What's your meal plan?

[Heather]

Originally Posted by Sophie GKS

This is ours this week:

Sunday - Nandos take out (it's a DELISHIOUS Portuguese restaurant, the US needs to get them seriously DH and I missed them SO much when we were in the States!! http://www.nandos.co.uk/)

Monday: Chicken Jambalaya

Tuesday: chicken Fajitas (low fat recipe made with a can of chopped tomatoes, kidney beans, chili, home made guacamole etc)

Wednesday: Stuffed marrow

Thursday: fish pie (home made)

Friday: Rogan Josh with naan bread

Saturday: Thai take-out I'll have a Thai green curry

I LOVE NANDO'S! It was seriously our favorite place to eat in England. We even bought the sauce to keep at the house and should have brought some with us when we left.

[Heather]

I usually only buy 3-5 nights of meals at a time. I try to only go to the store twice a week. I've learned that if I try to buy for the whole week I get confused and we end up eating out.

Tonight through Monday we will be having in no particular order:

-Turkey Burgers with Sweet Potato Fries
-Jambalaya with Jalapeno Cheddar Corn Bread
-Roast Beef Au Jus with Crock Pot Mac-n-Cheese and veggies
-Tilapia with Creamy Corn, Zucchini and Chipotle Bake
-Steak Tacos with Mexican Rice

[Haylie.]

I never plan, I just look in my cabinet or fridge and find something to cook and that's what we eat.

[Kitten]

Originally Posted by marinewife121606

I am surprised Eric lets me do the shopping around here because I am the same way! Oh well, he has yet to complain about the grocery bill! We spend around $225 a week on groceries, mainly buying fresh foods because we do try to eat healthy. The produce adds up so quickly!

Ok....glad I am not the only one! And the produce...its cann really add up. I buy produce weekly and it can get expensive.

Originally Posted by Poochie

I don't think you sound snarky.

Thank you. I know sometimes I totally do sound that way though...so I didnt want to come off that way with my question!

[S.Lynn]

We don't do a day by day plan. I'll write down what sounds good/what requires the least amount of ingredients for me to buy/what is on sale. Whatever we're in the mood for that day I'll make. If we ahve something going on that day then we'll opt for the easiest thing on the list. But I do keep spaghetti, meatloaf, griled cheese, salads, bbq chicken, staples on hand at all times. They are my go to meals if we need another/extra meal. I've been starting to get the list together for DH's 1st week back. Right now we're looking at (there is definite room for this to change):

Chili
Cream of Potato Soup
Steak
Stuffed Pork Chops
Sloppy Joes
Pot Roast
Tuna Noodle Casserole
Mexican Corn Casserole

I make soups and leave them in the fridge for quick warm ups during the Fall/Winter months so they won't really be meals that I'll make for a specific meal. Whomever wants which ever can just go get them whenever.

Also, while I buy what I need for the menu I also buy good sale items. If I don't need the item for a meal that is on the list but it is on sale (and I have a coupon) which makes it a really good deal, then I'll buy it, too. Other than that, I really don't sway from the list. But I go to Farm Fresh and Walmart every week and the Commi. 1-2 times a month. So we hardly ever run out of something. With being a vegetarian I have to go at least once a week somewhere for fresh produce or I'm left with only eating frozen veggies. And with DH gone, I can spilt 1 chicken breast between the kids. So a big pack of chicken breasts at the commi equals 8 meals for us.

[Poochie]

Originally Posted by heather_weather

I LOVE NANDO'S! It was seriously our favorite place to eat in England. We even bought the sauce to keep at the house and should have brought some with us when we left.

ME TOO!!!!! Love love love Nando's. We went to the Cambridge one, the other place I loved down there was Teri-Aki's, oh man do I miss that place!

[Poochie]

Originally Posted by Kitten

Ok....glad I am not the only one! And the produce...its cann really add up. I buy produce weekly and it can get expensive.



Thank you. I know sometimes I totally do sound that way though...so I didnt want to come off that way with my question!

Not at all! I like to see how others do things too. I'd like to be more spontaneous but with DH's schedule I just can't. Sometimes I am or I try to keep enough to throw extra stuff together, but it never fails I end up being short of something... and I hate going back out right before I start cooking to shop again. Blargh.

[Sierra734]

I don't ever have a meal plan but will for sure start doing on when we move into our new apartment.

[navywife07]

I used to have a meal plan when we lived in Japan, I really need to get back to one!

We didn't plan each day, it was more like a weeks worth of meals and then we would pick what we wanted to have each night.

[ladybug]

I go grocery shopping every Monday. I try to stick with a meal plan, but sometimes things just don't work out. If I don't try to stick with a meal plan, we end up going out to eat.

[amandabcdefg]

i plan a little bit, and i wing it. i usually make a list of things to make a few different meals with, so that we buy things i can make for dinner. but they aren't on set days, its just that we'll have them, and i can look in the cabinets/fridge be like "oh! we'll have (whatever food) for dinner tonight"

i couldn't stick to a set plan very well because sometimes some foods just don't sound good to me that night, but the next night they might make me drool just thinking about

and luckily dh isn't very picky!

[MarisaAnne]

I do meal planning while I'm shopping. I never know what cuts of meat are going to look good, and what will be available in terms of frozen fish.

[Clouise]

I make a list of about five meals and then we eat them in whatever order we want. If I don't have a list of the meals though I forget why I bought stuff and what I wanted to make.

Tonight we had make-your-own chicken soft tacos. Yummy....

[sweetheart09]

I plan but I don't stick to days either. It's just been chaotic to do that now. But I have an idea of what to buy each week or two.

[Rockin_Jen]

When Alex isn't here I just do a small "shop" each week for organic produce or milk. I rarely eat meat, so even though I buy free-range, grain-fed, high-quality meats and tend to spend a lot on them, I use them so sparingly that one trip every 2 months or so is sufficient. I'm trying to give up meat altogether, but I have a love affair with beef.

I eat a lot of frozen vegetables. When they're on sale I stock up and fill the freezer. Right now I have 2 ice cube trays, 3 packs of meat, and all the rest is frozen vegetables and fruit for smoothies.

I don't really meal plan, unless we're having some nice elaborate meal planned for a special occasion. Everything else we eat is pretty basic to us, and takes 30 minutes or less to be on the table.

Pasta with fresh veggies, tomatoes and artichokes.
Burrito bowls (vegetarian for me, with chicken for him)
A lot of meals with rice, a protein (again, for him) and seasoned veggies.
Soup, like minestrone or one of A's favorites, ajiaco.
Salads, grilled meat (steak! ) and baked potatoes
Boca burgers- with cheddar cheese, barbecue sauce, and sauteed onions, and veggies or potatoes for a side.
Or just salad and a baked potato.

I just play it by ear and eat what I feel like. If A doesn't want it, he can fend for himself.

[Sarah]

I plan a week ahead. I don't have a plan yet for this week, we will do our shopping tomorrow. All I know so far is we will be having stuffed Bell peppers. Yum!