meal planning

Lisa_0527

I just planned my meals for the rest of March. I love my lists and always feel successful when I cross off everything on my list so I am hoping that by having all my meals planned out and having to cross them off as I go I will stick to my plan.

I might have gotten a little carried away by doing the whole month so I will see how this month works out and in the future I might just do a week or two a time.

My only concern is that come March 30th I might not really be in the mood for what I planned and that will throw me off - Does anyone else plan a week/month a time or do you prefer to do it day by day?

jgnatca

I am a planner but I have a built-in saboteur. Hubby reminds me that spontaneity is OK too.

ForeverSunshine09

I plan 2 weeks out. It helps with our grocery budget as well. Of course certain dinners can be moved around if they isnt what we are craving but, it has worked out so far.

atypicalsmith

I plan one day at a time. Wish I had your endurance to do a whole month!

Lisa_0527

AmberSue09 wrote: »

I plan 2 weeks out. It helps with our grocery budget as well. Of course certain dinners can be moved around if they isnt what we are craving but, it has worked out so far.

The grocery shopping was my first thought when I was making my plan - I thought how great will this be to go and just focus on my list and hopefully be able to ignore everything else around me and eliminate the impulse buying.

ForeverSunshine09

It seemed to help us. You can add me if you want to see my whole day is planned out til the 20th. Next week I will probably start adding more.

Ellaskat

I have a really unpredictable work schedule, so I only plan 1 week at a time becuase it's likely there will be at least 1 night here or there where I get home so late that I can't cook, or something else comes up etc. doing it every week gives me a lot more flexibility, and as the result, I don't throw food away, which used to happen all the time. I make 4 dinners every week- they usually stretch to 6 dinners and some lunches too. I always have stuff on hand to make lunch in case there aren't leftovers.

atypicalsmith

I just bought a bunch of thin pork chops which I will cook then freeze tomorrow. This could actually work!

Ellaskat

One more thing - I do meal planning every Friday/Saturday and grocery shop once a week. It's still great for grocery shopping- I buy all fresh veggies but buy family size proteins and break them down into meal quantities in the freezer.

Lisa_0527

atypicalsmith wrote: »

I plan one day at a time. Wish I had your endurance to do a whole month!

Now I have to stay focused to keep on track; but I thought planning it all out might be a good idea because what happens is the kids come home from school, we do homework and then we are all hungry and I don't feel like trying to figure out what to cook so we end up ordering out.

Charlot4444

I want to know what people eat and plan for a month. I usually make a couple of things that have lots of leftovers and then pack and freeze them into portions.. that's about the extent of my thinking ahead.

ForeverSunshine09

As I remember our normal recipes I just put them in the recipe builder thing. I have about 31 entree like things right now. Which if planned out correctly can be a wide variety. Of course there are things we always eat every week or so like tacos and homemade breaded chicken strips.

Ellaskat

Try skinnytaste.com and cooking light. A lot if my recipes come from there, but feel free to friend me to look at my meals.

Lisa_0527

Charlot4444 wrote: »

I want to know what people eat and plan for a month. I usually make a couple of things that have lots of leftovers and then pack and freeze them into portions.. that's about the extent of my thinking ahead.

With 3 males in the house leftovers are a thing of the past for me and if by chance there is something leftover then my husband takes it to work for lunch the next day.

Dinners typically consist of a protein, a side to go with it and veggies. I am not the most creative when it comes to cooking so at least twice a month I will try a new recipe so we don't get stuck in a rut.

SarahKhristan

I plan a week at a time. Usually on Saturday I can see next week's special offers at the store and I plan based on what i get. I go grocery shopping every Sunday morning (to beat the crowd). Planning is awesome and a great way to keep calories in check!

999tigger

Whatever suits you. I never know till the day because I like options and choosing what i feel like. Going to the shops is all part of my routine.

ForeverSunshine09

We are on a very very tight budget so going to the store once every 2 weeks works for us so planning works. There is always room for changes but, at least I have groceries for all these meals.