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Meal planning quandry...
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Jo_R_2
Posts: 2,660 Forumite
Hi!
Been implementing a meal planner and shopping budget for past month-and-a-bit, has been going really well, have already cut £40 per month off our original monthly spend and would be happy to cut a total of £60 from that original amount - of course anything else would be a bonus but don't want to dive in and make it too hard!
Anyway...! I am "very" pregnant :rotfl: and very tired! Puting lots of thought into the meal planner but have been realising that with being sooo tired, the dishes I have been planning for do seem once or twice a week to go by the wayside and we stick with beans on toast/pasta as I always account for this. Obviously this can mean a couple of ingedients I have bought specially go to waste as to be honest, by the time it gets to teatime it is the last thing on my mind (the first usually being sleep
)
I had been doing some cooking and freezing meals earlier in the week but this has gone to pot the last couple of weeks. I soooo like the idea of doing things in advance, making extra portions and so on, but at the rate I'm going, just getting out of bed is a HUGE achievement - and I joke not!
I'm not sure if I'm looking for a magical answer (and let's face it, if I don't get it done then no-one else is doing it in this house :mad: ) or just some sympathy - either welcome! I know a couple of ingedients isn't much in the scheme of things but of course, looking at it from the other perspective, every little counts...
Btw I am slightly obsessive about meal planning as me and DD are vegan and veggie, and try to get as balanced and varied a diet as possible. Boyfy is meat-eater so will eat anything.)
Off for a nap now!:j
Been implementing a meal planner and shopping budget for past month-and-a-bit, has been going really well, have already cut £40 per month off our original monthly spend and would be happy to cut a total of £60 from that original amount - of course anything else would be a bonus but don't want to dive in and make it too hard!
Anyway...! I am "very" pregnant :rotfl: and very tired! Puting lots of thought into the meal planner but have been realising that with being sooo tired, the dishes I have been planning for do seem once or twice a week to go by the wayside and we stick with beans on toast/pasta as I always account for this. Obviously this can mean a couple of ingedients I have bought specially go to waste as to be honest, by the time it gets to teatime it is the last thing on my mind (the first usually being sleep

I had been doing some cooking and freezing meals earlier in the week but this has gone to pot the last couple of weeks. I soooo like the idea of doing things in advance, making extra portions and so on, but at the rate I'm going, just getting out of bed is a HUGE achievement - and I joke not!
I'm not sure if I'm looking for a magical answer (and let's face it, if I don't get it done then no-one else is doing it in this house :mad: ) or just some sympathy - either welcome! I know a couple of ingedients isn't much in the scheme of things but of course, looking at it from the other perspective, every little counts...
Btw I am slightly obsessive about meal planning as me and DD are vegan and veggie, and try to get as balanced and varied a diet as possible. Boyfy is meat-eater so will eat anything.)
Off for a nap now!:j
Dealing with my debts!
Currently overpaying Virgin cc -
balance Jan 2010 @ 1985.65
Now @ 703.63
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What kind of thing are you after? Ideas for meals?Official DFW Nerd no. 082! :cool:Debt @ 01/01/2014 £16,956 Debt now: £0.00 :j
Aims:[STRIKE] clear debt, get married, buy a house[/STRIKE]ALL DONE!!
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Jo_R,
You don't state what you are after - you do say you have a couple of ingredients going to waste, but do not state what they are?!I'm not sure if I'm looking for a magical answer (and let's face it, if I don't get it done then no-one else is doing it in this house ) or just some sympathy - either welcome!
I think you have to sit your partner down and tell him how you feel and ask him to help more around the house. Even if he has a full time job, there is nothing stopping him to clean up after himself, tidy up, or take the vacuum etc Let's face it, when I was working full time, I also kept the house, cleaned, cooked meals, baked bread, do the laundry and do the shopping etc. I do live on my own, but you still have to do everything to keep the place going and looking tidy!
As for meal planning - what help are you after?0 -
Why not only plan for 5 meals a week and count on having 2 quick and easy meals? (there's nothing wrong with them, beans on toast followed by some fruit is fairly nutritious and probably better for you than a ready meal). Also make double portions each time you cook something suitable ie shepherds pie/spag bol/pies and freeze these. If you've room you could even save them for later on/after the baby's born so you don't have to worry too much then. Also could ask OH if you could borrow him for the day for batch cooking, him cooking, you directing if he's as bad as my OH. Not only does it give him some practice, it means the meals get made while you put your feet up/chop the veg etc!£2 Coin Savers Club £14 :j (joined 18/2/06)0
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Just a quick tip, but I've recently discovered that grating vegetables with a cheese grater makes the whole batch cooking thing faster and easier. I always found the endless chopping of piles of veg exhausting.
Then pile them all into a steamer and they cook quite quickly too coz they're so small. I usually add these veggies to cooked mince, then divide it up into bolognaise, chilli, shepherds pie etc. Obviously, that's no good for a veggie, but maybe you could adapt the idea to fit the recipes you like.
HTH."Then, when every last cent
Of their money was spent,
The Fix-it-Up Chappie packed up
And he went."
Dr Seuss0 -
Like the other posters, not sure what you are after in the meal planning department.
One thing you can do is make up big batches of sauce, and freeze in portions suitable for your family size. Takes just about the same time to make a one tinned tomato sauce as a 6 tinned amount. (Using tomato sauce as example, could be curry or whatever). If you have enough room in your freezer, you could could make up a load of different sauces. Just remember to label and date them. (Found cheap masking tape & permanent marker pen from pound shops good).
I am not as good as many on this board for meal planning - consider me useless! Doubt if I ever will get into meal planning in a big way - we all eat different things in this house - well I am veggie, Miss AM is when it suits her, Mr AM hates all vegetables and eats meat.
My major problem is getting them telling me what they want to eat. I need to defrost it safely. So they just eat what I have have defrosted - seriously got a problem recently with DD wanting to eat chicken. I really need to know a day ahead.
However try to keep cooking easy, so we all will have a tomato sauced meal, if using that. (They will have chicken, smoked sausage, whatever, and I have soya/quorn mince or roasted veggies - usually mine will have added chilli.) Just bear in mind that sauce can be used for pasta, pizza, chilli - tacos.....0 -
What helps me is going to the pound shop and buying 500 freezer bags and then blanching (spare) vegetables and extra bread and putting it all in the freezer. That way there is no waste if you don't get round to cooking.0
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and keep taking iron tablets to help give you some energy. Stuff planning meals in advance, being pregnant is enough for now. Just give your OH 24 hours notice that you want him to go to the shops with you and get a weeks groceries, after you've sat down and made a list of all the ingredients you'll need for roughly 5 days meals. Don't forget to include food you can make quick snacks with ie beans, humus, peanut butter. Buy crackers/matsoz bread, dips they're useful for adding toppings to for a quick snack. Whatever fruits in season/bargain at supermarket, put them in the fridge, and have after meals, ice cold sliced oranges and strawberries (with icecream :j) are my favourites.0
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