Meal Planning - how do you do it?

ragz_2

RedLass wrote: »

How about, week 1, make a menu, go shopping. If you see something on the whoopsie shelf or on special that you think you could use, buy it and freeze it. Week 2, plan your menu to use up the specials you got last week, and only shop for what you need to fill around it, unless you see more specials that you can use for week 3 etc. etc.. and the loop goes on.

That is roughly what I do. All meat goes in the freezer, hopefully bought reduced or on offer. I then meal plan for the following week based on that and anything I have a lot of like pasta or fajita kits (bl00dy approved foods!).

When I run out of meat in the freezer and have to buy it to fit in with meal plans it seems to cost more...

zippychick

ive merged this with our meal planning thread

meal planning where do i start - may also help you

Zip

beautifylife

My budget right now is tiny, around £10-£15 per week for 1. If you or anyone reading this is on a budget I can share my experience here.

I consistently manage doing this. For me as I eat a veggie diet it is perhaps easier than a meat eater, and those with families. I didn't want to compromise on quality and nutrition as that was important to me. I would rather go without other things.

I tend to plan my meals around the reduced items. I pick things I like though. Mostly this works out really well and I also get a chance to try things perhaps I wouldn't pick up normally. So it adds variety and keeps you creative. Sometimes this isn't always possible, so then I fall back onto tried and tested ideas, things I can mix and match.

Eg. there might be lots of fruit and veg reduced but nothing to go with it. So I might buy a quiche or something from the deli to go with it. I use fruit for breakfast as a smoothie and you can add nuts, seeds, even spinach (for minerals, I usually work on 40% greens and 60% fruit and this hides the taste of the greens). Instead of adding yog you can add almond milk, oat milk. You can even make your own milks just take a look on youtube for ideas. Adding nuts, seeds, almond milk makes a heavier and denser breakfast.

Hope this helps add to your ideas and all goes well.:)

Betty_Crumble

Love reading these kinds of threads, there's so many ways people menu plan.
I get paid 4 weekly so my 'month' is 4 weeks long.
When I first started I pulled the freezer and cupboard out to see what I had and then each meal I made up from what I had I put back (I have a big upright freezer with 6 drawers so numbered up 4 of them) in that weeks drawer, I kept going until i ran out of food and probably got 2 & 1/2 wks worth out of it. I then finished writing down what I wanted for the remaining days and wrote a list of all the things I needed.
Shopping done I knew I had 4 wks worth and time to move on to how much I wanted to spend per week from then on, £30 it was and still is. Out of this I had to get each weeks fresh stuff and also take advantage of special offers and reduced items that could be froze and add towards the next 'month's plan.
Any money left over gets pooled and I start the cycle again. So apart from fresh stuff I am really only buying for the following month.
Really hope that makes sense.

Oh so the friday once a month I menu plan, that sat I do the big shop for all but the freshies and the sunday I cook as much as I can, spend most of the day in the kitchen but saves so much time in the long run and I know whats in my 'ready meals'. My freshies for the week I get on a Friday after work and that way 3 weekends out of four are my own.

Wow I can rattle on, soz.

Will get some pics up of my batch cooking (yes I really am that sad, I took pics)

Note to self *must get a life*









I will have to fess up that I also pre grate and freeze my cheese too, gosh the worms from this can.....

....hmmm maybe I should plan them in teehee.

Menu for the next 4 wks

jkt pots, cheese and coleslaw, bb chicken and corn on the cob
fishcake, chips and peas
chicken tikka, rice and naans with veg
sausage casserole, mash and veg
shepherds pie, roaties, yorkies and veg
roast chicken, new pots and peas
beef stew and dumplings crustybread and veg

chilli con carne, tortillas, rice and salad
jkt pots, cajun chicken and salad
sausage roll, chips and beans
pork chops, egg, chips and peas
spag bol, roasties and sweetcorn
pasta bake and uiche
bbq chicken and wedges

(leftover) bbq chicken and savoury rice with broccoli, carrots and sweetcorn
ribs/steak and jacket potatoes
(leftover) chicken wraps
shepherds pie, roasties, veg and yorkies
fishcake, chips and peas
west indian chicken, boiled rice and sweet potatoes
chilli con carne, tortillas, rice and salad

chicken pittas and salad
gammon, egg, chips and peas
enchiladas and savoury rice
crispy chilli beef and noodles
curry, rice and naan with veg
fry up
roast beef dinner

Pixie_Fairydust

Betty Crumble - Thanks for the pics, you have inspired me to look for a 2nd freezer and do some batch cooking. Ready meals that I know are full of good stuff :T

Pixie

[Deleted User]

Wow Bettycrumble you are certainly organised. I used to know someone who lived in Essex, and she did this over 20 odd years ago as she had two chest freezers in a barn on her property plus a big freezer in her kitchen She could almost tell you what they would be eating in three months time She was an amazing lady and a fantastic cook to boot.Her house was so organised her three boys were trained to wash out the polybags after they had finished with their school lunch and hang up to dry,all of her family would go out and pick stuff from hedgrows and she made virtually everthing she grew into something edible.A bit too over the top at times as when the boys came to our house they were allowed to be ordinary boys and didn't have to do a thing .She was the wife of my OH's friend and as organised as I am I'd never met anyone like her at all.I often wonder how her lads grew up I've not seen her for years though.
I do quite a bit of cooking and whatever I make I always seem to have extra portions to freeze (probably why it takes me so long to run my freezer down )and I menu plan for about a fornight so I know roughly what I have to get.
I keep a pad by the kettle and what I have just run out of goes on the pad for the next shopping trip I don't buy as much as I used to this way and its usually only essentials that I have to get i.e. fresh fruit , veg, milk and bread.But I am impressed with your photo's I must say.
I live alone so its probably easier to menu plan and I can change things if I see that perhaps the veg is getting a bit past its best and jiggle things around a bit.I am making some carrot and coriander soup today as I have a litre of good stock left from my casserole that I made in my SC yesterday,so lunch will be soup and crusty bread as I want to use up some of the carrots that I seem to have accummulated in the fridge .What's left over from the soup will be frozen for another day in a soup pouch.I am trying to run down my fridge this week as I'm going away at the end of the month and don't want to bin anything if I can help it

Flat_Eric

must get back into my meal planning .....

zippychick

it definitely helps Eric

Great post by Betty Crumble - LOVE the pics!!!!!

sapanga

Hi, I'm trying to do a meal planner and really have no idea where to start. I am trying to budget £100 per month for groceries which needs to include toliteries and household cleaning items as well. There is only me and my partner to feed. The problem is i dont eat chicken or fish but i eat plenty of veg, he eats most meats and hardly any veg and he wont eat anything reheated. I usually use a lot of mince but he does get sick of it, so I'm looking for cheap meal ideas that will suit us both.

Can anyone help please?

BitterAndTwisted

For a start you should do a full inventory of your store-cupboards, fridge and freezer.

Then, come up with the recipes. I suggest you take a look at the cheap-family-recipes.org website. If they say you can feed a family of four on £100 a month, you'd be in clover just feeding two.

Toiletries and cleaning products: you might need to make some compromises on these if you're used to the usual luxury products. For cleaning all you really need are Stardrops and washing-up liquid.

Have a look at the "Grocery Challenge" thread for some super ideas.

If you're looking to cut your grocery bill down to £100 a month, how much are you spending now?

Your partner won't eat anything reheated eh? And how often does this picky pumpkin cook themselves? Half of the meals you get in restaurants are prepared and cooked in advance: most of them are just finished off to order. Do they know that?