Menu planning??? Anyone???

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Replies

  • jillmarie125
    jillmarie125 Posts: 418 Member
    I can relate to how you feel about being too tired to cook. I leave my house at 7 am and most nights I do not come home until 7pm. I also have a 3 year old. My only advice for getting over that "too tired to cook" feeling, is just doing it. You just need to get into the routine of cooking every night and it will not be so much of a chore. I don't mind eating leftover chicken (i know some people who won't) so I will grill chicken on one night for two or three meals. Chicken wraps, chicken salads, chicken stirfry, you get the point. Cooking and eating healthy does not have to be this big to do.

    I do find planning out 5 week day meals in advance is easiest. If I didn't, I would probably be running to the grocery store daily to get what I needed. If you really want this, you will find a way to doing it.
  • no1belongs
    no1belongs Posts: 156
    i agree with this ^^^^ i dont sit down when i get home i put my stuff down out of the way and i go straight to dinner making. im up at 5 and not home til 5:30 or 6. it works out best to not sit keeps me motivated as long as i am up i will do things its once my butt hits the couch or the chair in the kitchen that im just a puddle of blah lol
  • BrotherBill913
    BrotherBill913 Posts: 662 Member
    I've been planning my next day meals, gttn them ready at night
  • shellyann1180
    shellyann1180 Posts: 21
    I, too, find it helpful to enter all my food in the morning and then I know what I have left over in the evening for a snack or if I need to increase my workouts. Plus, like you, I know that I can eat out of my bag and not worry about overeating.
  • TXtstorm
    TXtstorm Posts: 163 Member
    We make a weekly dinner menu and may plan some weekend breakfast/brunch meals. Though we may move a meal from one day to another, we stick to it pretty closely. We like a variety of cuisines and the only way we can guarantee that we'll have all of the ingredients for what we might want to make is to plan the menu and make grocery list from that menu, then remove anything we already have from the list. There are too many different spices/seasonings/condiments and fresh ingredients to hope for the best even in our pantry! We also have to plan to be sure frozen ingredients will be thawed and allow for cooking time for meals with longer time needs. I can't imagine on a regular basis walking into my kitchen after a day at work and thinking, "What shall I cook tonight?"

    My breakfast and lunch plans are a little different. For both I keep a variety of things around that will make decent meals. Breakfasts for me: eggs, low-calorie tortillas, ham, smoked salmon, a variety of cheeses, salsas or hot sauce, cottage cheese, fresh and frozen fruits, granola, steel cut oats, cracked wheat for hot cereal, reduced calorie frozen breakfast sandwiches, turkey sausage and more. I sometimes make refrigerator oats ahead and have 2 or 3 jars in the fridge. For lunches I tend to pick from leftovers from home cooked meals, commercially prepared soups (like Campbell's GO soups), Lean Cuisine or similar frozen entrees, or salad meals when they serve a good one in the cafeteria. I also pack snacks like nuts or Kind bars, fresh fruit, cheese, veggies & hummus, or yogurt.

    Dinner ideas: We rework old favorites to be healthier, make salad meals (though the husband doesn't like those as much during cold weather season), and pick up recipes or ideas off of the Cooking Light website and other similar sites. It helps that two of us are sharing the planning and shopping and we cook as a team most nights.

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