them for dinner again. Dh is a basic meat and potatoes guy so it isnt easy to get him to try something new but sometimes I just do what I want and surprise! He likes it!

A typical week would be:

Sunday--grill something, usually steak We grill out all year
Monday--I get home late so I try to do something in the crockpot
Tues & Thurs--DH gets home late so I have more time to cook or rest up before I start dinner so its ok to have dinners with more prep like a casserole that has to bake
Wed--we're both home early so it will be quicker. Tonight was chicken Parm with spaghetti
Friday--usually go out
Sat--again, I like to grill so it might be burgers or wings etc.

I use a calendar to keep track so that I'm not having spaghetti and meatballs all the time (which I would do since that is my favorite! )

 

[disykat]

I use a calendar to keep track so that I'm not having spaghetti and meatballs all the time (which I would do since that is my favorite! )

I love the idea of putting it on a calendar! We get extra advertising calendars, I could easily use on and jot what we had. Then whenever I hear "why do we always have green beans" OR "We never have.." I have proof! It would also be another source for ideas when I draw a blank.

 

[FreshTressa]

I always only plan for 5 days because invariably, something usually comes up where we don't wind up eating at home 7 nights a week. I keep a bag of frozen ravioli in the freezer in case nothing comes up.

And meal planning has cut soooo much from my grocery budget.

Another thing I do is "mexican week" or "italian week" or whatever because that way I can reuse ingredients the next night and there is less waste.