I was wondering what you all did for meal planning. Any methods, hints, or creative ideas? I've tried various plans in the past months, some of which have worked better than others. This month I decided to do something new. As the start of our new pay period approached (we each get paid about every two weeks) I searched cookbooks and scoured the web for recipes that looked completely delicious, totally awesome, and made my husband excited too. I chose about ten main recipes, made an ingredients list from them, and added a few easy ones in as well (i.e. Trader Joe's Orange Chicken, frozen enchiladas and taquitos, and organic mac and cheese) for lunches or days when I didn't have time (or motivation) to cook. I wrote the final list of about 20 meals (including the easy ones) on a piece of computer paper and posted it on our fridge.
This method has done two things for us. One, the anticipation of awesome food made the slightly crappier meals at the end of the pay period easier to handle. Two, it has made cooking and eating a more collaborative experience for us. We like looking at the sheet together and deciding what to eat each night. Okay, I might enjoy this activity slightly more than Charlie, but he's a good sport about it.
Anyway, I'd be really interested to know what has worked for you!
2 comments:
I actually plan for each day. I sit down and do this on a weekly basis though: Monday-tacos, Tuesday-risotto, wed-red curry, etc.. then I know which meat to pull out of the freezer the day before to thaw. Also, if I have a day where I don't have time to cook, I plan a slow-cooker meal that I start in the morning. I do main shopping every two weeks, and go the other two weeks to fill in what I need. Since we entertain on a weekly basis, I also need to plan this meal a week ahead of time. We just eat whatever is planned for that day. I love to try new recipes and like a lot of variety, so my goal is not to eat a meal twice in the same month, 30 different meals for a month. Sometimes I search out recipes based on ingredients I have, or what was on sale, other times I look for something that sounds good and then go buy for that. Right now I have a lot of frozen edamame in the freezer, so I am searching out recipes for that :) The meals go on my calendar in my phone. I do ask Steve for requests when I plan my meals, but cooking is not a collaborative experience for us usually, as I make dinner and like to plan for it to be ready when he gets home from work. This method works well for us. I cannot have a night where I don't have a plan, as I will not have the motivation to come up with a meal on the spot and make it. HTH
I do the same thing as Carla. I have a meal planned for each night. I plan it around our schedule, so that when I have a busy night I have an easy dinner or a crock pot meal, although I'm still figuring out the crock pot. I don't use it as often as I would like. I found these magnetic notepads at Anthropologie- http://www.knockknock.biz/catalog/categories/pads/kk-pads/what-to-eat-pad/. You don't need them, but I really like them and Darren bought them for me, so I use them. :) We get paid on the 5th and the 20th, so I plan around those dates and do about 2 weeks at a time and I like to do a big grocery trip twice a month with small ones in between. If I don't have it planned out day by day, then I don't do very well at cooking dinner. I also like to see what I have to unthaw or if there's beans that need to soak or meat that needs to marinate. I'm just way more on the ball if it's planned out for each day. I don't have as many new things though. We definately don't eat 30 different meals in a month! Way to go, Carla! I have quite a few things that we eat twice a month, probably but I do have a picky husband. :)
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