Meal Planning - how do you do it?

punkpink

I tend to be quite organised and i hate going into the supermarket and having to do a large shop, i end up being distracted and end up paying an extra £30, £40, £50+ on my shop :wall: i really should try harder!

For meal planning, i do a months spreadsheet type thing, well i try to keep it going for 5 weeks then 4 weeks as a month is quite awkward....and i don't like the untidyness of it with gaps at the start/end!

I have just finished my meal plan running from Monday 31st Ocotber to Sunday 4th November (exactly 5 weeks) and will be having the shopping delivered on the 1st (i already have the meat for the sunday roast and monday is always leftover day) making the most of the £3.00 delivery slots

To make my planning easier i have every monday as a meal based around the meat we had on the sunday (theres only two of us so usually have quite a bit left), every tuesday is home made pizza/garlic bread, and every sunday is a roast dinner (well throughout winter anyway!) as this then only leaves four days for me to actually 'plan' in a week.

Another general rule is Friday/Saturday i usually have something quick and easy and all of the meals that take longest to prepare are saved for wednesdays/thursdays (otherwise my meal plan goes out the window and is replaced with a takeaway! ).

My Tesco.com order is waiting to be ordered, probably on friday, so i can amend over the weekend before delivery.And so far for the 5 weeks i have got all of the staples for the meals (and all veg for the first week and hlf) for £60.00! though we always have one takeaway in each month, which obviously gets added to this cost.

I will then go to the pound shop for smellys and we will probably spend another £10.00 there (have some stuff from last month) and thats our 'grocery' bill as we call it.

I do still pop to Tesco's, usually for glitches (try not to go more than once a week...i know, some of you must be fainting!) and will always scour the whoopsies to pick up some treats or something i spot that i know will get used on the next meal planner.

Sorry for the essay, hope this helps someone.

I have now managed to curb spending on food by at least half, just by planning my meals properly!

Pic may be a little big and i do not know how to change it, but i managed to scan my meal plan into the comp;

http://s1102.photobucket.com/albums/g442/punkpink88/meal%20plan/?action=view&current=novdec001.jpg

punkpink

chickywiggle wrote: »

have done the next 4 weeks meal plans (and this weeks) - as you can see tis extremly uncreative and full of processed stuff but hey thats us - it suits us and is actually surprisingly cheap as we aren't forking out for 'real' meat all the time.
There is a distinct lack of roast dinner as hubby doesn't seem to really care what i give him so why do i spend 3 hours cooking it?? will aim to plan in 1 every 2 weeks once decembers planning comes in tho as i do like a chicken roast.

Anyway it's here if anyone wants a read.

OMG, i have just noticed you don't really have roast dinners! :eek:

I don't think i could go a week without a roast! Unless its summer, then its a bbq normally!

chickywiggle

punkpink wrote: »

OMG, i have just noticed you don't really have roast dinners! :eek:

I don't think i could go a week without a roast! Unless its summer, then its a bbq normally!

we never ever ever had one until i was pregnant with DS2 then i craved roast chicken all the time. So I can take em of leave them (i prefer take them but ......)
even christmas day was gammon, egg n chips,
so thats: from leaving for uni (2002) until pregnant (2010).

punkpink

chickywiggle wrote: »

we never ever ever had one until i was pregnant with DS2 then i craved roast chicken all the time. So I can take em of leave them (i prefer take them but ......)
even christmas day was gammon, egg n chips,
so thats: from leaving for uni (2002) until pregnant (2010).

I think i'd die! lol, my OH is the same, take it or leave it, but i adore roasted meat, and i'm not a huge meat eater, mainly chicken! :rotfl:

RhiBi

I don't menu plan in that I decide specific meals for a specific day, what I do is make a list of meals that I will make throughout the month.

So, I know we will have 3xcurry, 2x spag bol, 2xchilli etc. At the beginning of the month I then buy all the non perishable items for all the meals we'll have. I will buy and freeze meat if its on offer, or buy it as I need it.

It works for us, and still leaves an element of choice!

chickywiggle

ohhh i always forget about this site too until i get an email - has a buiilt in meal planner thing.
http://www.goodtoknow.co.uk/recipes/Cheap-quick-%26-easy?utm_source=Cheetahmail&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Genericnewsletter-261011

Flat_Eric

punkpink wrote: »

OMG, i have just noticed you don't really have roast dinners! :eek:

I don't think i could go a week without a roast! Unless its summer, then its a bbq normally!

I rarely have roast dinners.... Mum used to work on a sunday so dad did tea and it was always something and chips :j so all these years later, I don't associate sundays with roasts ? (if that makes sense ?)

I do like roast dinners especially lamb but it seems such a faff to cook and to get the timings just right and also expensive for the meat that I rarely bother

ps fab fab meal planning ideas. thank you all. I am exploring a few ideas and will get this meal planning lark cracked once and for all :j

Flat_Eric

I have drawn up a weekly meal planner but don't know whether to have the paper portrait and have Monday - Sunday down the left handside or whether to have the paper landscape and have Monday to Sunday along the top ?? How do you do yours ???

punkpink

Flat_Eric wrote: »

I have drawn up a weekly meal planner but don't know whether to have the paper portrait and have Monday - Sunday down the left handside or whether to have the paper landscape and have Monday to Sunday along the top ?? How do you do yours ???

I find landscape better, then you have more space, seven columns accross and then i usually have 6 rows down (one for the days of the week and then i do 5 weeks planning)

HTH

Flat_Eric

punkpink wrote: »

I find landscape better, then you have more space, seven columns accross and then i usually have 6 rows down (one for the days of the week and then i do 5 weeks planning)

HTH

I tried both in the end and agree landscape is much better. I have a box for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack along the side of the page and then along the top, have the days of the week with a shopping column at the end.

At the bottom of the page, I even have space for notes :j

I have already tried filling in the squares - now I just need to stop changing my mind !