planning meals for the week. anyone doing that?

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  • RobynMWilson
    RobynMWilson Posts: 1,540 Member
    Def makes things easier! I have my meals planned for the week and also food bought to cook up and freeze for future meals! I'm living back home after being on my own for 13 years. My folks have a tendency to mess up the entire kitchen to cook one of their healthy culinary creations such as hot dogs and beans. So it's either cook ahead to freeze for weeknight suppers or eat out every night so I choose the latter..it's cheaper and healthier. Plus I hate to food shop so I don't wanna have to go back to the food store b/c I didn't plan my stuff ahead of time.

    It's a pain in the butt at first but becomes habit and if you cook ahead to freeze and re heat for weeknight suppers then you're more likely to eat your homemade healthy cooked food on a busy night than run out and eat slop. So def worth the effort!
  • momtokgo
    momtokgo Posts: 446 Member
    There is rarely a day that comes that I don't have something planned for dinner. Sometimes we will swing by the grocery store and buy something different then what I had planned, or we'll order pizza etc, but for the most part I always know what I"m going to make, and thats what I make.

    I make a meal plan near the end of every week, buy groceries by Sunday morning, and then we're ready for the week. I always have an up to date menu on our fridge so no one feels the need to ask me "whats for dinner?" I plan around what we have to do that day, sports, appointments etc. If we're going to have to be at soccer at 6pm, then having a full roast chicken dinner probably wouln't be the best idea. The crockpot is my friend on those nights.

    Honestly I don't think I could function without having a meal plan. I have to cook for myself ( I can't have gluten, dairy, meat, eggs or tree nuts) my oldest who can eat most foods, my toddlers that can't have dairy, soy or nuts and my husband who will eat anything. And I refuse to buy pre-made processed stuff, so pretty much everything is made from scratch. So yeah, we meal plan lol, trying to figure it out day to day would be awful.
  • NewNalu
    NewNalu Posts: 41
    I stick to a regular shopping schedule and plan my meals for the week. I normally try to pick out 2-3 dinners that I spread over 5-6 days using leftovers. This helps keep both my calories and shopping bill predictable:) Inspiration normally comes from healthy online websites or food blogs. I also try to keep my pantry stocked with stuff, just incase I need to change up a meal mid week. I generally try to only do one grocery run per week.
  • hhayes06
    hhayes06 Posts: 189 Member
    I too plan my family's meals for the week, usually only lunch and dinner because breakfast is always something quick and easy like smoothies or toast. Anyway, I sit down each week and write out what we will have for the next 7 days. I include what hubby and I will take to work with us. Hubby and I both do shift work so I also plan out meals based on who will be home at the time they are eaten. For instance, if it's just me and the kids then I do something more kid friendly. After I write out our meals I then make my grocery list based on our menu. This helps our budget and if one week is tighter than normal then I will plan as many meals as I can around items already on hand. Like others have said, this not only helps keep me on track MFP wise but it helps make mealtime a lot less stressful along with helping the pocketbook.

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