topic Re: How do you plan your weekly meals? in Kitchen

How do you plan your weekly meals?

iQue — Thu, 08 Jan 2015 15:20:53 GMT

I wondering if you plan meals and then do your grocery shopping or do you plan meals around sales? I am trying to get more organized this year around meal planning and would like some suggestions. Thank you!

Re: How do you plan your weekly meals?

Goldengate8361 — Thu, 08 Jan 2015 15:30:40 GMT

I don't plan meals at all. Sometimes I remember before I leave for work to check and see if I have any steaks thawed at in the fridge.

Re: How do you plan your weekly meals?

sandy53 — Thu, 08 Jan 2015 15:47:06 GMT

I plan suppers for the week and then go shopping. I rarely plan around sale items. I do buy sale items to stock up, like this week ground beef was on sale, so I bought 10 pounds.

I always ask my DH if there is something he would like to eat during the coming week and he usually give me at least one idea. When I was working, I always made Monday's supper and Thursday's supper on Sunday afternoon. Thursday's went into the freezer to be thawed later. I loved coming home on Thursday and having supper ready to go into the oven. We often have breakfast-for-supper once a week or so, and almost always have hamburgers on Friday nights.

I keep basic items on hand for breakfast and lunch. DH usually has cereal for breakfast and makes himself a sandwich. I usually have a slice of cheese for breakfast and a salad for lunch.

Re: How do you plan your weekly meals?

Heart of Spade — Thu, 08 Jan 2015 15:47:10 GMT

I look at our activities for the coming week and plan our meals accordingly rather than base them on weekly sales. We are pretty busy with our son's sports activities, so it's easy to fall into the "eating out trap" if I don't plan ahead. I make a lot of things that go in a crock pot or can be made ahead and cooked/heated at the last minute, including breakfast. (I do most of my cooking while my son is at school.) I also keep things like homemade spaghetti sauce, meatballs, and chili in my freezer for when I just don't know what to make.

I receive coupons from various websites and will shop in accordance with my store's weekly specials for my pantry items and things for my deep freeze. I keep a pretty good stock of items so I generally have a lot of what I need for our meals. If necessary, I'll then stop at the store if I need a supplemental item, like a fresh veggie. I keep a soft-sided, insulated bag in my car for these quick, unexpected stops. They really keep things cool, even without an ice pack.

With a little planning and organization, I can save so much money, as well as feed my family healthier meals. I would love to hear others' suggestions!

Re: How do you plan your weekly meals?

151949 — Thu, 08 Jan 2015 15:55:53 GMT

I look at what is on sale and try to plan around those things. For instance Publix has boneless chicken breasts this week on BOGO so I will be making some chicken soup and another chicken meal this week. My DH isn't fond of chicken so I have to really hide it in sauces etc. I may make chicken pot pies one day. Beef has gotten so expensive around here that we are mostly eating sausage and chicken around here.

I have been trying to make more vegetables and not have meat be the focus of our meals but that is difficult when you are married to a butcher's son. My DH expects a slab of meat on his plate.

Re: How do you plan your weekly meals?

PamelaSue72 — Thu, 08 Jan 2015 16:03:44 GMT

I always have a running list of things, so as I notice that I need plastic wrap, for example, I write it down as soon as I realize. I check my main grocery's circular to see what's on sale and go through my coupons to see what I can use. At that point, I sit down with my cookbooks and see what recipes I'd like to try. I write it all down, from the entree to the sides (we don't have dessert throughout the week, only on weekends). This way, I know exactly what we will be having for dinner for the week. My weekly menu is inside one of the cabinet doors in the kitchen. I also like to make sure we don't have the same thing over and over again; I try not to make spaghetti or a roast chicken, for example, twice within about 4 months. I love trying new recipes, so this is not a bother.

I may ask DH what he wants from a choice of 2-3 entrees. He tells me what he's hungry for and I make sure we have the ingredients for that dish on hand.

Trying to figure out something for dinner at the last minute makes me spastic. Since I cook every night (I like to cook), it's nice to know what I have to do as soon as I get home from work; there's no "What should I make for dinner? Oh, I don't know what to make! Let's go out!" We do not eat out much at all, maybe for a special occasion, but that's it. It's a waste of money and often, I can make dinners that are just as good, if not better. And I know it's healthier.

We keep a well-stocked pantry and two well-stocked freezers. DH has often said that we could probably eat from the freezers for about six months or so, if we had to.

I also keep extensive lists of items in the freezers in the basement (one freezer is strictly for meats; the other for vegetables from our garden, homemade applesauce and other fruit from our trees and strawberries from the garden, pureed pumpkin, yeast rolls and breads, cookies, cakes, pies, soups, and casseroles and such). As I use something, I cross it off the list. As I buy something, I add it to the list. We won't find 1-year old chicken in our freezer. Everything is clearly marked and dated. I have a similar list of pantry items, too. It was a pain trying to get it all set up in the beginning, but now it's pretty much second nature. And it really does stop foods from getting "lost" in the shuffle.

Re: How do you plan your weekly meals?

queendiva — Thu, 08 Jan 2015 16:17:51 GMT

I always plan meals around sale items.

Re: How do you plan your weekly meals?

twocent — Thu, 08 Jan 2015 16:19:45 GMT

By where dh wants to stop and pick them up.

Re: How do you plan your weekly meals?

Kathlen — Thu, 08 Jan 2015 16:21:21 GMT

No planning ... grocery store is just down the street. I shop several times a week - depending on what I feel like eating.

Re: How do you plan your weekly meals?

wagirl — Thu, 08 Jan 2015 16:25:28 GMT

I plan around sale items too. I have been trying to cook very simply lately, nothing fancy or too time consuming due to some health issues. Less is more now in my cooking world. I look for recipes with 5 to 6 ingredients or less. I only buy fresh or frozen and no processed junk; unfortunately that stuff seems to be the only things they make coupons for or I would use coupons more. I go to pinterest alot and have found some really great recipes. I would love to do what PamelaSue does with all the lists and such---I know that would make things easier but am not built that way. Have tried but it made me crazy(er)My BFF does that and I marvel every time I talk to her.

Re: How do you plan your weekly meals?

brii — Thu, 08 Jan 2015 16:27:06 GMT

I don't plan. It depends on who is home and what activities are going on.

My family won't eat frozen meats or chicken. I buy those fresh from the butcher when I need them.

Re: How do you plan your weekly meals?

StylishLady — Thu, 08 Jan 2015 16:31:15 GMT

The only real meal planning I do is for big holiday meals like Thanksgiving. The rest of the time I just cook up/make whatever I feel like and whatever we have in house. I try not to repeat meals often, even breakfasts.

Re: How do you plan your weekly meals?

Iwantcoffee — Thu, 08 Jan 2015 16:39:44 GMT

The only meal planning I do around sales is ground beef. I buy when a large pack is on sale and make a few meals using the beef. We bought two large family packs of ground beef this this week because of the price. It is cold and I am making lots of chili and soup. When the price is higher I buy a small pack and make fewer meals with beef. I hate frozen meat and buy fresh. The breakfast foods we eat are are usually very affordable and we buy as needed. In winter we usually have eggs and hot cereal for breakfast.

Re: How do you plan your weekly meals?

Snicks1 — Thu, 08 Jan 2015 16:58:57 GMT

I keep a decent supply of basics on hand, always, so I can make a meal pretty easily. However, I don't plan menu's out more than today, tomorrow, and maybe the next day, except for a general idea. If I need something additional to finish out my meals, I can go by the store and pick up those items for as far ahead as I have planned. Keeps me out of the store except maybe 1 extra time per week, and then I just pick up what I went there for, not adding in extras on this trip. My main shopping is done every 2 weeks or so, and that extra trip once per week has specific items to finish out my week of meals/fresh dairy or produce, etc. I know this probably doesn't make a ton of sense, it is just how I do it and it works for me.

Re: How do you plan your weekly meals?

house_cat — Thu, 08 Jan 2015 17:37:54 GMT

I take time every Saturday morning to plan our menu for the week. I use iCal to keep track and share that calendar with DH. His phone alerts him every day at 5 pm to tell him what we're having for dinner, even if it's our Friday night pizza night.

I make the menu based on what's already in my freezer, what's on sale and what kind of schedule we have for the week. On very busy days I plan something simple, or a crock pot meal that I can prep in the morning before work.

I make my list based on the menu and we shop every Saturday.

There's an iPhone app called "Clear", that is the best list-making app I've ever come across.

If you're a list maker like me, try it.

Re: How do you plan your weekly meals?

rhinovodka — Thu, 08 Jan 2015 17:44:16 GMT

I don't really plan meals. I try to keep things simple as possible, so during the week I don't really do anything elaborate for dinner, just a stir fry, salads, pasta, rice dishes. We don't eat a huge variety of things anyway and I usually buy the same items.

Re: How do you plan your weekly meals?

Mominohio — Thu, 08 Jan 2015 17:44:42 GMT

I rarely plan more than a day ahead what we will be eating. We have two freezers well stocked, and a large basement pantry. I can 'shop' from my own shelves and freezers for any number of combinations. I only buy food on sale (except for a small amount of fresh produce each week, and not even that in the summer with the garden) and always have what I need on hand to make anything we want. What I intend to fix can change from hour to hour as the guys living here can have unpredictable schedules, and if I had planned a more involved meal, it may change to having to make something quick.

Many of the experts claim that you should make a menu for a certain length of time, buy only the foods to meet than menu and nothing else. They claim that is the way to save money on groceries. I say NOT. Planning that way will cause you to put mostly full priced items in your cart. My philosophy is to buy only on sale, buy enough to get you through to the next sale. For fresh foods, eat seasonally, choosing what is cheapest in season, and preserve what you can grow or get cheap in season.

Of course there are rare times when, for example, lettuce is high in the middle of the winter, and I will buy it anyway, because we want a salad, but I'd say less than 10% of my shopping is ever full priced.

There are times I will spend $600 a month on groceries, then go for weeks and pick up nothing but milk. I only buy what is a rock bottom price, and plenty for our future needs. Couple that with coupons when possible, and it is, to me, the real way to save money. You do have to be committed to rotating the food, and using what you buy, or this will backfire.

Re: How do you plan your weekly meals?

RedTop — Thu, 08 Jan 2015 18:15:19 GMT

I pretty much cook whatever someone is in the mood for. This time of year we are stocked to the gills, as I stay out of grocery stores during the height of flu season. I shopped before Christmas, and will not need to shop again until March. Usually the only thing we need in the meantime is bread and milk, which my husband or one of our daughters will pick up. Since we are eating from our freezer stock during the winter, I usually clean the freezer in April, and see what needs to be used up before restocking begins.

Re: How do you plan your weekly meals?

ChynnaBlue — Thu, 08 Jan 2015 18:48:32 GMT

I don't plan around sales. When I do plan, it's based around what's going on that week - am I working late, do I have activities that will mean I won't be eating at home, is the weather cold so I might want soup or chili, is it too hot to use the oven, do I have an event that requires I bring food or snacks, etc. In the winter, I make a lot of soups and roast a lot of vegetables, which I don't do in the summer because I don't want to turn my oven up to 400 when it's 100 outside.

I also bring some backup ideas in case the store is out of a core ingredient I had planned a meal around.

I live alone, so it's easy.

Re: How do you plan your weekly meals?

luvdoodles — Thu, 08 Jan 2015 18:49:05 GMT

I just usually look for sales on ground beef and any kind of chicken. I can make several different dinners out of that. I never know who will be home either which makes it more difficult. I use the crockpot a lot this time of year and the soup or stews can be nuked in the microwave when ever they get home.