Need help planning meals for a week (every week LOL)
Moms View Message Board: General Discussion: Archive January 2004:
Need help planning meals for a week (every week LOL)
I am a cook who makes whatever is in the cupboards. I have never planned a meal in advace unless it is a special meal.
DH and I are going to start eating more healthy and low fat. I thought by having a meal plan for the entire week, I would have a better chance of cooking what I purchase as well as having all the ingredients I will need for a certain dish.
Is there a web site that can plan an entire weeks worth of meals? Breakfast to dinner? I really want to stay w/ the healthy dishes.
And if not a web site, are there a group of women (or men) who would like to brainstorm each week to prepare our week's meals?
I am so inept at this type of stuff. Just call me Mrs. Unorganized-Go With the Flow.
TIA
For years I have made a menu before I go to the store. I have found that it simplified things when I came to deciding what to have for dinner. Before I started making a menu I would go grocery shopping and come home with several bags of stuff, but I couldn't put a balanced meal together with what I had bought. I don't have that problem any longer. I also noticed that my grocery bill went down. I type it up on the computer and post it on the fridge so that I can see at a glance what meals I have the ingredients for. Here's a sample of what I do:
Week of 00/00/00
1. Spaghetti, garlic bread
2. Chicken and rice, peas
3. Pork roast, parsley potatoes, steamed broccoli
4. Broiled orange roughy, rice, stewed tomatoes, green beans
5. Tacos
6. Grilled chicken chef salad
7. Steak, baked potato, salad
I just look at the list and decide what I'm in the mood for that day. I have a couple of quick and easy meals for the nights when I don't feel like spending a lot of time in the kitchen. I also make more of these meals than we need and dh and I eat the leftovers for lunch the next day. I don't cook breakfast so that's not an issue in our house. Also remember that you can make a lot of your regular favorites healthier by modifying ingredients. HTH
check out this website:
http://www.mealsmatter.org/CookingForFamily/Planning/article.aspx?articleId=30
Great website, thanks Yvonne!
yes, I agree with Stacie.Make your menu before you go grocery shopping. Now for your menu planning, you have to take in consideration what your family likes and dislikes are.
Also,if you are on a budget,shop and make meals from what`s on sale that week and in season.
It does take extra time, but after making it out
a couple of weeks you will get the hang of it.
Also, if, say you have
a pork roast on Monday,you can
take the leftover and shred it and add some bbq
sauce in the crock pot and have another meal during the week.(bbq sandwiches).
Grilled meats and fish with a baked potato
and salad are always nice too!
Think of presentation when making meals also
you wouldn`t want to serve
breaded fish , mac and cheese and pineapple.
Think of contrast to make it appear more appealing
well,that is all I can think of for now.
I used to create the monthly menu`s at
a retirement home.
We rotated them and they were seasonal.
it was a fun job.......I haven`t thought about it in awhile ....I miss it .
I hope I have been of some help!
Thanks ladies. We'll see how it goes. Mostly I shop with foods in mind, but cook according to what I have. I don't really waste food, but sometimes, I just have no clue what's for dinner. But I usually find something that matches together. Mostly I am trying for more healthy and less of what I think is the "good stuff" (gravies, butter-butter-butter, cooking with bacon grease for flavor and so on.)
Yvonne, I love that site. I just signed up. I hope it helps me out. I did the personal profile and everything. Thanks for the link.
Dana & Marg
I am glad you like the website.
It is one of my favorite websites.
I also like meals.com for easy recipes.
Yvonne
Wow, all those things in that list are yummy, but I would hate to have to make something brand new everynight. I like making things that last for a few nights, so you work once and can coast for a few nights.
LOL Dawn...I like how you put that "coast for a few nights".
I often cook double/triple the meat I need to put in meals throughout the week.
For example I will grill a bunch of chicken breasts on Sunday that becomes:
Chicken Ceasar Salad
Chicken Stir fry
BBQ Chicken
Pineapple Chicken--my sons favorite
Ground beef cooked becomes:
Tacos
Beef Stroganoff--so easy & my kids favorite meal
Chili
Etc
I am trying to cook healthier though and an using the website(s) for healthier alternatives.
I will continue to prepare my meats in advance because it simplifys dinner time.
Yvonne
Dana, I am in the process of compiling a huge list of all the foods that I make on a regular basis so I can develop a 2 month rotating schedule. Write now I am dividing foods into categories like mexican, italian, crockpot, american/comfort foods, etc. and then I am making a schedule. i.e., every Tuesday is "crockpot night" since I work late on Tuesday; Monday is "new recipe night" since I have time to cook. So far I have 40-50 meals and side dishes listed. If you are interested I will post or email it to you when I'm finished. We do eat pretty healthy and mostly chicken (esp. now in light of the madcow stuff )
I have always planned my meals by the week and shop with a list according to my meal plan. I also post it on the frig and that way I get no more "mom, what's for supper?" The boys just go look at the menu on the frig and know what we are having. I recently started planning and shopping for 2 weeks at a time and that seriously cut down on how much $$$ I was spending at the grocery by about 1/3. I do have to make a quick 20 minute trip to replenish bread, fruits/veggies, milk, but all meats and staples are already bought.
One last thought...Flylady (www.flylady.net) has a lot of info about menu planning. You can also subscribe to her affiliated link www.menumailer.net for preplanned, healthy menus with a grocery list included.
Bon Appetite!
Cool Pam. I will visit the link now. I just spent my entire day at the site Yvonne noted. I was collecting recipes
Pam, please email me your final list!!! I so need help in this area!! Thanks!
Pam, how is your menu plan coming along?
Dana, I'm in the midst of Flylady's SuperFling decluttering project right now (8 lawn garbage bags, a broken pinball machine, broken bread machine, 4 outdoor chairs and table out on my curb right now and I reduced a 4-drawer file cabinet down to 1 drawer and gave the filing cabinet away to a neighbor. Yay me!!! But I digress) Anyhoo, I'll have to find my list in the midst of my flinging. Right now food is just broken into categories, not organized into complete meals, but it's very mix-and-match anyway. I'll post what I have sometime this week "as is" and send the recipes for things in particular you want as you request them. It will probably be tomorrow at the earliest before I get to it because I have much cleaning to do and I promised the boys we'd try to make homemade pretzels today.
P.S., Check out the "Let's Get Fit" board. I'm getting in the exercise groove (again ). How's your exercise program been going?
ummmm, don't ask about exercise. After my 10 wk program I took a thanksgiving break. Then when I started back after 1.5 wks, I thought I was dying. My sinuses are SOOOOOOO clogged and infected. But not with any sure SIGNS of infection that a dr would say "here is a prescription", so I am holding back on seeing the dr.
Anyway, during my exercises, I have almost passed out 3 times (3 different days). Difficulty occurs when I need to really breath. So I stopped prior to Christmas and trying to get rid of sinus problems. I think seeing a dr this week is in order.
I start another 10wk program in another week.
I'll go check out your progress on the "fit" board. Sounds like you are really making some great improvements in your life. My goodness, that cleaning you did is enough to make anyone else drop their head in shame.
I did empty the "hmmm, how old" containers from fridge and freezer.
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