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Menu planning: what were some of your Beginner Misakes?

post #1 of 31
6/6/12 at 10:22am
Thread Starter 

And what was the solution? 

 

I'm a perpetual entry level menu planner.  I think 4 dinners in one week is the most menus I've successfully planned for, shopped and served.

 

One particularly unsuccessful week I just copied a bunch of dinner menus from someone else's list and tried to serve up a lot of dishes we don't eat. For one thing, the recipes weren't particularly tasty.  So I can't just mindlessly copy some other mom's menu plans, without regard to my family's tastes. 

 

What are some aspects of menu planning -one week, one month, whatever- that aren't obvious to the inexperienced? 

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post #2 of 31
6/6/12 at 3:37pm

Trying to make too many new things in one week can be overwhelming.

Forgetting to plan to just have leftovers some days. You can serve it up the same way but you can also plan to use the leftovers as an ingredient in another dish to change things up. Plan to use leftover chicken in a casserole for example.

Thinking you have to rack your brains to come up with something different every single night when really your family would be happy eating the same 30 meals (or less) in rotation.

Forgetting to ask your family to help come up with ideas as well.

Save menus and reuse them so you don't always have to come up with a new one.

Look at what you have on hand as you plan you meals to cut down on waste and keep within your budget.

 

I do not bother planning lunch, breakfast or snacks unless it is a special occasion because people generally eat the same things every day for those meals.

I have done a list of  28 meals that we rotated for a few months before coming up with a new list. The advantages were that you just have to designate a day on the calendar and they were all foods my family liked. If you cooked double and froze the extra then you have less work ahead of you the next time the meal comes up in rotation.

I have also planned meals for 2 weeks and meals for 1 week at a time as well. The advantage to planning for a shorter time period is trying new things more often and dropping them if people do not like them.

post #3 of 31
6/7/12 at 6:13am

For me, trying to stick rigidly to the plan can backfire. I've made flexibility part of the plan. I often juggle a planned meal from one night to later in the week because of schedule changes. Someone else may find it works better to stick faithfully to the plan, so YMMV. 

 

I think planning and executing 4 dinners in one week is a pretty good batting average. I plan all 7 dinners each week but I know that everyone is busy and schedules change. That interferes with any dinner plans I make, so I'm pretty happy if we accomplish more than half of the plan every week. That seems to avoid most food waste. When I plan the week's meals, I try to incorporate leftovers to account for those nights when schedules change. For example, we'll have pasta one night and I'll make extra and use it for a pasta salad later in the week. I may have planned to grill chicken to have with the pasta salad for a regular sit-down family dinner. If it turns out no one will be home on that planned night, then the pasta salad can be used for lunches or dinner-on-the-go and I'll use the chicken in another meal on another night. 

 

I find planning on one or two new recipes each week is enough for variety, otherwise too many new recipes is overwhelming and unlikely to happen. 

 

I only plan 1 week at a time. I can't see far enough into the future to make 2-week or monthly meal plans work. 

 

I have a few back-up "quickie" dinner recipes that I can rely on if the plan falls apart. I always have the ingredients on hand or can easily substitute, if necessary. Things like pasta, home-made soup, risotto, omelettes.... 


Edited by ollyoxenfree - 6/13/12 at 8:07am
post #4 of 31
6/7/12 at 6:31am

mainly that i am not in the mood for the planned meal for that day. i am bad at keeping the meals in order. i am  working on getting it back together. another issue is evening out the meats... too many nights of beef/deer in a row and not enough poultry/pork/fish.

 

one thing i have done is had everyone in the  house give me their top-5 meals, that is extremely helpful bc it lets me see what they enjoy. my homemade spaghetti and "chick pea soup" (both are crock-pot meals)were on everyone's lists, made me so proud LOL

 

i wonder if to solve my issue, do a "draw out of a hat" type thing to decide what meal for that day? if i had the time to cook and freeze it would help but my baby is in a clingy phase, right when i am ready to get back into meal planning!

post #5 of 31
6/7/12 at 6:37am

oh and thinking about it, a third issue i have is leftovers. occasionally i remember to use, say, sloppy joe in a pot of chili, but not often enough so alot is wasted :( when menu planning, i try to factor in leftovers. also if i am having a rough evening with the baby, no one else thinks to put away the leftovers! i get so angry. there is a husband and two teenagers in this house. some mornings i just burst out crying when i go into the kitchen.

 

i am going to enjoy this thread!

post #6 of 31
6/7/12 at 12:32pm

Meal planning was difficult when, and some of this may be specific to my family -

 

1. we sat down, decided what we wanted to eat for the week and I went to the store to buy ingredients.

 

So many times the plan would fall apart and I would be throwing out food because the salad went bad or the chicken got lost in the back of the fridge

 

2. when I tried to cook in order to have leftovers

 

Either DH would eat the leftovers as part of the meal or no one wanted to eat the leftovers later in the week.

 

 

What finally clicked with our meal planning is when I subscribed to RelishRelish.  They used to have a free trial period.  I thought it was a great resource but I grew out of it.  After we started buying meat by the half (beef, pork) and chickens from a farm, I have switched to a week that looks like this -

 

Monday - pasta (with a protein) + veggie of some sort

Tuesday - pork

Wednesday - chicken

Thursday - something easy like burgers or pizza

Friday - something fun like risotto

Saturday - something on the grill

post #7 of 31
6/8/12 at 8:58pm

I wanted to add that I stopped trying to assign meals to a specific day of the week. It was too rigid.  I just make a list of meals for the time period I am planning for in no particular order and cross them off as we have them. The only exceptions are holidays.

 

If I know I want to use leftovers for something else later it helps to put away that portion in the freezer right away so someone doesn't eat it or I forget about it and it goes bad.

post #8 of 31
6/8/12 at 9:08pm

I am still a newbie too but I've found that planning 2 meals per shopping trip works well. So we'll sit down and come up with 2 things that we can plan on making that week, and make sure we have the ingredients. Other nights we'll eat leftovers or I'll be working late or something else will come up, so I'm flexible about what nights we make those 2 dishes.

 

It's harder in summer, I think, with our CSA active. We have a lot of veggies that we need to figure out something to do with. Wednesday (CSA day) was rabbit food day this week.

post #9 of 31
6/8/12 at 9:14pm

Make your meal plan when you are hungry!  It's easier to think of things that sound good. Then eat a good meal/snack before you go grocery shopping, or you'll end up buying a lot of things you weren't intending. 
 

post #10 of 31
6/11/12 at 10:42pm

I usually plan a week's supper menus on Saturday or Sunday and go shopping w/ DH.

 

I fold the paper down the middle and on the left-hand side I put the menu, and the right hand side is the shopping list. I learned that from my mom and step-dad.

 

The meals can usually be shifted around, so if (for example) my son says "Can we have pasta tonight?", I can do that and serve the rice and whatever the next night.

 

We factor in left-overs - usually = next day's lunch. If there is some left after that, I'll just re-heat it and serve it with the next day's supper. I don't worry about whether or not it will "go together". Usually someone likes it enough to finish it off. That way we don't have mysterious boxes of who-knows-what getting fuzzy in the fridge, or frost-burned in the freezer.

post #11 of 31
6/12/12 at 5:30pm

Things I did (and sometimes still do) wrong:

Too many new recipes in one week

not planning for the eventual "oh crap its 6pm and dinner hasn't even been started"

Planning to much or not enough for a meal..forgetting how much more I need to make now than when we had less/litter kids

to many complex meals in a week, nothing easy

to many of the same type of meal in a week (like 5 pasta dishes in a week)

forgetting to check to see what I had in the fridge

planning on using leftovers for just about anything (never works out here)

to ridged of a plan

not taking into account DH's work schedule or appointments I have

not taking into account family activities (trips, church, times we volunteer etc)

Not planning enough days or planning to many

thinking Im going to make it to the store in the middle of the week (not happening)

post #12 of 31
6/12/12 at 6:44pm

Taking notes!

post #13 of 31
6/12/12 at 8:47pm
Thread Starter 

Me too!  It's at least reassuring to know I'm not the only one with these issues. 

post #14 of 31
6/13/12 at 6:43pm

my biggest downfall is/was planning too many complicated meals in one week.  (or at this point, ever) too many ingredients is expensive, toddlers don't like the meal (in general) and it just takes too long.  I have become quite handy with the crockpot.  I have learned to not only judge my meals by family enjoyment, but also by prep time.  twice a week dh is home with the kids (3 and 10weeks) from about 3pm till 7pm, which means i need to have dinner ready before i leave.  Crockpot here i come! Other than that, i keep it simple.  it makes grocery shopping faster and less expensive.  My parents eat with us a few nights a week, so wasting leftovers isn't such an issue for us.  I usually pick one thing to prepare for lunch, and keep some healthy snacks on hand.  I also keep the freezer stocked full of frozen veggies. they aren't my favorite, but they keep for a while and I know I can serve a veggie with every meal even if i don't have the time/energy to prepare fresh.  i usually plan 3-4 meals per week, and count on leftovers and/or take out for the rest.  it seems to work for us.

post #15 of 31
6/14/12 at 7:07pm

I only plan one week at a time and I actually plan more than seven meals so I have some variety to choose from. I always take inventory of the veg bins and freezer first to see what I have. I plan a mix of easy and difficult meals and a lot of my meals use similar ingredients, especially veggies, so I waste less (ex: salad toppings for tacos and salad with turkey burgers, zucchini and red pepper in pasta sauce and sauteed as a side dish for steaks). We generally eat leftovers for lunch, I admit to not being good at using them at dinner unless it's from a whole chicken or roast.

 

In the past, I have fallen into the mistake of planning too many complicated dinners, I have two kids now, 6 and 2.5, and cannot cook the way I did when ds was little. I keep more easy foods around than I ever have before: frozen turkey and salmon burgers, individually packed salmon and tilapia filets, frozen meatballs, jar sauce (costco makes a good base with no added sugar), spinach and cheese raviolis.  As my kids are getting older and eat like crazy, I have realized that on some nights we are all perfectly happy with turkey burgers, sweet potato fries and salad/raw veggies and fruit. Kids like simple. I also plan on feeding my kids breakfast for dinner once a week and I can either make something spicy and tasty for dh and I or he picks us up food after the kids go to bed.

 

In order to make sure we have some variety, when I plan a week I only have one pasta dish, one mexican dish, one breakfast night, two-three traditional dinner nights (meat or fish/starch/veg), two easy dinner nights, one homemade pizza night, and during the cold months, one soup/stew night with homemade bread. This time of year, we use the grill three to four days a week so I plan for grill appropriate foods. 

 

What has made the biggest difference for me in making meal planning easier is keeping simple, quick dinners around and allowing myself a take out night. It takes the pressure off when I am tired and don't feel like making anything.

post #16 of 31
6/14/12 at 9:19pm
Purplerose: please share your chickpea soup recipe. That sounds yummy.

OP: Strangely enough, we never really had any problems with meal planning. I got a dry-erase month calendar. We have two poultry/pork days, two veggie days, a soup/salad day and two open days. We get a monthly coop-type of food order and that pretty much dictates what we cook. We really keep it flexible. We reserve the right to switch or cancel any night. Knowing this actually keeps us on the plan better.

We started out making a lot of those meal-in-a-box things and speghetti. Then we added two or three new recipes each month. If we really like something, we put it into rotation. I get recipes nonlinear and frequently modify them. We have about a dozen recipes that we go through all the time. We throw in a few other things here and there and that's two weeks of recipes. Two weeks is a long time between meatloafs. orngbiggrin.gif

We don't plan out side dishes unless we want something specific or we are trying to get rid of something. We just plan the entree for dinner. We always keep some frozen veggies and stuffing mix around for easy sides. We generally have one or two servings of leftovers that we use for lunches. I also cut up a chicken or turkey every couple of months for turkey sandwiches.

We actually have a few recipes we've been wanting to try out, but we haven't had time to fit it in. Once in a while dh will forget to defrost the meat, but not often. That's prolly been our biggest problem.
post #17 of 31
6/20/12 at 5:32am

Great thread!

 

I second the "overly complicated meal" issue that others have mentioned.  Sometimes when making a meal plan, I will get all the ingredients for something complicated like roasted veggie lasagna.  Then, it's 6 pm and everyone is hungry, and I am tired. Then the veggie lasagna turns into take out pizza.  So I have learned to plan EASY, quicker meals.  That leads to more success in terms of meals at home.  I love the idea of more complex meals while planning and shopping.  But it doesn't always reflect my actual life in terms of available prep time, mood at dinner, etc.  Using the slow cooker is also good, as long as I have time in the morning to set things up.  So be realistic about your life and how you truly manage your time.  Not how you think it SHOULD be. :)

 

Over the years, I have lightened up on myself and now include more rotisserie chicken and frozen pizza meals.  These are things my kids will eat happily, and they are fast and easy.  Part of me still thinks I should be making stuff like roasted veggie lasagna most nights, but I have learned that this is not what works for us overall.

 

I don't like big shopping trips, so planning 3 ish meals at once is plenty for me.  My kids are older, and I can go to the store several times a week if I want.  I prefer more trips with fewer things in my cart.  Some people like to get a lot all at once.  So your meal planning should fit your interests and needs.  Everyone's family is a little different.

 

Knowing what we are having for dinner by the night before (or early that morning) makes family life run more smoothly for us.  I definitely think that effective meal planning makes life easier.

post #18 of 31
6/20/12 at 5:48am

I'm an on and off meal planner.  Sometimes I fall off the wagon and we eat tons of take out because DD is in the hospital or something or I've just been overwhelmed with everything.  I'm doing better this time around and I think it's because I'm planning more easy meals.  When every meal is involved and complicated, I just don't feel like making them!!!

 

Last night we had a johnny marzetti type dish and it was very good.  While I had the hamburger out, I also prepped a meatloaf and stuck it in the fridge for tonight.  All I have to do is stick it in the oven and make a veggie.  See, easy.  When I know we are going to have a few chicken dishes, I go ahead and make ALL the chicken, then prep it for each dish.  Chop it or shred it...whatever, then store it in the fridge.  It makes dinner go a lot quicker.

 

I've also figured it's better to not try to stick to a strict menu.  I buy for 7 dinners, then just decide later which day of the week to make each one on based on how complicated it is and how energetic I feel, or what sounds good.  If DS is going to be at his dad's, I'll make a meal he's not particularly fond of that night so he doesn't have to eat it.

post #19 of 31
6/20/12 at 9:50am

"chick pea soup", my style- for my family of 5 food-eaters, 1 can of chick peas, about 3 potatoes cut into bite-sized chunks, and a package of kielbasa sausage(or turkey sausage or even cubed ham), i put in 2 bouillion cubes, maybe some onions, and cover with water and let it cook all day. there is no recipe, that's what the kids call it lol

post #20 of 31
6/26/12 at 1:28pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Maddy123 View Post

I second the "overly complicated meal" issue that others have mentioned.  Sometimes when making a meal plan, I will get all the ingredients for something complicated like roasted veggie lasagna.  Then, it's 6 pm and everyone is hungry, and I am tired. Then the veggie lasagna turns into take out pizza.  So I have learned to plan EASY, quicker meals.  That leads to more success in terms of meals at home.  I love the idea of more complex meals while planning and shopping.  But it doesn't always reflect my actual life in terms of available prep time, mood at dinner, etc.  Using the slow cooker is also good, as long as I have time in the morning to set things up.  So be realistic about your life and how you truly manage your time.  Not how you think it SHOULD be. :)

 

Oh, how I can relate to this!  Sometimes I have such grand plans for some recipes that are simple yet not (like requiring a lot of time consuming steps) and when I realize I have 1.5-2 hours until food even gets on the table, the whole plan falls apart.

 

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maddy123 View Post

Over the years, I have lightened up on myself and now include more rotisserie chicken and frozen pizza meals. These are things my kids will eat happily, and they are fast and easy.

 

Yep.  I stock up on the good frozen pizzas when they are on sale so on nights where we might have salad and veggies to use, it makes for a quick and easy meal.  Same with the grocery store chickens.  If I can snag a leftover one, they are $3.50 - quick and cheap.

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maddy123 View Post

I don't like big shopping trips, so planning 3 ish meals at once is plenty for me. My kids are older, and I can go to the store several times a week if I want. I prefer more trips with fewer things in my cart. Some people like to get a lot all at once. So your meal planning should fit your interests and needs. Everyone's family is a little different.

 

 

I don't either because, for whatever reason, produce just doesn't seem to keep for me.  I am lucky in the sense that I have a decent grocery store on the way home from work so it makes it sort of easy to fill in the meal planning gaps.

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