Anyone have dinners themed by day of week?

kommodevaran
kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
edited November 2024 in Food and Nutrition
I have the opposite problem of most meal planners, I think... Just too many recipes I want to try, and too many old favorites I never get bored from! Finding it hard to choose, slowly, my dinners started to become repetetive and the plan unstructured, and I spent too much time starting from scratch because a small change would make everything collapse. I had played with the idea of themed dinners for a long time, just because I thought it might be "cute" - until I suddely realised that it could be the solution to my "problem". I like dinners to alternate between "light" and "heavy", and to spread out the more expensive stuff so that I eat varied, but mostly cheap. This is what I came up with:

Monday: Soup or stew (often meatless, coincidentally)
Tuesday: Pork or chicken
Wednesday: Leftovers from Monday
Thursday: Fish (I only like salmon and herring for dinner, so once a week is ideal)
Friday: Anything - this is the day for experimenting, takeaway, or the frozen section
Saturday: Cheese on toast or pancakes
Sunday: Beef or lamb

If I follow this plan, I will have gone through all categories in just two weeks - and I will never have to eat the same meal more than twice per month :D

How are your dinner plans?

Replies

  • Ginnygirl5
    Ginnygirl5 Posts: 55 Member
    Oh yes I have too! That's how I get to try new things and sneak in the old favorites! Lol
  • rockmama72
    rockmama72 Posts: 815 Member
    We have Taco Tuesday and Soup Sunday often.
  • QueenKristine77
    QueenKristine77 Posts: 67 Member
    I do Meatless Mondays and Taco Tuesdays
  • vivmom2014
    vivmom2014 Posts: 1,649 Member
    My only "theme" is no meat. And: eat at home. Those are my guidelines.

    I'm cooking less from recipes these days, too. I went through a long phase of trying new recipes and photographing them for a fun cooking website, but they changed the site (for the worse) so I'm not active on it anymore. Now I'm having good results just going into the kitchen, assessing what I've got and putting things together. We like soups, Mexican "bakes", stuffed spaghetti squash, fish & shrimp, stir fries, veggie burgers, pizza, pasta dishes, etc.
  • rankinsect
    rankinsect Posts: 2,238 Member
    My only real theme is extra protein on the days I train. Those days I typically add a protein bar, protein shake, and a meat entree. Apart from that I just plan my weeks in advance and do my best to stick to it.
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
    My 8 year old gets very excited with the idea of Taco Tuesdays.
  • Azexas
    Azexas Posts: 4,334 Member
    We do pizza fridays but thats about it
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    This content has been removed.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    nvmomketo wrote: »
    My 8 year old gets very excited with the idea of Taco Tuesdays.

    And my inner 8 year old always looks forward to pancakes on Saturdays :D
  • withoutasaddle
    withoutasaddle Posts: 191 Member
    I had a LOT of fun doing color themes. Red on Monday, orange Tuesday, and so on. That was during a 'raw vegan' phase though, it probably wouldn't be as fun or filling now.
  • SingRunTing
    SingRunTing Posts: 2,604 Member
    We tend to do Pasta Wednesday and Pizza Friday. We also try to do asian food at least once a week.
  • Lizzy622
    Lizzy622 Posts: 3,705 Member
    My meal plan is based on the supermarket sales circular. I plan my meals by what is on sale and in season. In the fall and winter I like to use warming spices like cinnamon, curry, ginger and cumin, so I look for recipes with these spices.
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,423 Member
    I do that but don't assign specific days of the week.
    I generally have soup once a week, breakfast for dinner once a week, a couple of meatless meals, maybe sandwiches one day a week. I plan for 28 days at a time so it makes it faster to choose some categories and fill things in my plan that way. Sometimes I have 1 item in my mind that suggests a category I want to use each week.
    I wrote a blog post about my meal planning process last time I did it and how I use categories or themes. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/Lounmoun/view/my-meal-planning-process-765880
  • debtay123
    debtay123 Posts: 1,327 Member
    We do fish on fridays, and big dinner on sundays
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    We have pizza on Thursdays. My daughter likes to have pizza on pizza day at school (Friday) but doesn't like to wait in line to buy it. She takes leftovers from the night before instead.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    Lounmoun wrote: »
    I do that but don't assign specific days of the week.
    I generally have soup once a week, breakfast for dinner once a week, a couple of meatless meals, maybe sandwiches one day a week. I plan for 28 days at a time so it makes it faster to choose some categories and fill things in my plan that way. Sometimes I have 1 item in my mind that suggests a category I want to use each week.
    I wrote a blog post about my meal planning process last time I did it and how I use categories or themes. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/Lounmoun/view/my-meal-planning-process-765880

    Thank you! I love to read about how other people meal plan. You have a lot of variety going on, I like that. In fact, everything on you list sounds delicious, can I come for dinner? :p

    I've actually on the first day of a 12 weeks' dinner plan; excited to see if I can pull it off, or if it gets boring to follow something I decided a long time ago, or too difficult to organize the shopping, or whatever. But most of the meals are repetition, which I know I like, and they are all just variations over the same themes, so it should be quite easy - and a tool, not a burden.
  • Queenmunchy
    Queenmunchy Posts: 3,380 Member
    I plan and pre-cook early week dinners over the weekend as well as things we can pull from the freezer in single servings (think burritos, meatballs, nuggets, soups, stews, chilis) so we have plenty at our fingertips. I also post our weekly meals on the fridge and try to get my daughter and/or husband to plan dinners with me. Anyone is free to grab a single portion of food for lunch at any time. I also pre-make my breakfasts many times by making one frittata or something and eating it for 4 days. I like my days to be stress free during the week.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    Lizzy622 wrote: »
    My meal plan is based on the supermarket sales circular. I plan my meals by what is on sale and in season. In the fall and winter I like to use warming spices like cinnamon, curry, ginger and cumin, so I look for recipes with these spices.

    I have made myself a routine to check flyers on Sunday nights - but I'm not perfectly tuned into it yet; dinner meat/fish on sale hasn't matched what I use/need. I've been able to stock up on some small things though, cheese, sandwich spreads, vegetables. Sometimes there are great deals in the shop, that hasn't been announced. I have to be able to decide on the go. That makes planning a bit challenging.
  • snikkins
    snikkins Posts: 1,282 Member
    Not dinner always, but:

    Donut Monday
    Taco Tuesday
    Waffle Wednesday
    Thirsty Thursday (involves homemade pizza and beer)
    StirFriday (or pizza again if we have a long run planned on Saturday)

    No plans for the weekend, but I like the idea of Soup Sunday now that winter is hobbling its way here!
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    I like your ingenuity, snikkins!
  • snikkins
    snikkins Posts: 1,282 Member
    Thanks! It's really fun! Ideally, we get up early and walk to the donut place on Mondays, too, so that's fun! =)
  • Asher_Ethan
    Asher_Ethan Posts: 2,430 Member
    I do it too. But that's what works with my lifestyle
    Monday - always something in the crock pot. I like to have dinner ready for my husband every night he gets home. On Mondays I work late so the crockpot lets me have dinner ready for him without being home.
    Tuesday - Something with carbs. I have a hard workout day on Wednesdays so I feel like I can carb load Tuesday nights.
    Wednesdays - Usually something heavy in calories I don't usually get to eat because I worked out so hard that day.
    Thursdays - My Zen day. I try a new recipe every Thursday.
    Friday - Usually my husband is out all Friday night so I get to cook whatever the f I want (but it's usually low carb high protien)
  • VivianChavezTanis
    VivianChavezTanis Posts: 1 Member
    Taco Tuesday - I'm Mexican that's how we roll but I make them healthier.
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
    kommodevaran wrote: »
    nvmomketo wrote: »
    My 8 year old gets very excited with the idea of Taco Tuesdays.

    And my inner 8 year old always looks forward to pancakes on Saturdays :D

    My 8 year old is spoiled he gets pancakes or waffles every day of the week. So spoiled...
This discussion has been closed.

Categories