Meal Planning Help

Nov3mberMist
Nov3mberMist Posts: 6
in Food and Nutrition
So, my husband's a chef. Unfortunately, since he spends all day cooking at a restaurant, when he gets home he does not often feel like cooking for me, too. I don't/can't cook. Traumatizing occurrence in 8th grade Home Ec has left my "cooking real food" confidence shattered. I can bake really well, but I don't think that will be much help with losing weight, unfortunately for me.

So I'm wondering, does anyone know of any really good meal planning apps for android? Something that I can plan out, write down, and it'll put the shopping list together for me? I've thought about using Jenny Craig, because I'm just that hopeless at cooking, but I'm also very cheap and can't imagine spending that kind of money just to lose a few pounds, when some self discipline, exercise, and meal planning could do the same thing for considerably less.

Bonus points if the meal planning app is compatible with MFP. But I didn't see anything in their app gallery.

Replies

  • BlackKat75
    BlackKat75 Posts: 210 Member
    Sorry I can't be of too much help on the meal-planning-app side of things, but I wanted to say that you'll be surprised with yourself in the kitchen. I've become a far better cook over the past couple of months by literally just making myself do it. It takes a while and there are ups and downs, but it does get a lot easier. I do the bulk of the dinner-cooking in our house now and pretty much all of it is from scratch. What helps me is to not rush and make sure I know the steps of the recipe before I dive in - kind of like a measure twice, cut once approach. If I can do it, you can do it!
  • Nov3mberMist
    Nov3mberMist Posts: 6
    Okay, so i never found any apps that do this, but there are a few websites that are exactly what I was looking for. emeals.com, relish.com, both of those cost about $5 a month, and the one I'm currently trying is saymmm.com which is free. So if anyone else is looking for help with meal planning, there you are. :)
  • tommygirl15
    tommygirl15 Posts: 1,012 Member
    Ask your husband if he's willing to take one or two evenings a week to teach you how to cook meals so that you are able to do them. It'll be an investment, and I don't think it's really asking a lot. I also work as a cook and understand how he feels when he gets home, but the fact is that we need to eat and knowledge of cooking can benefit everyone.
  • WandaRoberts
    WandaRoberts Posts: 1 Member
    I use the application. "Grocery IQ" which has made shopping. and making lists so much easier. I choose foods I like and that I know will help me lose weight and once they are listed you just check what you want. I put my meal plan in my fitness pal for the week ahead of time so I know what I will need. This also cuts time of adding food and I can concentrate on excercise which is very uplifting and keeps me under calories. Hope this will help you take control of your desires.
  • AllonsYtotheTardis
    AllonsYtotheTardis Posts: 16,947 Member
    I know this isn't an app, but if you're feeling uneasy about cooking, I would highly recommend Jamie Oliver's "Food Revolution" cookbook. The recipes are well explained, easy to do, and healthy. It's aimed at people who don't have a lot of confidence in the kitchen. The food is tasty too, which is a plus.
  • chubbygirl253
    chubbygirl253 Posts: 1,309 Member
    I can't offer any meal plan advice or apps but I would also like to add the idea that Crockpot cooking might be your thing. You can do a lot of variety and since it mostly requires you to toss in ingredients and leave it alone, it's foolproof. You can do a lot of healthy recipes and you or hubby can throw it together before work. It's so nice to come home from a long day and your house smells like dinner as soon as you walk in the door. I do very long workouts (4-5 hours) and when I come home I'm completely spent. I have just enough energy to take a shower and put on jammies so cooking is not an option. It's nice to serve up a healthy, yummy dinner with little to no prep. Usually it takes less than 10 mins to get it ready before I leave the house. Maybe after some success with the crockpot you will feel more confident in your kitchen ability. (baking is a lot harder than cooking so you can definitely do it!)

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