I try to plan menus once in a while, but it usually doesn't seem to work for me. Some days I just don't feel like eating what I had planned!! :) I do however, plan in the morning what I'm going to have for dinner that evening. Lunch is usually left overs or whatever happens to be in the house! And breakfast these days is most often a BreakFree omelette with whatever veggies!
I also have a freezer that I keep stocked with meat that I buy when it's on sale, so I often pull out what I want in the morning.
A long time ago I even tried pulling out the one from Family Circle magazine, but there was a lot of stuff on there that I wouldn't feed my family for dinner, or they wouldn't eat! I often think life would be easier if I made up a menu plan.
Yup I do indeed plan menus. Probably the one area of my life that is super organized. I've been doing that probably most of my married life. But it really helps since I've been working. Plan out my menus before I go grocery shopping and then check the menus against what ingredients I have on hand and see what I need and make up my grocery list according to those menus. It helps to know in the AM so I don't have to think about what to make and saves me more than one trip to the grocery store. It's always really been a good idea for me even when I was a SAHM I was still babysitting during that period and just always found it really helpful to me. I'm also constantly looking for new ideas and receipies especially those that can be prepared and on the table in 45 minutes or less. I do pretty well with that.
Not so much menu planning goes on here as shopping planning. I get my perishables in every week and try to use them up before they, well, perish.
I've done meal planning in the past, but my "plans" so often go up in smoke because of work, or because I'm not interested in cooking that night because I'm getting home too late, that I really don't do it conscientiously anymore. When I cook, it's really simple preparation, so there's really little left to do in the way of planning.
I find when I do plan ahead it makes life much easier. Especially now with working these three days a week. Like Susan said I figure out what we might want to eat this upcoming week, check out what I have and write down what I still need. I think when I stick to my list and go alone I do much better with my food choices and my savings. Now I do not plan ahead and stick to the plan........like on Monday we will have pork chops and Tuesday its going to be fish. I just try to have something in the house for the 5 to 6 nights I am going to cook and they are going to be around to eat. Nothing gets me madder then when I plan a meal, cook it and no one is around to eat it.
I did my first menu planning ever at the beginning of April. It helped so much in shopping (keeping the spending in line), but also I didn't have to sit and think "Now what was I going to cook tonight?" I plan dinner only. as we also pretty much do the same things for b'fast and lunch (sandwiches, leftovers, soups), so little planning required there.
I'll definitely be doing it again - tomorrow, in fact. Because of Easter, our Montgomery trip and using frozen leftovers which were enough for another meal, I've not had to follow up yet.
Boy, we're very similar here. We're probably way more unstructured than we should be with a child still at home, but with Tim's hours it makes it really hard for us to all sit down at the same time. We tend to eat on the run or eat out several times a week.
I do go through the Thursday food section and see what specials are running to take advantage of those and then just try to get a variety of things for the week to use in no particular order. I have to work at not letting perishables spoil, because Tim and Rob aren't big veggie/fruit eaters.
Other than baking, I'm not much into cooking anymore. It's funny, because I used to really enjoy it. I guess if dinner were my favorite meal I'd be more enthusiastic, but it's my least important meal of the day.
Rhonda
Time invested in improving ourselves cuts down on time disapproving of others.
When I take the time to do it , it really does help with grocery shopping.Typically I have a pretty good idea of what my meals will be during the week.But some days I come in and don't decide what to fix until it is time to start fixing it.Thank goodness for defrost on the microwave!!
I'm lucky if I can plan a meal a day in advance. Alex is so unpredictable - I've taken to just keeping non-perishables stocked and only buying perishables enough for 2 days, because otherwise they *will* spoil. I'm lucky if I manage 2 days in a row of planned dinners...
I also have a freezer that I keep stocked with meat that I buy when it's on sale, so I often pull out what I want in the morning.
A long time ago I even tried pulling out the one from Family Circle magazine, but there was a lot of stuff on there that I wouldn't feed my family for dinner, or they wouldn't eat! I often think life would be easier if I made up a menu plan.
Shar
Susan
I've done meal planning in the past, but my "plans" so often go up in smoke because of work, or because I'm not interested in cooking that night because I'm getting home too late, that I really don't do it conscientiously anymore. When I cook, it's really simple preparation, so there's really little left to do in the way of planning.
Deb
Debbie
I'll definitely be doing it again - tomorrow, in fact. Because of Easter, our Montgomery trip and using frozen leftovers which were enough for another meal, I've not had to follow up yet.
Cussette
Visit the href="http://pages.ivillage.com/familyfinances/">Family Finances Website
for links, tips, reading, tools and answers to your financial
questions
and the href="http://messageboards.ivillage.com/iv-ppplaynov98n">November 1998 Playgroup
Visit our Who's Who
Allison's Website!
C
Boy, we're very similar here. We're probably way more unstructured than we should be with a child still at home, but with Tim's hours it makes it really hard for us to all sit down at the same time. We tend to eat on the run or eat out several times a week.
I do go through the Thursday food section and see what specials are running to take advantage of those and then just try to get a variety of things for the week to use in no particular order. I have to work at not letting perishables spoil, because Tim and Rob aren't big veggie/fruit eaters.
Other than baking, I'm not much into cooking anymore. It's funny, because I used to really enjoy it. I guess if dinner were my favorite meal I'd be more enthusiastic, but it's my least important meal of the day.
Rhonda
Time invested in improving ourselves cuts down on time disapproving of others.
~~Rhonda~~
<
Miss P