Do you plan your meals?

MoonMama wrote: For the week etc, or just wing it so to speak? Once in a while I'll plan ahead but for the most part I wing it.


Can you all tell I'm SUPER bored tonight?

Calimama replied: I plan 1 week at a time when I'm by myself, and 2 weeks in advance when DH is home. I can only get through a weeks worth of food shopping before Miabella is done.

Maddie&EthansMom replied: One week, usually. We like to change our minds so frequently that we can never stick to our 'menu'. We buy all the meat and bulk items monthly at CostCo or Sam's so there's not that much to buy at the store. I still catch myself going all the time, though. And spending too much money.

Hillbilly Housewife replied: Definitely. I plan about a month's worth of meals. 4 weeks, right down to the kids daily snacks.

I'm soo anal - I even make note of how much there is and how long it "should" last... and so I note the days I have to make what... like the breads, the yogurt, granola bars, muffins, brownies, pancakes etc... I make tons at once and freeze freeze freeze.

I do a big grocery shop once a month... and we do a fresh shop every week (fruit, veggies, milk)

it's just too fricken bad man... i cook so I decide what i'm cooking... and I stick to my list (for the most part) because if I don't, then i have unwanted leftovers in the wrong time and place and I get stuck. I'm wayyy too anal.

luvmykids replied: I'm trying to get better at planning....I usually have a good idea what we'll be having when I go to the store but don't always stick to it.

luvmykids replied:
I've thought about freezing pancakes and waffles...how do you keep them from being soggy when you reheat them?

MoonMama replied:
I'm pretty much the same way. I just don't always know exactly what we are having and what day.

Maddie&EthansMom replied: Rocky my husband would love it if I were more like you. He is SO FREAKING ANAL!!!

MoonMama replied:

Cece00 replied: I plan for about 2 weeks (dinners only). Then I add another 4-6 meals to the list for variety, so I'm not stuck with eating something I may or may not want.

Not sure if that makes sense

Its just so easy for me when I buy things to make like 20 meals, then any given day I pull out the list and say "Oh, that looks good" and make that, but I'm not stuck having something we dont want that night.

mommy~to~a~bunch replied: Yes, I do. I plan a weekly menu for suppers only. And then I shop once a week to get what we need, which usually isn't much, since I try to make most of it from scratch. I go weekly so all the ingredients are fresh. I never have to buy meat, as DH is an avid hunter & the freezer is always full.

sparkys2boys replied: I try to plan them out but usually dont do so well When I get weekly groceries I do have in mind what we will be having that week and go from there. I could do alot better at this though.

Hillbilly Housewife replied:
I have a counter-top oven I can pop like 8 of them in at once...toasts them a little while reheating them

I AM flexible though. If I don't feel like making what we're supposed to have for dinner on the monday, I'll take whatever else and just mark it off... as long as everything we bought is used, I'm not going to complain.

I was just sick of buying what looked good in the store and then using half or none of it, and it either spoiled or we threw it out.

PrairieMom replied: I plan our week's meals every monday night, then I go shopping Tuesday mornings. We do pretty good with it, if a meal needs changed for some reason we just move it to a night the next week. It really has helped cut the cost of our grocery bill since we are only buying what we really need, not what I think we may be out of.

Our Lil' Family replied: I try to do 2 weeks at a time. I don't assign meals to specific days, just make sure I have all the ingredients for about 10 dinners. We eat leftovers so we always make it to the 2 week mark. I have noticed that it helps with the grocery spending A LOT!

Kaitlin'smom replied: I need to do this, I spend way to much at the store and it seems to never last.

so any tips to help me get started planning?

Our Lil' Family replied:
Di, what I did was get all my recipes organized. I typed up the majority of them, printed them out and put them in a binder. In the very front of the binder I have a list of dinner ideas separated by meat choice (beef, chicken, seafood, crock pot). What I do when I make my list of meals is go through my freezer to see what meat I have. Then I choose what I want to make with that and make my grocery list from there. If it doesn't make enough then I go through the recipes and see what else I feel like making.

Hillbilly Housewife replied: I just wrote down everything we normally ate for 2 weeks... and then added 2 weeks worth of other meals we have fairly regularly...

the snacks and stuff a lot of them I make from scratch...I make most of our food from scratch... I actually don't cook more than 3 times a week, usually, because when i do I make double or triple batches... stuff gets used up so there's very rearely any freezer-burn, too.

Just write what you eat for a few weeks and go from there. Once you ahve a decent list, don't buy anything that's not on your list.

coasterqueen replied: Yes, for two reasons. One is so we know what kind and how much meat to order from our farmer. Two because I shop for groceries every two weeks and I wouldn't know what to buy unless I planned meals out. I used to plan a weekly menu, but we never stuck with it. So I basically decide what we'll have for a two week period and then I write on a white eraser board what meals we have available for that two week period and then we decide daily from that list what we'll eat.

Kaitlin'smom replied:
and that woudl mean leaving DH and Kaitlin at home

I really need to get better, I am tired of going every week and then feeling like I bought nothing so for much. Oh and wasting food that is driving me crazy

mysweetpeasWil&Wes replied: I plan out a menu one week at a time. It helps me to keep to my shopping list and not over spend. Plus, I like knowing what I'm going to make, since the evenings are so hectic (bathing kids, feeding them, etc).

Hillbilly Housewife replied: thought I should mention I do it for 4 weeks at a time because I usually make enough for 3 meals plus lunches... if I was to make only enough for one meal, yes, i'd probably stick to a one week plan.

I buy in bulk most of the time though... so it's just easy to make it all and then freeze or can it.

3xsthefun replied: I try to plan our meals for 2 weeks. But most of the time I just wing it.

Boo&BugsMom replied:
I make a meal list before I go shopping. I don't plan it out each day, but I have a set meal list of things I have to make those meals with then decide that day what I'm making from the list.

bawoodsmall replied: I must say I have been much better at this lately but could still use help. Rocky what snacks do you make from scratch? I have really been wanting to do this lately and dont really have any good ideas. Anyone else have any let me know.

Slow cooker has become my bff. Aiden will not wait long to eat so I dont usually have time to fix a meal after work.

Hillbilly Housewife replied:
I make 4 or 5 different types of muffins, granola bars, brownies, oatmeal cinnamon cake, small bread buns, cornbread, jams to put on them, rice krispie treats, donuts, yogurt, trail mix, fruit bars (like nutri grain i guess), applesauce, vanilla and chocolate pudding, about 5 different types of cookies...dried fruit in the summertime, the list goes on as per my mood and the supplies I have on hand when I'm doing it...

I also always have healthy stuff on hand...when we do our shoping for fruits and veggies etc... I tend to cut them up and put them in containers...so stuff like carrots, celeri, broccoli, mushrooms, cauliflower are precut and easy to dip in some dressing (which I also usually make)... some fruit I prep, like grapes - I wash and pull off the stems, they go in a container... small oranges and bananas I leave as is, but apples, pears, peaches or whatever I wash before I put them away so they're ready to go.

luvmykids replied:
Can I have your recipe for the fruit bars?

Brias3 replied: I'm trying to get better at this, so everyone's comments to this post have been really helpful!

Right now, I'll typically gather some meal ideas from the family before I do my big shopping trip for the week but I don't plan things out to the day. I'll grab the things I need for about a week's worth of meals on a big trip to the store. Since nights are so hectic for us, I'm finding it more difficult to stick to any schedule and usually end up winging it- a habit I'd like to get out of as that results in alot more eating out for us than usual!

Hillbilly Housewife replied:
Ingredients:


1 (18.25 ounce) box yellow cake mix
3/4 cup butter
2 1/2 cups quick oats
12 ounces preserves or jam
1 tablespoon water
Directions:


Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Melt butter. Combine cake mix and oats in a large bowl; stir in the melted butter until the mixture is crumbly. Measure half of this mixture (about 3 cups) into a greased 13 x 9-inch pan. Press firmly into pan to cover the bottom.

Combine preserves and water; spoon over crumb mixture in pan, and spread evenly. Cover with remaining crumb mixture. Pat firmly to make top even. Bake for 20 minutes. The top should be very light brown. Cool completely before cutting into bars.

*i generally just use the boxed cake mix... at 1$ a box, a bit less hassle than making my own plain cake abtter.... but plain cake batter works just as well.

luvmykids replied: I just made these last week I guess I was imagining something different than what I make But thanks for sharing

Hillbilly Housewife replied: lol

sorry it wasn't better... lol

Here's another one make sometimes....




1 cup boiling hot water
1 cup raisins
1/2 cup oil or shortening
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 medium egg
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups flour
Place the raisins in a large bowl while you heat up the water. When the water boils, pour it over the raisins. They will swell up and absorb some of the water. Add the oil or shortening. The heat from the raisins and water should be enough to melt the shortening, if that is the fat you use. Stir in the sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Add the egg and mix everything until the oil is well combined with everything else. Add the baking soda, salt and flour. Mix very well. The batter will be thin and lumpy. Turn this batter into a well oiled 9 by 13-inch rectangular pan. Bake at 375° for about 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool before cutting. Frost if desired with a simple vanilla frosting.


*can omit the egg for allergy reasons... doesn't change much.

*you can also add about a cup, or a cup 1/2 of shredded carrots, add to the raisins before the boiling water.

MoonMama replied: Rocky you never fail to amaze me with all you can do. I could learn a LOT from you.

luvmykids replied: Thanks, I'll try that one!

Hillbilly Housewife replied:
aww thanks

MoonMama replied:
Your very welcome!