Tell Me What to Eat! (How Do Indecisives Pick Meals??)

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AlexisMichele93
AlexisMichele93 Posts: 60 Member
in Recipes
Hi everyone! I've been planning our week's meals and therefore grocery lists for a few months now. There's 3 of us and we all live by "I'll eat whatever you make/want/have/etc." I'm not one to make decisions but my 2 roommates absolutely refuse to, so I typically just write down the first few recipes I see on allrecipes. How do you decide what you want to eat for the week? We literally like almost all foods so I never get any help narrowing it down and feel a little uncomfortable constantly being responsible for finding meals and whether they are good or "I don't think I'll eat this again." Is there a book, website, or even a forum on here that outlines meals for the week/month/whatever? I think it'd be easier to have a meal suggested for a day and then if we just don't find it appealing look up a new meal for that day, rather than browsing the millions of recipes and randomly picking a handful to try. I grew up with very opinionated family members so I never picked out a meal or side or anything and don't really enjoy doing it now. Haha I'm that person at a restaurant that asks my friends to narrow the options down for me... tia!

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  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
    edited March 2015
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    I use https://www.eatthismuch.com when I don't feel like thinking. You can regenerate meals, and even portions of a meal, as often as you like until something appealing comes up.
  • AlexisMichele93
    AlexisMichele93 Posts: 60 Member
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    THANK YOU! That's a great site to use, I love the calorie input option. Exactly what I was looking for.
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,426 Member
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    My experience is that indecisive people can often be overwhelmed by too many choices and new things. I think a lot of people are happy eating the same 30 or so things most of the time.
    I would ask each person to write down 5 to 10 of their favorite meals. Put it all mixed together on one list and keep that list. I would then find just maybe 4-5 new recipes to try for a month. When planning the week, I would choose 6 dinners from the favorites list and plug in just one new thing. I write out my menu but don't assign a specific day unless it is a special occasion. I cross things off the list with a highlighter as we have them.

    You could do theme days... like every Sunday is soup day, every Monday is meatless, every Tuesday is Italian food, etc and maybe that framework would help decide things.

    I have a file with old menus so if I don't feel like thinking I just re-use one.
  • florecita453
    florecita453 Posts: 43 Member
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    I make 3-day plans and after those 3 days I plan again. I have small kids and my husband but nobody helps me decide what to eat. I follow the pioneer woman on Facebook and about once or twice a week she posts a recipe and I usually make it within a week. I always tweak any recipe according to our taste and preference, especially if the recipe in trying is too high fat or too carb-y.
    The blog on MFP also posts new recipes often, like the fish and brussel sprouts they just posted. It looks very good and I will have to try it one of these days.
    When you are feeling overwhelmed, just go back to the easier, more constant meal you have. And when you are feeling a little more adventurous try new recipes and save them so they are handy next time your mind is blank.
    Another thing you may like is to make your own recipe book. Make a 2 week meal plan including the best recipes you've tried, and your favorite meals. If you do that, you could just rotate them and never wonder what you are having for dinner. I've been meaning to make one myself but haven't made time for it.

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