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JennGM
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| Posted: March 10 2009 at 11:10am | IP Logged
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With the daily threads of dinner and lunch plans, it gets me to thinking. I love the inspiration, and also love to see the variety.
Dawn just explained how she doesn't always do a meal plan. Doing one is one of my habits for Lent. I have a great system, just never implemented it. I find I'm scared to actually commit to paper, since life seems to fluctuate so. But now I am.
And I'm wondering how do YOU plan your weekly meals and shopping? Have a system? Have set menu plans on a rotating basis? Would anyone be able to step in and take over because it's organized with recipes and all? The latter question was on my mind particularly.
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Jennifer G. Miller
Wife to  & ds1  '03 & ds2  '07
Family in Feast and Feria
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: March 10 2009 at 12:09pm | IP Logged
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Well I use a pantry system and have a large freezer.. so pretty much any of our basic meals can be made at any time.
Extra special meals or if we happen to be out of fresh ingredients that are necessary might curtail being able to use any particular meal but there's always lots of choices. And often I can even make fairly nice meals without having to buy anything special.
Mostly I don't have recipes.. I didn't grow up using recipes for basic meals.
But I have enough basics that anyone would be able to come in and cook as long as they know how to cook from scratch. Someone who needs partially pre-made things would find it hard. There's no cream of.. soups.. I make a white sauce and flavor it how I want instead.. things like that.
But my dh, older children, mom, sister, MIL.. they can all work with my system.
Can't imagine someone coming in for long otherwise.. maybe a neighbor in an emergency.. but my sister is practically a neighbor (she's less than a mile away.. about 4 blocks) so..
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Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
-Sir Walter Scott
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BeckyC
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| Posted: March 10 2009 at 11:45pm | IP Logged
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I made myself a meal plan about a year ago because I was tired of always missing a key ingredient and needing to run out to the store or wondering what I would make for dinner at 4 pm. After seeing what some others were doing with one or two week menus, I knew that I would get bored with that really fast. So I expanded that idea and made a 9 week rotating menu or 2 months worth of meals. That means that each recipe is eaten only 6 times in a year!
Each week I have an italian dinner, beef, chicken, pork, meatless and an easy night of hot dogs, hamburgers, pizza or eggs/bacon. One night is for leftovers. There is no set day for any of these; I will mix them up during the week. Depending on how my week is going, I use the easy night for one of those nights when we get home late and I can whip it up quick or do a crock pot meal before I leave. I made a chart with all the weeks on it and numbered 1-9 which is hanging on the side of my refrigerator. Each night or morning, all I have to do is look at the chart to see what is on the menu and get the meat out of the freezer.
Next, I made a grocery list for each week in a Word document listing ALL the ingredients that I need to prepare the week's meals. I have it grouped by Produce, Refrigerated, Condiments, Dry/Canned, Meat, Frozen and Misc which is how my grocery store is laid out. I can get 3 weeks in 3 columns on a page, print it out, cut the columns and hang them on my refrigerator. Throughout the week I can add items to my list in the proper category for next week's shopping. I usually go shopping on Friday or Saturday. Before I go shopping I get my list and quickly look to see what I need. I cross off what I already have and put the list in my purse. This grocery list has been the key for me. I am not running to the store all the time and it helps keep our food bill down!
I have another Word document where I am compiling my recipes by the week, so anyone could come in and continue my meal plan. Eventually I plan to print it out and put it in a pretty binder. Also, when my kids are grown up, all our family recipes will be gathered together so they can have them for their new homes.
When I run across a new recipe that I would like to try, I add the ingredients onto my list hanging on the fridge and substitute that for one of my scheduled meals. If we like it alot, I will save it for when I want to tweak my menu. I have been toying with the idea of making a summer menu of maybe 6 weeks rotating if we get a grill.
I shop at BJ's once a month, so I made a grocery list for that too listing everything we buy there regularly. Before shopping, I print it out, cross off what I don't need, and put it in my purse. I was constantly forgetting things when I would write up a list each month. I hope this gives you some ideas. After many unorganized years of shopping, this is what I came up with in desperation. It took alot of time at first to put together, but it was definitely worth it. It works great for our family and made my job as a housewife so much easier!
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Becky, mom to dd 6, dd 5, and ds 3
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Mackfam
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| Posted: March 11 2009 at 1:28pm | IP Logged
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Seasonal Planning
Well, it starts with a seasonal menu for me. There aren't just 4 of these, Lent is a season, Easter is a season...so at the onset of each natural season and each major liturgical season, I pull out my favorite books and recipe file and plan a seasonal menu. Included on my seasonal menu listing are the following categories:
**Main Dishes - Meatless, Chicken, Ground Beef, Special Meals.
**Side dishes
**Panic Meals
**Pasta Salads/Salads
**Favorite Dressings to Make
**Breakfast
**Lunch
**Snacks
**Desserts
**Teatime
I choose several ideas for each category and file that sheet on my meal planning clipboard. I make notes on my menu of the cookbooks the recipe came from with page #, or if it's in my recipe file, I move the card up to the front.
Market Checklist
Using Word, I created a 3 column document with little square check boxes next to each item. While all of my recipe cards and cookbooks are out, I add the ingredients needed for each of the meals I've chosen for that seasonal menu to my shopping checklist. Makes market days so much easier to plan for. Of course, staples are on this list as well.
Then, there's...
Weekly Planning
Each week, I grab my meal planning basket which contains:
*Clipboard with menus, seasonal menu I've completed, market list
*Coupons
*Pencils
*Calendar
*Grocery store sale flyers for the week
I also gather my liturgical year cookbooks as I plan special liturgical meals for Feasts weekly, not seasonally. I write it all out on a weekly menu - this one: (which anyone is welcome to use or tweak as needed)
2009-03-11_131045_Weekly_Menu_Plan.xls
...then, I check needed items for the market off on my list, pull out coupons and add them to the shopping envelope on my clipboard and I'm ready to shop the menu for the week.
It's probably not the best system, but it has been working for me for some time now. I have to have a good plan or I panic at 5:00 and ask dh to bring home Sonic 6 of the 7 nights. I used to plan monthly, but that was too far out. The seasonal menu lets me think of meal ideas that coordinate with the season, and the weekly planning lets me get to the details of the week with some thought already having gone into the "what" of the meals for the week. Finding a system that works for us and sticking to it has resulted in healthier, more well-thought out meals and a huge savings on our food budget because I purchase thoughtfully rather than just willy-nilly.
Anyway, hope this helps some, Jenn! 
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Jen Mackintosh
Wife to Rob, mom to dd 19 , ds 16, ds 11, dd 8, and dd 3
Wildflowers and Marbles
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Mackfam
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| Posted: March 11 2009 at 1:32pm | IP Logged
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Forgot one of your questions, Jenn...
JennGM wrote:
| Would anyone be able to step in and take over because it's organized with recipes and all? The latter question was on my mind particularly. |
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I think so. My mom does every time I get pregnant and sick. I have a set seasonal menu plan for her (I take into account what I have in the freezer, pantry, what the family usually eats), and she can note on my menu that the recipe either came from my file or a cookbook. She and my oldest dd do the weekly planning for me, but it's a breeze, because I have it set up ahead of time.
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Jen Mackintosh
Wife to Rob, mom to dd 19, ds 16, ds 11, dd 8, and dd 3
Wildflowers and Marbles
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4Real Forums : Our Lady's Loom, Larder, and Laundry
Topic: Meal Planning -- How Do You Do It?
