Menu Planning for Meals

lisafit37

I was wondering if anyone does menu planning for meals these days. I'm wanting to watch what I eat and how much for each meal as I'm working towards some goals that I have set and there not going to get met if I don't change my eating habits. I sure could also use ideas for meals as well Breakfast I usually eat on the go and lunch is 30 minutes and than dinner. Please feel free to add me as a friend as I can always use new friends.

ekruska802

Always! We discovered if we plan we don't end up wasting food. This helps with groceries - buying and keeping costs under control. We've also figured out how to scale recipes so that what we cook for dinner yields leftovers for lunch the next day. It took some getting used to doing, but it's turned out to be really helpful. Good luck!

ForeverSunshine09

I prelog 2weeks at a time. So I can plan all my meals out and only buy what we need.

mellowadam

We also plan a menu. We pick six dinners for the week and my wife makes a grocery list. I do a big haul on Sunday's. Usually I hit Trader Joes and Aldi. Then we just take turns cooking. We usually box up leftovers to take to work for lunch the next day. I never eat in the cafeteria or get take out for lunch anymore. You have to plan or you wont reach your goals. It's definitely an adjustment but it will save you tons of money and help you stay on track with your weight loss goals. I also look for sales and stock up. I'll by tons of beans and can goods when the go down to .49 a can. You can also find deals on lentils and split peas and cook big batches of soups for days you're too tired to cook after work. I actually really dig grocery shopping and cooking now!

dewd2

We plan 3 or 4 meals and shop for the items we need to make them. The other meals are made from things we already have or we eat out. This planning typically includes something new we haven't made before.

Lounmoun

I plan out 28 dinners at a time. Choosing some themes can be helpful... like I try to have soup once a week. I wrote a blog post about my planning process. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/Lounmoun/view/my-meal-planning-process-765880

I don't plan breakfast or lunches for the week usually- although I do pre-log my whole day every morning. Breakfast I usually have cereal, yogurt, fruit, a sandwich or leftovers. Lunch is usually a sandwich, salad or leftovers. Snacks are usually things like popcorn, cheese, granola bar, yogurt or fruit.

Confuzzled4ever

I don't pre plan. Ijustbuy the same stuff over and over and make the same things. Works just as well. Lol

RoseTheWarrior

We plan meals for one week at a time, and always something that will last more than one meal, so that we're not cooking every night. Try allrecipes.com for ideas, or just google "healthy chicken recipes", and replace chicken with whatever you want a recipe for. I bought a subscription for allrecipes because it has so many great recipes which I can save and print, etc. We also plan lunches. For breakfast, I often make a crock pot steel cut oat recipe I found on MFP in the recipe section. I can make my entire week of oatmeal, portion it all out, and have grab and go breakfast. Recipe: 2 cups steel cut oats, 8 cups water, 1/4 cup milk (I use unsweetened almond milk). It called for 1/4 cup brown sugar, but instead of putting it in the crock pot, which literally added zero sweetness, I just put some brown sugar on after I heat up my individual portion, along with some ground flax.

Good luck!

SuperheroSadie

I don't really plan and cook ahead, per se, but I have a strict diet while at work of what I bring with me, and then dinner is up in the air home-cooked
It looks kinda like this:

Breakfast: 80 cal greek yogurt or toast with peanut butter and banana
Post-Gym Snack: 80 cal greek yogurt or P3 Protein Pack
Lunch: A Progresso lite can of soup
Mid-afternoon snack: usually coffee or a small dressingless, veggie-only salad from the cafe, and a diet rootbeer
Dinner: Whatever I want, provided it fits in my calories

It makes it easier, because when I had to make things on my own (besides breakfast toast) it always turned into a 'I don't have time, let's buy something at work' and that 'something' would not only be way more expensive than my $6.50 of soup for the week, but it would be like 700 calories instead of 200!

Lounmoun

Confuzzled4ever wrote: »

I don't pre plan. Ijustbuy the same stuff over and over and make the same things. Works just as well. Lol

You don't think it is a plan but that is a plan. You know in advance that you are going to make those things.
I would call that a limited meal plan rather than no plan. If you don't get bored there is nothing wrong with limiting your plan to 2 or 3 things that you repeat.
I have reused meal plans and just rotated through the same exact plan for a couple of months before making a new plan.