Why I Really Should Do Meal Planning Again (Alternate Title: Why I Love My Neighbors)

I have a clip board which holds my menu planning calendars, grocery lists, freezer lists, etc. I have an excel spreadsheet seperated in to sections like the pp that has the names of items I buy on a regular basis printed on it. There is also space for irregular purchases in the same categories. I can just put checkmarks or quantities next to the regular items and write in the extras. I currently plan meals a few days/week at a time, though at one time I did it monthly. If I think of a menu I want, I just write it down on my weekly sheet. I have several on my clipboard so I can write down meals further out when I think of them, or mark of when we won’t be eating at home and the like.

For breakfast, we usually eat the same thing every Sunday, Monday, etc unless we travel/have company. That saves me a lot of planning time. I am just trying to build the habit of planning lunch so we can eat bean dishes and other things that I want to presoak.

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When I meal plan (like you,I need to get back on it) I generally plan week by week. Breakfast and lunch are free for alls (except weekend breakfasts which are special since my husband is home to enjoy them with us) so we keep things on hand for those. Dinners are planned, usually with left-overs in mind. Like baked chicken and various veggie sides will become Vietnamese chicken fried rice (we like the recipe from “More-With-Less” cookbook) which is a great use-it-up recipe. I Use Amy Knapp’s Family Organizer https://www.familyorganizer.com/Product.aspx?id=48 which has perforated side columns for “menu’ and “grocery” (which means, tear it out and take it to the store….if I remember lol). Although… once I get my blackberry this system is going digital

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I actually bought a recipe program for my computer…Bigoven…easy to import any recipe…organized in recipe boxes with a calender where you just have to drag and drop your recipes. You can also add your recipes to the grocery list. It lets you uncheck what you have on hand. It is the best and easiest program to use. I couldn’t live without it.

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Kelly,

I plan on paper in my planner and I use Franklin Covey’s menu planning pages – my mom got them for me for Christmas a couple of years ago and I like them a lot.

I either plan once a week or once a month – If I’m planning once a month we use the same menu for four weeks (I do this most often during a stressful month).

I make out my menu – breakfasts, lunches, and dinners (though breakfasts and lunches tend to always be the same from week to week). Then I go through and make out my shopping list (it’s printed on the back of the menu plan and nicely divided by category).

After I make out the shopping list I take a piece of notepaper and write the days of the week, then write out my “to-do’s” for each day – soaking, thawing, marinating, etc.

I put the menu plan/grocery list in my planner in front of the week it’s for. I post my to-do list on the fridge.

I do have a magnetic pad on the fridge where I write staples/spices/etc that run out and I check that when I make out my list. I use the “misc” column on the printed shopping list to write what I need to get from the co-op.

Generally we stick to the plan but I like to have stuff on hand for “quick” meals in case I can’t make what I’d planned for whatever reason. I’m also trying to double and triple a recipe or two every week so our freezer will be stocked just in case we need a meal from there.

No tips on cutting down the time… I just take the 30 minutes or so I need every Friday evening while the hubby and I play a game together on the computer

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I have to agree with Holly — we live in an awesome neighborhood!!

I do all my meal planning on paper. I started a couple years ago with a master list of maindishes we like. It is broken down into categories-
poultry, pork, beef, ground beef, mexican, pasta, soups/ sandwiches.
Everyone in the family had input so their favorite dishes were included.
Just two weeks ago I did a major planning/ shopping adventure.
I now have a list of 40 maindishes (some repeats) that are premade or that I have the ingredients for on my refrigerator. And 10 more meals that I could shop for.
I have the luxury of having a standup freezer and an extra refrigerator.
I keep an inventroy of my freezers.
On Friday I plan for the weekend and up coming weeks meals. I included weekend/ weekday breakfast , weekend lunches, and all dinners.
Once I have made a dish I have highlighted it. I plan to use this list as a master copy.
I always cook and plan for extras so that I can make at least two meals at a time. Usually the second meal goes into the freezer to be used another week. (My family doesnot like leftovers).
I also do a day of prep work. Saturday or Monday I get started for the week. Right now I have beans cooking to use for making a mexican dish and freezing the extra. I have the potatoes I need for the week parboiling. The skins are on. I will wrap them in a white cloth and store in an airtight container in the refrig. Then they are ready for hash browns or fried potatoes or whatever else this week. Parboiling them cuts the cooking time dramatically.
Also I have to bake today for lunch boxes. While the brownies are baking, I will make a batch of rice to cook in the oven at the same time and then it will be ready to use later this week.
It takes some planning and thinking ahead. But it has cut down on the amount of time we eat out — as a family we only ate out 4 times in 2008! We use to eat out atleast once a week!

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