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JennGM
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| Posted: April 15 2010 at 8:06am | IP Logged
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I fell off the wagon with my meal planning again.
Do you make a weekly plan for meals?
What day do you plan?
Do you have a rotation plan? How many weeks?
Do you plan in days that "free-for-all" or spontaneous (in other words, have preplanned that this day is unplanned  )?
Do you plan certain recipes, or do you plan basics, like chicken, beef, beans, chicken, fish, and then fill in later?
Here are my humps: I usually try to plan for the week, but I don't have a freezer stock, so I'm buying for the week usually. So while I can make some ideas for the menu, I really am not for sure what is available in the meat department (i.e. on sale).
So sometimes I go with a loose "chicken on Monday, ground beef on Tuesday, crockpot meal on Wednesday,...." and then firm up once I grocery shop (which is usually Monday).
But I'm thinking it might be better to have the rotation menu set, and then adjust here and there when the stock isn't helpful.
I do buy a bit more if something is really on sale, but dh doesn't want me to buy so much in advance.
What do you do? Do you do your meal planning with your lesson planning?
So I have lots of question -- can you tell this is planning season?
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Jennifer G. Miller
Wife to  & ds1  '03 & ds2  '07
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guitarnan
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| Posted: April 15 2010 at 8:22am | IP Logged
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I am not doing so well with meal planning either, and I know why. The weather. I have summer meals and winter meals and I don't like mixing them up, but when it's 90 degrees one day and 65 the next, I have to. 
I don't have a big freezer either, so my "stock" is mostly cooked frozen beans (I am cooking kidney beans right now) and some frozen veggies and chicken pieces.
I plan a list of meals for the week and then let circumstances and schedules help me decide which meal to cook for each day. Today, for example, I will be at the dance studio for 2.5 hours, so I have to make a crockpot meal or else cook something ahead so I can just heat it up when we get home. It's looking like it will be a chicken dish because I'm poaching chicken for our homeless casserole (it's due on Sunday) and I threw extra chicken pieces into the pot.
It's also helpful to keep the fixings for an "emergency meal" on hand at all times. Mine are typically pasta with some kind of sauce and turkey Italian sausage in the winter, and turkey burgers and baked beans in the winter. That way I can crank out a meal even if I haven't had time during the week to do my regular shopping. (Maybe I should call it "meal insurance"?)
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Nancy in MD. Mom of ds (24) & dd (18); 31-year Navy wife, move coordinator and keeper of home fires. Writer and dance mom.
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dakotamidnight
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| Posted: April 15 2010 at 8:59am | IP Logged
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I just plan daily - what do we feel like for dinner that day.
This helps use up the leftovers and excess in the freezer.
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mom2mpr
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| Posted: April 15 2010 at 9:17am | IP Logged
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I plan for the week on Tuesday. It only takes 15 minutes or so, most weeks. I school plan on Wednesdays. I don't have that much time to do both in one sitting.
I shop Thursday or Friday. Or Saturday 
I used to try to catch sales, but planning my meals in the store took too much time. So, I just list out 6 meals and the ingredients I need to buy. I have one of those menu planning sheets and I write activities on the correct days (like Nancy said, so you know when you need a quick meal or CP meal). I also list meal ideas for the different days, and put my shopping list on the back under headings like, produce, dry/canned, meat and dairy. I have found not having the menu when shopping is hard because sometimes I wonder what an ingredient was for or if I can substitute something that happens to be on sale (burger meat for ground turkey for instance). The meals are assigned days but sometimes move around-even to the next week sometimes. It helps to know what I have available to cook.
My go to quick/emergency "oops" meals are also pasta and sauce, pasta and sauteed vegies with some parm on top, chicken nuggets from the freezer, and left overs.
I don't enjoy this job so much. I offer it up. I used to shop every 2 weeks and it was great not to have to go to the grocery but every other week, but the planning was overwhelming for me. So, I am back to doing it every week.
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Anne, married to dh 16 years!, ds,(97), Little One (02), and dd (02).
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Carole N.
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| Posted: April 15 2010 at 10:12am | IP Logged
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I try to plan on Thursday or Friday. It depends on if I shop on Friday or Saturday. I have been pretty good about planning lately. I have to take into consideration evening activities as well as online classes. I don't want to have a lot of dishes on a night that we are out and about (lol).
I try to remember what I have in the freezer as I sit down. I also try to plan around what my dd likes. She can be a very picky eater. With the teens, they always love pizza, but there are certain favorites that always receive a good reception.
I have been trying to do the seasonal menu, but unfortunately, I have not planned for spring/summer. However, we have had really lovely weather this past week, so we have been cooking on the grill. I find that this makes less dishes as well because I love to have grilled food and can make just about any dish on the grill.
I also find that having the meals planned in advance helps me at the market with the shopping. Additionally, each day I know what I have to prepare and how much time it will take. And for us, some meals which were so easy at home, require a bit more preparation here. The store-bought Mexican food is not appreciated, so I usually end up making beans and tortillas myself. They are probably better for you anyway.
I usually lesson plan in the morning on Wednesday or Thursday depending on our week. I cannot do both together. Hope this helps, Jenn.
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 Carole ... in Wales
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JennGM
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| Posted: April 15 2010 at 10:18am | IP Logged
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Thanks, all, for humoring me with answers!
Carole and Nancy you are on to something -- these transition season, cold and hot, is hard to plan. We had 90 degree weather in April! That is not a day to cook with the oven! So plans are more flux and flow during this season.
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Jennifer G. Miller
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DominaCaeli
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| Posted: April 15 2010 at 10:18am | IP Logged
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Well, we are on a budget, so I am definitely dependent on the sales. I plan week to week--that's the cheapest method I have found. I do buy ahead, especially when it comes to meats. I have a master menu list of dishes that we all enjoy, and I pull from that. I also rely heavily on freezer cooking, because it's very difficult to do much cooking during the dinner hour with my three little ones underfoot.
My usual routine:
Tuesday: Ads come. I look through them and make a tentative plan for next week. If meat is on sale, I plan a couple main dishes around that. If not, I plan to defrost some from the freezer. The week usually includes a couple dishes made "fresh" and a couple pre-prepared meals from our freezer stash. (I batch-cook once a month or so, so there are always several meals available.) Fridays are meatless, and at least one day involves leftovers.
Friday: I make my final plans and grocery lists.
Saturday: Shopping day!
My menu remains flexible throughout the week (if we have more leftovers than expected, for example, we'll eat those the next day and push the other meals back accordingly), but it's always pretty set at least a day or so in advance.
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Celeste
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Mimip
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| Posted: April 15 2010 at 10:39am | IP Logged
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Okay,
So after struggling with this for the past 12 years of marriage ( I do not enjoy cooking) I FINALLY have a meal plan that is working. This is what I did:
1. I realized that we need to have two sets of meals: Winter and Summer since we really only have 2 seasons in S. FLA.
2. I wrote down all the meals that I make for my family for the winter (I was in the winter at the time) I got this idea from a menu planning packet I picked up and it works. I quizzed my kids and my hubby and we brainstormed all the meals I make for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
3. I decided that our breakfast and lunch will be the same every week.
For example: Mondays we always have muffins for breakfast and sandwiches and fruit for lunch.
4. Wednesday the ad for our grocery stores come in the mail.
5. Thursday nights I make our meal plan for the following week. We have a lot of visitors and a ton of outside of activities. I use Dawns folder system so I sit with our calendar and folder for next week and look at the meal list and choose which meals to make then with the ad and inventory from the kitchen.
6. I use a template I found from that same meal planning kit to write down my shopping list.
7. What has happened is a natural rhythm of meals. For example: Wednesdays my dd has choir until 6:30 so on that day I make ahead the meal and take a large snack in the car for before and eat when we get home.
8. I am just now adding new meals into our rotation because I an so sick of the same 15-20 meals over and over again.
For the first time in my life I am enjoying the process of planning the meals and cooking!!!!!! For our summer meal plan I am going to add a ton more salads and cold things so I am looking forward to a new set of meals:)
Hope this helps.
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In Christ,
Mimi
Wife of 16 years to Tom, Mom of DD'00, DD'02, '04(in heaven) DS'05, DS'08 and DS '12
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: April 15 2010 at 10:41am | IP Logged
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i meal plan when I need to.. so for instance.. this week.. and next week.. I have enough overlap that things feel nutty and so I came up with ideas for meals that wouldn't be too hard.. but I got to Friday (a birthday meal) and sorta did the.. well maybe something bbq'd or pasta on Saturday and/or Sunday.. pretty much.. I have lots more time to work on meals and I'm not worried about needing to know ahead for those days so I don't.
And I'll probably do the same next week.. get to Monday, and know the next 3 days are gonna be nutty and plan for those days but leave the easy weekend days open.
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Cay Gibson
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| Posted: April 15 2010 at 11:56am | IP Logged
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Free Menu Planner
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Cay Gibson
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Erin
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| Posted: April 15 2010 at 4:32pm | IP Logged
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Mimip wrote:
So after struggling with this for the past 12 years of marriage ( I do not enjoy cooking) I FINALLY have a meal plan that is working. This is what I did:
1. I realized that we need to have two sets of meals: Winter and Summer since we really only have 2 seasons in S. FLA.
2. I wrote down all the meals that I make for my family for the winter (I was in the winter at the time) I got this idea from a menu planning packet I picked up and it works. I quizzed my kids and my hubby and we brainstormed all the meals I make for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
3. I decided that our breakfast and lunch will be the same every week.
For example: Mondays we always have muffins for breakfast and sandwiches and fruit for lunch.
6. I use a template I found from that same meal planning kit to write down my shopping list.
8. I am just now adding new meals into our rotation because I an so sick of the same 15-20 meals over and over again.
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Mimi has lots of wonderful suggestions  (Where were you when I needed this Mimi?  )
We also follow something similar. We have a winter/summer menu, it is typed up in excel and saved. thus saving hours of frustration. We tend to have a basic routine for the week like you. This enables a bit of fluidity if the sales aren't on the meat I want. As I've shared we shop once a month and I grab meat ahead to save $$.
Because of the menu now in place I don't have to re-plan each time I shop, but I do look at it the night before I shop and add a meal now and then for variety. I also print out my list and fill it in the night before. For some reason I hate this job, filling in my shopping list  I don't know why as I have a master pantry list etc now so I don't have to think too much 
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Paula in MN
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I keep the same breakfast and lunch menu all year. For dinner I do something a bit different. We have three freezers, we hunt and fish, and we have six gardens. So my shopping is done at home, and occasionally in town for milk, butter, flour, staples.
We sat down as a family and picked our favorite meals with the main ingredient of venison, chicken or fish. Then we built our weekly calendar with the general meat, not the specific recipe. Fridays are fish or chicken, and the rest of the days are venison one day and chicken the next.
For example, everyone knows that Wednesday is chicken. I have all the chicken recipes we like listed on the menu. We keep running lists of what we have in the pantry and freezer, and we made sure when choosing our recipes that they use ingredients always on hand. so then it's just a matter of grabbing those ingredients, thawing the frozen items, cooking and eating. We generally "pick" the recipe the night before, especially if it goes in the slow-cooker.
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Becky Parker
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| Posted: April 15 2010 at 6:46pm | IP Logged
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For dinners, I have a "main ingredient" rotation that I go through year round, and then seasonally adjust the rest. So on Mondays, my family knows they will be getting chicken of some sort. In the winter this could be homemade chicken noodle soup with bread and cheese. In the summer this might mean chicken fajita's or some sort of big salad with chicken it it.
I did this several years ago because I found that it helped with the grocery shopping. I can get basically the same main ingredients and I only have to adjust the extras. I find it brain-draining to do shopping lists all the time, so I have a monthly checklist of items I will need and then add in the extras (I shop once a month except for occasional milk, bread and produce trips.) So, in answer to the question, I create a monthly menu for each season, which I do at the start of the season. I actually am quite lazy and save all my menus so, when I did my spring menu at the beginning of this month I pulled out last years and only add a few different things in place of things that didn't sound good to me anymore.
On the other hand, I desperately need help with lunch planning. It seems there is never anything to eat for lunch around here.
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Sarah
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| Posted: April 15 2010 at 8:26pm | IP Logged
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I have similar issues. The weeks I don't plan and fly by the seat of my pants are often very incomplete and poor meals.
I have decided to use Monday as an office day where I do paper type work and that includes meal planning. Then I am going to try to grocery shop for that menu on Thursdays. I will gather all the needed items for the week at the store that day.
I sat down and wrote out all our favorite meals in each area: chicken, ground beef, other beef, lamb, pork, meatless.so I have a list to choose from quickly while planning. I also didn't write anything on the menu that the majority of the family disliked.
Then I take in account energy level and time for the week.
My big challenge is similar to yours Jenn in that my meat choices change. We buy meat in bulk from a farmer so I often have different cuts of beef to deal with. We have to pace ourselves with the easy ground beef stuff that kids like and I have to force myself to get creative with the steaks and roasts.
Also, I'm stick using whole chickens due to our bulk purchasing or raising our own this last year.
Lunches are my worst nightmare. I so want to avoid expensive junk like frozen pizza, but lack time and energy for a big cooking production right at 10am. Often I don't have enough dinner leftovers to feed the whole crowd.
For a while we were having every Thursday as a fun taco night with lots of toppings and Saturdays as a fun hamburger night, again with weird toppings for teens like guacamole and Habanero salsa.
Then there was also the time before I was pregnant when every friday night was homemade pizza night. I gag at the thought now but for months that was so great.
Then, there was the Wednesday chicken fun where every Wednesday I made a brand new chicken dish we had never tasted. The kids were so excited to hear each week what I was attempting. And they were not always great but most were a hit! Even Dh was excited to hear what I was trying. My friend would text me and ask what I was making. It was fun.
It all went down the tubes when I became pregnant and sick but I'm going back to a similar theme. We are going to try the MLB ballpark menu that's on another thread.
So, if there are a couple nights you can anchor with a huge hit and make it kind of healthy, then you can fill in the other nights with other changing menus.I basically trick my picky teen into eating avacadoes by letting him make his own guacamole. I love those nights that I know what's on the menu and I get very fast at making them.
Menu planning is so important but really time consuming and hard. I often fall off track, but its good to get back on again.
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Angie Mc
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Here is my most current meal plan on paper. I update it often and I print it off on Saturday, put it on my refrigerator with a magnet that has a pen attached. The family is expected to circle or add any food items that we need to purchase. Hope springs eternal .
I consider this the plan and don't fill in specifics a week in advance...more like as we go along. For example, we get baskets of co-op produce on Saturdays so I'll add that to the menu after pick-up. I'll shop on (or around) Wednesday and add specials picked up to the menu. I shop for "the plan", being sure to have a nice meal for Saturday night, etc. We have a ton of recipes available and allrecipes.com is our go-to recipe collection for variety and ingredient searches. I have a well stocked pantry, and plenty of pantry-only recipes for emergency, although it pains me to say that my freezer is tiny  and I can't put an extra in my AZ garage . Seasonal changes happen naturally. We do go off the plan, but not all that often...we can freely "switch" one day's plan for another and NO we can't skip leftover day (I know, I'm a tough .)
I hope to post about why we've made some pretty big changes to when we choose to eat our main daily meal (in the morning)...but that will need to wait for now.
Hope this helps, Jenn .
Love,
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Angie Mc
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Angie Mc
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| Posted: April 15 2010 at 9:07pm | IP Logged
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Angie Mc wrote:
I hope to post about why we've made some pretty big changes to when we choose to eat our main daily meal (in the morning)...but that will need to wait for now.
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Here it is, eat like a queen, commoner, pauper .
Love,
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Angie Mc
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Kristie 4
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I plan on grocery shopping day- usually for 2 weeks but when I am bushed I just plan for one and make it simple. I also stash alot of my old plans in a file folder in the kitchen so I can grab an old one if I am not inspired.
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4Real Forums : Our Lady's Loom, Larder, and Laundry
Topic: Meal Planning -- When Do you Plan?
