Meal Planning - how do you do it?

OrkneyStar

hardpressed wrote: »

How about working on a 8 day cycle so that you don't get into to the 'it's Tuesday so it must be sausages' routine, if you see what I mean!

Also like this idea, also agree that when there is a bubs around others should be thankful to see a meal on the table!
x

Sarahsaver

Thats what i hinted to them, either that or i breastfeed them ALL :rotfl:

Baileys_Babe

hardpressed wrote: »

How about working on a 8 day cycle so that you don't get into to the 'it's Tuesday so it must be sausages' routine, if you see what I mean!

Think this would help me and remove some of the bordom and as my meal planning skills improve I could extend the length of the cycle.

I am useless/lazy at meal planning but I need to get to grips with it as #2 is due soon and one less thing to over whelm me would be good, and a surprise to friends & family if I not DP did the majority of the cooking.

A framework rather than a straitjacket

This is also obvious but my shrinking brain hadn't made it that far so now I feel I could put together a "frame work", think I might even enjoy setting it up. I'll make this a project for the New Year.

Boodle

I'm afraid that in the first couple of months of motherhood, an 8 day meal rota would have been too complex for me!

Right now, anything to make your life easier that also fills you and your baby with good nutrition is a good thing. Try popping your meal plan on the fridge or somewhere obviously visible so you don't have to go hunting or remembering anything. I'd keep things as simple as possible too, faves like beans on toast, veggie noodles, etc, every week for a while ain't gonna do you any harm. Why not make a big pan of soup at the beginning of the week too so you have lunch ready every day without having to think about it?

Hope you find something that works for you and you spend as much time with your little darling as possible! It goes far too fast!!! (Hence, expecting my second one as 2 years flew by ) And I know what you mean about LOs and toast. My poor girl practically lived on something-on-toast (eggs, mushrooms, beans,cheese, etc) for a couple of weeks when I couldn't bear the smell of food without retching Thing is, she was more than happy with it!

Sarahsaver

http://organizedhome.com/printable/houseworks-planner/monthly-menus
at least i have 'the plan' to fall back on;) and my so called plan is not too rigid really

illusio

Do you have a big slow cooker/big freezer? I'm meal planning, sans rugrat just for the economy factor, and so buying in bulk/cooking in bulk/freezing in bulk. That way you can just take a few meals out the freezer on a morning (years worth of saving takeaway plastic tubs is finally paying off!) and you're sorted in the evening. One stock pot load does about 10 meals.
Freezer is currently stocked with lamb in red wine sauce, chicken coconut curry, beef stew, cream cheese and garlic chicken, beef stifado...... yum! All gets slapped in the cooker in the morning (minimal browning/reducing wine for some meals) and then portioned up at the end of the day. Sorts out half the week, and then the other half can be your standard weekly set meals.

Sarahsaver

oh btw i agree about the 8 day rota - WAY too complex LOL

Boodle

Sarahsaver wrote: »

and my so called plan is not too rigid really

Exactly hon! And with a well-stocked cupboard and freezer, there are always a few staples to fall back on if you don't get around to or don't feel like having the planned meal - pasta in a sauce of tinned tomatoes with tinned fish or veggies, noodles with the fish or veggies, tinned mixed beans and tomatoes to make a "stew" to have with rice or couscous, etc, etc, etc.

illusio

I've found a few recipe websites and bookmark items when I come across things a) I like and b) I'm able to cook/have or can get the ingredients. Have got them organised by main ingredients (beef, pork, chicken).

When I do the meal planning midweek, I go to each category, find the next one on the list that I've not made yet and add that one down. The ingredients needed that aren't already in the cupboard get added to the shopping list. So this week is: Lamb shanks in red wine sauce (cook 10 portions, eat 2, freeze 8!), beef stew (a mere 2 leftovers to freeze), prawns in garlic spicy noodles, chicken in tomato and pepper sauce (cook 6, freeze 4), chicken curry (from a previously frozen batch), etc.

For ideas, I favour Recipezaar.com, even though it's American and 30% of the recipes have ingredients I've never heard of! But it's got some greater tools so you can pick ingredients in your cupboard and it provides matching recipes.

If you haven't got one already, I heartily recommend a slow cooker to make big economical meals and freeze leftovers for the following week(s)

Good luck

Butterfly_Brain

Well I first check what is in the cupboards and freezer and see what I could make from what I have - then I just write out a daily menu for breakfast, lunch and dinner and only then do I write a shopping list for fresh things or to replace what I am low on