Meal Planning

lcud17

Hi there,

I'm new again to MFP and I'm hoping to stick around longer this time. Can I get people's opinions on whether meal planning works for you? I'm toying with the idea of once a week just creating a meal plan for the week including snacks and mainly dinners, then heading to the store to buy these things and pretty much only these things. I'm wondering if this will help me stay focused and not stray away from what I had planned when my husband says "Oh lets just order pizza tonight" I know what it really comes down to is me and my will power, but maybe this will help? does anyone have thoughts or opinions on meal planning? Maybe including my husband on the meal planning so he can see what I'm trying to do and we can do it together? We take turns on food shopping and he often returns with more snacks than actual real food. Even when i ask him to please not to. Is meal planning too strict? I've been reading SkinnyTaste recently and her meal plans seem great, but is it true? It's all very over whelming...any advice would be great.
Thanks

kommodevaran

That meal planning works for me, that's a fact, not an opinion! Planning make me less dependent on willpower. Whether it's going to work for you, well, you just have to try.

A good structure will never be "too strict". My advice would be to plan as extensively as you have to, not more. Don't plan just to plan. Don't get hung up on one way to plan, there are principles, but no hard or fast rules. Plan around your actual schedule, don't try to make your schedule fit some plan.

And yes, you have to involve everybody that will be following the plan. Tell your husband what you are going to make, post the plan on the fridge, of better still, make the plan together.

Also plan meals you want to eat, food that you both want to eat. It sounds really stupid, but if you want to stick to this, you have to make it comfortable. The alternative is takeaway or eating out and throwing away rotten food. Home cooked food will always be cheaper, healthier and fresher, unless you mess it up completely, and it can be fun - it should at least feel rewarding - to create decent meals from simple ingredients.

STLBADGIRL

Most def meal plan. These are the things that help me meal plan or stay on this journey. I have a digital food scale and I normally prepare my meals while watching football on Sunday. I bought several lunch bags (different sizes, colors/patterns) as they go on sale so I can have cute bags to tote my stuff in. It's not necessary, but it helps me with this journey (vs throwing it in a grocery bag or brown paper bag). I also bought the portion size containers from Marshalls. I keep them at work, along with measuring spoons that I got from the $1 store in my lunch bag or at my desk to help with the portion sizes while at work or away from home. I also buy meal prep containers as they go on sale so I can always have different sized containers to tote lunch in. So I don't only meal prep, I prep for my meal prepping. I just feels it eliminates the excuses and makes everything so easy.

TeaBea

Having a plan and batch cooking some freezer meals (for me) cuts down on the ....let's go out for pizza. Not that I can't have pizza, but often it just doesn't fit my calories for the day.

Cooking Light is a great place for recipes too.

WinoGelato

I am not a devout meal planner but when I do, I feel much better about everything. It makes our hectic evenings less crazy if everyone knows what is for dinner (I work full time and have two boys in school and sports and husband has a very long commute). It also helps me plan out my week calorie wise, since I like to save calories for special events on the weekends - knowing that I can bank 100-200 cals each day in the days leading up to it works well for me. It also helps me with my grocery store budget and food waste. If I don't have meals planned out when I go to the store on the weekends, I tend to over buy things like produce and meat - assuming I will just figure out it out later in the week. The meat can be frozen, but often the produce goes to waste if we then let life get in the way of sticking to a meal plan - opting for pizza or takeout or something quick like breakfast for dinner - rather than just putting everything in the crockpot before I leave for work.

Actually OP - this is reminding me to dig out my old excel sheet that has my recipes saved so I can start meal planning again now that we are in full swing of our busy fall schedule. Thanks!

tcunbeliever

Not only does it work great for keeping calories in line, but for me it works great for keeping the grocery dollars in line too! I have a big chalkboard that I track dinners on, lunches are usually salad or leftovers, and I don't eat breakfast, so that's an easy one, just coffee!!!

WinoGelato

Also OP - there are some websites that offer suggested meal plans. I noticed last week that one of my favorites, Skinnytaste has a weekly planner now available. I plan to get some ideas here as well as maybe playing "Pinterest Roulette" with the thousands of recipes I have pinned but never get around to making!

http://www.skinnytaste.com/the-skinnytaste-meal-planner/

ds41980

I meal plan and it works great for me. During the week I think of two meals I'd like to eat and make them on Saturday after grocery shopping. I portion them out into containers and alternate days. This week I made pot roast with vegetables and the other meal was spaghetti with tomato sauce and vegetables. Dinner usually consists of leftovers from last week and breakfasts are from an ongoing list I have. I am currently on 1600 calories per day. Today I ate a yogurt with cheerios and nuts for breakfast with an honest kids juice. For lunch I had pot roast and .5 cup unsweetened applesauce. I have grapes for snack and for dinner I am planning on eating some leftover chicken alfredo I have in the freezer. If I have calories left I will eat a small amount of ice cream on a cone. I have lost 18.5 pounds so far!

jessieknh

I am not strict about meal planning but do try to stick to it for the most part Monday - Friday. I normally cook Sunday or Monday nights and do breakfast sandwiches, lunches and dinners. My son plays hockey so this really helps us with eating at home and not going out so often. We can come home and just heat something up from the refrigerator. I also try to keep my freezer stocked with portioned out soups, chilis, salsa chicken so if I didn't plan or run out of what I have (or just don't want what I made) we can just grab from the freezer and defrost. Tonight I am making lemon chicken orzo soup, chicken and corn chowder and a large salad. I will portion everything out so I can just grab a cup of one of the soups, a small container of the salad and my breakfast sandwich for my lunch bag. I'll have the soup tonight for dinner (son is with his dad) and tomorrow will throw sausage and peppers in the crock pot so we can just heat it up Wednesday after hockey for dinner. I find it helps to make large batches and freeze half. This way you can always just grab something from your freezer.

rugratz2015

I would be a fan of meal planning.
I don't get home till 9.30/10 most week nights and I don't want to spend more than 10 mins cooking when I do get home.
At the weekend, I list my items, do my shop and then prep food that needs to be done.
If I need to use meat up then I'll stick it in the slow-cooker with some veg and a sauce and then portion it out and stick the portions in the freezer, so I know there will always be a healthy option if I'm not in the mood to cook.
Also, when cooking fresh, I make extra knowing that's an extra couple of lunches/dinners.
I always have veg in the freezer to bulk my plate.

lcud17

Thank you guys, these are all great tips and really helpful suggestions. I'm really excited to give this a shot! I love to cook and I love to cook from scratch with fresh ingredients, but I too find myself just buying fresh veggies and then not using them! It kills me to waste the money and the food like that, I always feel so guilty. I think meal planning will really help eliminate that, like you said. I've already talked over the plan with my husband too and he's on board! I really like the meal prepping on Sundays, especially during the football games And who doesn't need to budget their money these days, that's definitely a bonus for meal planning.Thank you all again for the great advice! Now I'm going to go get myself organized and do it!

JGilchrist23

Honestly, for me it has been the only way to stay on track. Every Sunday, I make up my plan, head to the shops just for those items and come back and batch cook. The satisfaction I get seeing my fridge filled with tuppers on a Sun night is a bit sad actually! Every morning I grab my yogurt, fruit and a tupper for lunch and when I get home after work at 7.30pm I am normally quite hungry and being able to take something from the fridge and heat it up has stopped my snacking and then gives me time to enjoy my evening and get to the gym. It has definitely cut down on my grocery bill as well.

Spears1354

The best weeks for me are definitely the weeks I plan. Keeps you on track easier. Less excuses as well

rugratz2015

lcud17 wrote: »

Thank you guys, these are all great tips and really helpful suggestions. I'm really excited to give this a shot! I love to cook and I love to cook from scratch with fresh ingredients, but I too find myself just buying fresh veggies and then not using them! It kills me to waste the money and the food like that, I always feel so guilty. I think meal planning will really help eliminate that, like you said. I've already talked over the plan with my husband too and he's on board! I really like the meal prepping on Sundays, especially during the football games And who doesn't need to budget their money these days, that's definitely a bonus for meal planning.Thank you all again for the great advice! Now I'm going to go get myself organized and do it!

If you feel your fresh veg is going to go off then par-boil it then bag it into portions and stick in the freezer, handy to boil up when you're short on time, or don't have any fresh veg available.