Meal Planning

suorkaterina
suorkaterina Posts: 19 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Does anybody have any thoughts on meal planning spreadsheets, phone apps, websites? I want to try and plan my meals and snacks for a week and would love some sort of tool to help with the planning and grocery list. Thanks.

Replies

  • sfbaumgarten
    sfbaumgarten Posts: 912 Member
    I use MFP for my meal planning.
  • Amandawith3kids
    Amandawith3kids Posts: 367 Member
    i do it all on paper. :)

    i plan the meals for the week (they get written on the calendar) and i write out my grocery list as to what i need t make the things i need on the plan, and also the other stuff i need, like for breakfast and snacks for the kids and other stuff. i used to plan my snacks and everything, but found it to be too restricting. many times i didnt want what was planned, or didnt have time to make it for the week.

    i also like having it on paper because i have a VERY tight budget, and i have to add up what i'm spending as i go. i cant go over since i bring cash, so its really important.
  • CorlissaEats
    CorlissaEats Posts: 493 Member
    I used Word but Excel could also work.
    You need a Grid of 4X7. You could also make it 6X7 if you wanted to have boxes for the snacks. Basically the bottom box is for the groceries that you need to make that specific day happen that do not already reside in your pantry or fridge. Add up the repeating ingredients to get your shopping list for the week. I rarely had waste since I was buying in small quantities- that was a plus.

    Mostly I just use MFP these days for meal planning now. We have a calendar page on our fridge filled with meal options. Items get crossed off as we make them for dinner. We do not go in order- its based on ingredients in the fridge that need using up. It also helps plan our shopping list a bit but it only covers dinner.
  • Sher414
    Sher414 Posts: 10 Member
    http://www.vertex42.com/calendars/weekly-planner.html has a lot of free planners for personal use. I use one that has a shopping list right on the page.
  • ditditdee
    ditditdee Posts: 38 Member
    I normally plan around grocery store sales. :) Check the flyers, see the produce, etc. that's on sale and stock up on it for the week. If asparagus is on sale (as an example) I'll eat salads, pasta, etc. with asparagus in/on it.
  • florasweets
    florasweets Posts: 50 Member
    I have a subscription to a series of menus from Savingdinner.com. I use mostly their Paleo menus as well as some menus from around the web. I collected the menus/recipes that we like and put them on a software program called livingcookbook. I have a planner I found at CVS that has a section for planning family activities; I use it to also plan our menus. It's called a Mother's Planner. It's WONDERFUL!!
    I have three hours each night between work and bedtime and two daughters; my evenings go very quickly. Every Wednesday I pick the menus for the following week (Saturday through Friday), Thursdays I write the grocery list, Fridays my husband (who works nights) gets groceries that we need from supermarkets after work, Saturday's we go to farmer's markets and pick up our local meats and produce. I only mention this to say, I used to get very stressed out over the planning aspect. I would try to do everything in one night or all at one time. But because of my limited time I would either half way do it or stress too much about it. I don't know what your schedule or home life is like but I want to just throw out there that it doesn't have to be done all at once. =) Sounds obivious but... took me a while to allow myself take a few days to get something this simple done.
    Hope this helps.
  • Branstin
    Branstin Posts: 2,320 Member
    I use MFP, print it, and carry with me to the markets.
  • redhead217
    redhead217 Posts: 5 Member
    I came across this article the other day that compares several menu planning apps. I do it the old fashioned way (on paper) but you may find something here that helps.

    http://lifehacker.com/five-best-meal-planning-apps-1533809184
  • EDHMike
    EDHMike Posts: 2 Member
    Branstin

    How do you set up your meals ahead in MFP and print them?

    Thanks

    EDHMike

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