Meal Planning - how do you do it?

lynzpower

Well if you have extra quorn chilli portioned in the freezer for example you can have

Chilli and jacket
Chilli and wedges/ chips
chilli nachos/ cheese/sour cream/ salsa etc

What about a veggie lasagne? again can be frozen in portions? Feta and spinach filo pie? bean casserole/ cassolet?

ChocClare

There is no fish in week 1 or week 4 - is this intentional? If not, could you do eg fish pie or HM breaded fish - or is it too expensive?

kochi1

What about a mushroom risotto one night, veggie curry with rice and lentils?

costaerer

maybe theres a reason but are you not better making extra shepherds pie week one and freezing till week 4? means not having to cook for one night!

kathie1101

Thank you everyone for taking the time to reply, and with some good suggestions.

ChocClare, thank you for pointing out how little fish there is in there - I need to do something about that. I love fish, but if it looks like a fish on my plate then I struggle to eat it (I know that sounds weird lol!) I can eat battered fish no problem, but put a piece of sea bass on my plate and I will take ages to eat it:doh:I have fish pie as a extra meal on my list (to maybe put in every couple of months) - have had it regularly for the last few months, but not sure the recipe is the best, as it tastes a bit bland. It is something i enjoy, but not every month.

I can't do a huge amount of batch cooking at the moment as my main freezer broke just before Christmas and not been able to replace it yet, so just have a small freezer at the mo, which is mainly filled with my store bought veggie stuff (Quorn etc). I am hoping to eventually cut out as much of the ready bought veggie stuff as possible, as i spend a fortune on it, sure things like the pies could be made much cheaper, and maybe I could just buy the Quorn fillets and pieces and add herbs & spices to make my own things. Well that is the plan, but I'm not very good knowing what herbs/spices to use for different dishes and really need to follow recipes, so will have to work on that gradually. I do usually make extras of soup and sometimes bolognese & chilli, as they take up next to no room in the freezer.

Sorry should have said that the lasagne we have is a veggie one. I like the sound of the feta and spinach, might have to try that one for myself - OH not keen on feta though.

Just made a note to get some tacos - they would be nice with chilli in etc.

Really want this meal planning to work, as otherwise what often happens is we end up having chips (OH would quite happily live off them) but as I really need to loose weight (and don't want the kids growing up living off chips all the time) I need to try and stick to a plan - which will hopefully cut down on spending too.

Really appreciate everyone's input, thank you.

zippychick

ive merged this with our meal planning thread for you

thanks
Zip

do_it_today!

Hi :hello:
I know the virtues of batch cooking and have done so on a small scale ie 2-4 meals at a time and have been aware of meal planning but have never been able to do more than a couple of days at a time.

But tonight after subcuming to a takeaway as I was just too tired to think let alone defrost food for cooking tonight. I need a water tight system. And am looking for inspiration from the pro's here, we have a second freezer which Im busily filling with chicken, vegetables and fish.

Do you do all your cooking in one day? do you store the food by day (ie lunch and dinners bundle together)? do you store in individual or family portions?

I look forward to hearing your tips.

thanks :T

mulled_wine

We plan our meals for the week ahead. Rarely batch cook, (but have done 2 and one for the freezer on occasion) we make our shopping list up of what we are planning to eat (but obviously keep an eye on the whoops! counters and often re-jig our meals to suit in the middle of Asda, lol)

DD likes the way we can say we're having XYZ and magically pull the ingredients from the freezer, cupboard or fridge. Funny that. :cool:

I'm lucky that my DH is retired and will happily prep all the veg etc, so it's a case of just cooking it when I get in but I have to say having the plan is so much easier than opening the freezer and looking for inspiration or getting a takeaway.

Not that we don't get takeaways sometimes but they are a planned event and not a must-get-something. Hope that makes sense!

do_it_today!

Thanks Mulled Wine!

sometimes meals are planned but its abit haphazard! and now im really sleep deprived at the moment (2 under 3!) I need to be more systematic.

mulled_wine

do_it_today! wrote: »

Thanks Mulled Wine!

sometimes meals are planned but its abit haphazard! and now im really sleep deprived at the moment (2 under 3!) I need to be more systematic.

Oh you do have your work cut out for you!

Just do what is urgent and can't be left. And nothing wrong in reusing last weeks plan!

You need your sleep more than a spotless home right now. And if you're working too, I take my hat off to you. You can always dust the cat once the children have started school.

You don't even need to allocate a day to a specific meal, just write down your meals of choice (for the next 7 days, say) buy those ingredients and then pick one when you get in, knowing you have all the stuff you need. And then cross it off, lol.

xxx