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Food Meal Planning

Discussion in 'Tilted Food' started by snowy, May 12, 2015.

  1. snowy

    snowy so kawaii Staff Member

    How do you plan what to eat?

    When I was working and commuting, I was really good at planning dinner ahead of time. On Sunday, I would draw up a meal plan for the week ahead (4 meals at home), and cook what I could then. Oftentimes, we would end up with 3 out of 4 meals already prepped and ready in the fridge or freezer, ready to heat and eat.

    Now, I don't need to do that at the moment, but it's a good skill to have. Since I get home from work at 3:30, I have time to be leisurely about what I prepare for our dinner. That said, I feel like I could plan more, and this article made me think about how I could do it in a way that works for me.

    Her #3 tip of using Google Calendar is a great one. It made me think, well, even if I'm not planning meals ahead of time, I should keep track of what we've eaten in a calendar so then I have 1) my recipes right at hand, since I write many of them down, 2) an idea of what we've eaten recently, as we like to rotate through cuisines, and 3) an idea of what might actually be in the fridge or pantry, if I've forgotten to check on a certain item before going to the grocery store (this happens more often than I would care to admit).

    And I don't know how, but Tuesdays have become curry nights. So that's one meal, always planned, but whether it's Japanese, Thai, or Indian is anyone's guess!

    Another great list of tips: 15 Tips for Better Weekly Meal Planning — Reader Intelligence Report | The Kitchn

    Do you plan meals ahead of time? What do you do to help you?
     
    Last edited: May 12, 2015
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  2. fflowley

    fflowley Don't just do something, stand there!

    I agree with one key point: I find the week much less stressful if I do the dinner planning ahead of time.
    There is nothing worse than my wife and I getting stuck late at work, coming home to hungry tired kids, and we don't have a clue what's for dinner.
    The "bad" days of the week for us, where we could both be working late are Wednesday and Friday; meals for those days are always planned and prepped ahead of time.

    Much of what she does with lists and apps I just do in my head.

    But the point stands, that you must organize the weekend shopping trip around the set of meals you are planning. Whether it's in your head or using an app you have to think it all through ahead of time. Once you have done that it's pretty easy to follow through and eat well all week long.
     
  3. Borla

    Borla Moderator Staff Member

    We are horrible about meal planning.

    We cook/grill at home as much or more than anyone I know, but we rarely have a plan more than one day in advance. Often we are doing good to have the plan more than 6-8 hours in advance. I would prefer we planned ahead a bit better, but my wife hates being locked in more than a day or two before. Since she is the one who usually goes to the store, and it is her that makes the extra trips due to lack of planning, I guess I can't complain too much.
     
  4. snowy

    snowy so kawaii Staff Member

    I did not do a great job of cooking on Sundays this last year. I'm resolving to be better about it this year, especially since I'm working full time and then some. To that end, I purchased the app Paprika. It lets me import recipes, then use those recipes to make a meal plan, then use the meal plan to populate my grocery list. It takes what I was doing--listing out meals on Google Keep, then making a list--and does it a little more intelligently, so I'm less likely to forget something I need. It's also relatively easy to put recipes into Paprika.

    I'm really hoping that it helps this year. We ate out a lot more than I would have liked.
     
  5. genuinemommy

    genuinemommy Moderator Staff Member

    We used to have a monthly rotation of menus, so we got a set schedule of stuff every weekly shopping trip. I like reducing the guess work.

    Right now we are failing in the menu planning department. Hoping to start fresh this week.
     
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  6. rogue49

    rogue49 Tech Kung Fu Artist Staff Member

    Location:
    Baltimore/DC
    No plan, I wing it.
    but I usually come up with a nice full course.

    Sometimes I feel like I'm doing one of those Top Chef challenges,
    make something good from whatever is available. :cool:
     
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  7. snowy

    snowy so kawaii Staff Member

    I did my first trip to the store with Paprika yesterday. Since I have time, I chose some more elaborate recipes to cook this week, so our grocery bill was a little higher than it will likely be once I'm back to work. Plus, there were some items normally in my pantry that I was out of.
     
  8. genuinemommy

    genuinemommy Moderator Staff Member

    This week I have a list of dinners. We did significant grocery shopping over the weekend, so we would have all necessary ingredients. The goal is to only visit a store for fresh salad greens, cheese, and milk, if needed.
    Tt made a big batch of veggie etouffee and rice for me to enjoy for lunches this week.
    I also prepped a big 2-lb ball of dough (1/3 white whole wheat flour, + some flaxseed) to use throughout the week for rolls, pizza dough, etc. Currently in the refrigerator. I'm hoping that it works out and it all gets used. We used to do this all the time, but it has been a couple of years.

    AP also made a list of foods she plans to feed the girls at lunch time this week. That was super helpful for me. She has been good about keeping track of what she needs for the girls, which is honestly a massive help when it comes to meal planning. I didn't realize how disorganized our last AP was in this regard, she had us running to the store upwards of 3x/week to get things for the girls.
     
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  9. POPEYE

    POPEYE Very Tilted

    Location:
    Tulsa
    I spent several hours cooking meals for the week yesterday. Just used whatever we had on hand. Easy to say but I keep a lot of groceries here.
    * baked Ziti
    * beef ribs with brown sugar sauce
    * taco night fixings
    * smothered pork chops
    * chicken casserole
    * salmon patties
    When I get home it's all just the sides.
     
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  10. snowy

    snowy so kawaii Staff Member

    Gotta say, I love how easy it is to import recipes and keep them organized. It's probably paid for itself several times over.
     
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  11. Yerba

    Yerba ...wait, what?

    Location:
    Nowhere, KS
    One of my favorite things to do is to go into the grocery store after work and just buy what strikes my fancy and see if it works.

    I made a killer red beans - n - rice that way once, just bought some beans and rice and tomato juice and a couple of spices and it worked out really well.

    Also great for stir fry, which I made *a lot of* during my undergrad years.

    The other not-so-secret reason I did this routinely is because meat and produce could often be had on sale when it was going to go bad in a few days, which I didn't care about because I was going to eat or cook everything that night anyways.
     
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  12. itwasme

    itwasme But you'll never prove it.

    Location:
    In the wind
    Plan? I either cook what I'm craving, or I yell "girls! Beef or chicken? Potatoes or rice?" And go from there.
    Today I ended up cooking pancakes AND sandwiches for lunch because they answered at the same time.
     
  13. cynthetiq

    cynthetiq Administrator Staff Member Donor

    Location:
    New York City
    We have been cooking every few days. I have been trying to plan meals and shop the ingredients but it has not happened yet.
     
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  14. Chris Noyb

    Chris Noyb Get in, buckle up, hang on, & be quiet.

    Location:
    Large City, TX
    That is my biggest problem with meal planning, making myself go to the grocery store every few days for specific ingredients, esp. ones best purchased fresh. It's a mental thing, and laziness as we have two decent grocery stores within easy walking distance (the exercise would do me some good ;)).
     
  15. cynthetiq

    cynthetiq Administrator Staff Member Donor

    Location:
    New York City
    Agreed. I can get off the bus 1 stop earlier and go to the grocery store and walk 2 blocks home. I used to do it more often as I prefer to buy only what I can carry in two hands.

    Now I drive out of the city and don't get that chance. I can stop at a market on the way home but it is usually very late when I get back that I don't want to cook.
     
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