Meal Planning 101 for 2010 - any interest? - Page 4

[Teenytoona]

Originally Posted by ObliviousAnnette

What if you have never meal planned before? Is there a good resource for getting started?

Do you all do 3 meals and snacks planned? Or just do dinner and have other food on hand for b-fast and lunch?

Oh, and I am totally grateful for all of you who have gone before lol .

I'm not sure about the getting started resource, except there's an older thread in this forum that's pretty good. ETA: Here's the thread.


I'm going to plan dinner on weekdays (kids go to school/babysitters while we're at work), lunch and dinner on weekends, and plan to have our typical breakfast favorites available. Hmm snacks, now I have to think on that one. Probably should plan it.

I decided to go ahead and plan one month at a time. I'm pretty sure I'll be able to be a little ahead of what I need to buy this month, (got a freezer beef stash coming), so I can buy ahead for next month. And also, I decided that since I can be so lazy about it one week and so gung ho the next, that planning a whole month when I'm feeling gung ho is far better than my touch and go week-to-week. I've almost got my January figured out. Weee!

[napless]

If it weren't for meal planning, we would never eat dinner! I am so not the kind of cook who can look in the fridge, see what's there, and decide what to do with it. I plan our suppers for about 10 days, make a shopping list, and get everything I'll need for those meals. I also include a couple of desserts.

Lunches are my current challenge. Perhaps I should start planning those too. You can eat only so many grilled cheese sandwiches! (I used to rely on leftovers for lunches, but my seven year old doesn't do leftovers these days.)

[Hollysmom]

My Meal plan for beginning of January:

Breakfasts: are pretty much always the same, toast, bagel, english muffins, or pancakes on the weekends.

Lunches: are pretty consistent too. DH and DD1 tend to take sandwiches for lunch and I tend to take the leftovers from the previous night's dinner.

Dinners:

Friday 1 - pork chops, salad & buns
Saturday 2 - veggie burgers
Sunday 3 - steak, potatoes & veggie (DH really likes to have steak on Sundays)
Monday 4 - pasta with homemade sauce from the freezer
Tuesday 5 - Green curry chicken with rice
Wednesday 6 - lasagna
Thursday 7 - chicken, side noodles, green beans
Friday 8 - meatloaf, mashed potatoes, corn

[happiehart]

We just got our little freezer (craigslist is a Godsend) Now I'm ready for this new year and new baby

[splath]

Here's our menu for the week. The only thing I need to buy is 2 lbs of ground turkey or chicken.

Monday: chicken pot pie, maybe biscuits http://smittenkitchen.com/2009/12/cream-biscuits/
Tuesday: stroganoff casserole, either green beans or broccoli
Wednesday: creamy chicken enchiladas http://www.recipezaar.com/Creamy-Chi...chiladas-71179
Thursday: 3 vegetable casserole, biscuits (if we don't have them tonight) http://www.recipezaar.com/3-Vegetable-Casserole-31683
Friday: Chicken and mushrooms http://www.recipezaar.com/Chicken-and-Mushrooms-31014
Saturday: Ground turkey taco bake http://www.recipezaar.com/Beef-Taco-Bake-40631

For most of the recipes, I make my own "cream of" soups and sub tomato sauce for the tomato soup.

[Violet2]

Here's our 2 week meal plan:

(unless otherwise states sides are veggies and salad)

1.lemon garlic chicken
2 barbecue chicken
3 hamburgers
4 asian meatball soup
5 italian sausage pasta
6 taco salad
7 kielbasa and kraut
8 hamburgers
9. raspberry balsamic chicken
10. teriyaki meatballs
11 steaks with veggie sides
12 pork roast -mandarin pork roast recipe
13 Pepper steak
14. Cornish game hens

V

[MrsD08]

How will this Meal Planning 101 Thread work? I think I'd like to join...I noticed along the way someone said it would start yesterday on the 4th, but I can't find another thread for it...am I losing it?

[lucifugous]

Originally Posted by MrsD08

How will this Meal Planning 101 Thread work? I think I'd like to join...I noticed along the way someone said it would start yesterday on the 4th, but I can't find another thread for it...am I losing it?

No, it's right here.. I think it's just been sort of forgotten!

Originally Posted by Violet2

Hey mommas, I just finished reading Family Feasts for $75 a Week. I don't know if you can do it for $75 exactly but this is a good economical book that is sane and practical. The best one I've read to date.

The only criticism I have is she tends to add lemon/lime soda to recipes and use corn syrup which is kind of...odd for someone who has an organic garden. But you can easily omit those items/change the recipes. (Am I missing something on the culinary significance of lemon/lime soda????)

There are some good recipes in the book too--soda and corn syrup aside. I have lots of new yummies to try.

V

I flipped through this in the grocery store recently, and what I saw honestly didn't seem all that innovative to me. The author is feeding a much larger family, which makes it easier to reduce the cost per person, and as you mentioned it isn't always very healthy

[velochic]

The OP did this last year in F&F for people who were interested. I'd suggest that you just click on the link in the first post and read through that thread. Meal Planning isn't rocket science, and that thread probably has any information you need, in case this one does get forgotten.

[ian'smommaya]

i am so in. so in. we at over flowing in the pantry and need to use it.

[Hollysmom]

Adding to my list so I have it in one spot for future months.

Breakfasts: are pretty much always the same, toast, bagel, english muffins, or pancakes on the weekends.

Lunches: are pretty consistent too. DH and DD1 tend to take sandwiches for lunch and I tend to take the leftovers from the previous night's dinner.

Dinners:

Friday 1 - pork chops, salad & buns
Saturday 2 - veggie burgers
Sunday 3 - steak, potatoes & veggie (DH really likes to have steak on Sundays)
Monday 4 - pasta with homemade sauce from the freezer
Tuesday 5 - Green curry chicken with rice
Wednesday 6 - lasagna
Thursday 7 - chicken, side noodles, green beans
Friday 8 - meatloaf, mashed potatoes, corn
Saturday 9 - Chili
Sunday 10 - steak, potatoes & veggie
Monday 11 - Cranberry pork roast, potatoes & veggie
Tuesday 12 - Broiled Tilapia Parmesan, rice & veggie
Wednesday 13 - pasta with homemade sauce from the freezer
Thursday - roast beef, potatoes & veggies
Friday - Chicken Wings & salad

Have been doing pretty well with eating at home and sticking to the plan. One big slip was last Sunday we had Chinese food. Dh had a carving and he really doesn't like Chinese food so I jumped at the chance to have it

[butterfly_mommy]

Ok I want to play! I have been trying to meal plan for years. This time however I feel really committed to sticking to it.

Here was last weeks plan

Mon- Roast chicken in the slow cooker, roasted sweet potato, white potato and carrots, broccoli and quinoa
Tue- Kamut pasta with meat sauce and mushrooms, mixed green salad with my oil/lemon/garlic dressing, bread
Wed - Chicken roll-ups with the left over roast chicken
Thurs- Pulled pork (made in slow cooker) sandwiches and veg soup
Fri- I went out and DH had pizza with DS (supposed to make homemade pizza but I forgot to take out the dough from the freezer) had left over pulled pork sandwiches when I got home.
Sat - Pork quesadilla with left over pork mixed with salsa instead of BBQ sauce
Sun - Lasagna with salad and bread

Here is this weeks plan

Mon - Breakfast for dinner (mushroom and cheese omelettes,bacon, toast and pancakes for dessert)
Tue - Mini Meat loafs with roasted veg and salad
Wed - @friends house
Thurs - Beef French dip sandwiches (slow cooker) with oven fries and salad
Fri - Chicken in mushroom sauce (slow cooker) with rice and broccoli/carrots (will make and freeze a mushroom pot pie with the left overs for next week)
Sat - French onion soup and beef sandwiches with left over French dip
Sun - Dinner out with my grandmother

The week of Jan 25th will have a chicken and mushroom pot pie in it somewhere and something with the left over pork and salsa that I froze (maybe some kind of casserole?)

[SimplyRochelle]

For this week

16-Pasta e fagoli soup (recipe from MDC forums)
17- Leftover soup for lunch, pizza for dinner
18- Leftover for lunch, chicken alfredo pasta for dinner
19- ham steaks with roasted red potatoes and green beans
20- chicken breast with mashed potatoes and biscuits (and salad for me)
21- Chicken terryaki with noodles
22- Breakfast for dinner with eggs, turkey bacon, and french toast

[Hollysmom]

Breakfasts: are pretty much always the same, toast, bagel, english muffins, or pancakes on the weekends.

Lunches: are pretty consistent too. DH and DD1 tend to take sandwiches for lunch and I tend to take the leftovers from the previous night's dinner.

Dinners:

Friday 1 - pork chops, salad & buns
Saturday 2 - veggie burgers
Sunday 3 - steak, potatoes & veggie (DH really likes to have steak on Sundays)
Monday 4 - pasta with homemade sauce from the freezer
Tuesday 5 - Green curry chicken with rice
Wednesday 6 - lasagna
Thursday 7 - chicken, side noodles, green beans
Friday 8 - meatloaf, mashed potatoes, corn
Saturday 9 - Chili
Sunday 10 - steak, potatoes & veggie
Monday 11 - Cranberry pork roast, potatoes & veggie
Tuesday 12 - Broiled Tilapia Parmesan, rice & veggie
Wednesday 13 - pasta with homemade sauce from the freezer
Thursday 14 - roast beef, potatoes & veggies
Friday 15 - Leftovers
Saturday 16 - More Leftovers
Sunday 17 - Steak, mashed potatoes, buns
Monday 18 - Chicken Stroganoff with egg noodles
Tuesday 19 - Green Chili Burritos (this is a recipe I got from the Mothering website a few years ago )
Wednesday 20 - Chili (from freezer) & hoe cakes (from hillbilly housewife)
Thursday 21 - Tuna Casserole
Friday 22 - Leftovers
Saturday 23 - Chicken wings & salad
Sunday 24 - Steak & salad

[Jennifer3141]

I am so in for this!

I need help getting back into the groove of cooking. We travel once a month for a week and I have a really hard time getting back into the swing of things when we come back.

But for 3 weeks of the month, I could be organized! I'm going to do shopping once a week, except for milk. We drink gallons and gallons milk for yogurt, etc.

Tonight - pasta fagioli soup
Thursday - chicken enchilada casserole
Friday - roasted chicken and stuffing
(And I'm not throwing the carcass away! I'll make brown broth with it. I swear it! )
Saturday - corn fritters
Sunday - salmon cakes
Monday - buffalo meatballs
Tuesday - slow cooked chili lime chicken

Ok. That doesn't look too bad. Some of that stuff, I could make in my sleep. DH will be excited there's "beef" on the menu. I won't tell him it's buffalo! I need to find a really good recipe for slow cooked meatballs.

[Hollysmom]

Adding for this week. We have been pretty good about eating what is planned. When we haven't we have eaten something else in the house.

Breakfasts: are pretty much always the same, toast, bagel, english muffins, or pancakes on the weekends.

Lunches: are pretty consistent too. DH and DD1 tend to take sandwiches for lunch and I tend to take the leftovers from the previous night's dinner.

Dinners:

Friday 1 - pork chops, salad & buns
Saturday 2 - veggie burgers
Sunday 3 - steak, potatoes & veggie (DH really likes to have steak on Sundays)
Monday 4 - pasta with homemade sauce from the freezer
Tuesday 5 - Green curry chicken with rice
Wednesday 6 - lasagna
Thursday 7 - chicken, side noodles, green beans
Friday 8 - meatloaf, mashed potatoes, corn
Saturday 9 - Chili
Sunday 10 - steak, potatoes & veggie
Monday 11 - Cranberry pork roast, potatoes & veggie
Tuesday 12 - Broiled Tilapia Parmesan, rice & veggie
Wednesday 13 - pasta with homemade sauce from the freezer
Thursday 14 - roast beef, potatoes & veggies
Friday 15 - Leftovers
Saturday 16 - More Leftovers
Sunday 17 - Steak, mashed potatoes, buns
Monday 18 - Chicken Stroganoff with egg noodles
Tuesday 19 - Green Chili Burritos (this is a recipe I got from the Mothering website a few years ago )
Wednesday 20 - Chili (from freezer) & hoe cakes (from hillbilly housewife)
Thursday 21 - Tuna Casserole
Friday 22 - Leftovers
Saturday 23 - Chicken wings & salad
Sunday 24 - Steak & salad
Monday 25 - Beef stroganoff and egg noodles
Tuesday 26 - Green curry chicken with rice
Wednesday 27 - Pasta and garlic bread
Thursday 28 - burgers and salad
Friday 29 - Leftovers
Saturday 30 - vodka sauce with shrimp over pasta
Sunday 31 - Steak & potatoes

[jenniepaige]

Count me in!

[Sweetmama26]

I really need to join this, I am trying to budget as much money as I can as we're in the middle of trying to buy a house and plan for a baby!

Here is my meal plan for this week as my fiance gets paid weekly and I'm Bi-weekly

Fri 12 :
S- Cabbage Rolls

Saturday 13:
B- French toast
L- Sandwiches
S- Shepards pie

Sunday 14-
B- Scrambled eggs and Bacon
L-Noodles or soup
S - Tortallini w/garlic chicken Alfredo

Monday 15-
B-Oatmeal
L-Grilled cheese
S-Chicken ceaser w/potatoes and home made garlic bread

Tuesday 16 -
B-Toast
L - Soup and Sandwiches
S-Chicken Casserole

Wednesday 17-
B-Oatmeal
L-Noodles
S-Roast Chicken, Potatoes, Carrots

Thursday 18-
B- Cereal
L - Grilled cheese
S- Stew

Friday 19 -
B- Toast
L - Soup & Sandwiches
S - Spaghetti