Meal planning for one - do you bother?

Kirri

rmiller wrote: »

I do. I was curious at how much money I was spending by buying stuff each night for dinners. As I didn't meal plan I didn't bother gonig to the shop for a 'weekly shop' so didn't buy much for lunches either which meant I bought them nearly everyday.

I did a test and in Month 1 (where I didn't meal plan or go 'weekly' food shopping) I spent twice as much as I did than in Month 2 (when I did meal plan and do a weekly shop).

It was so easy. As I don't have a car, I had the food delivered.

I saved £350 over the last year by doing this so I'm off Switerzland as a treat!

That's quite an inspiring amount to have saved and nice to have a treat for it!

Although I don't do a set meal plan, I have changed over to one weekly shop at a set budget and that has saved me a lot of money over daily shopping/seeing things I might fancy, so in that respect I guess I do plan a bit as I have to decide before the weekly shop what I actually need (and not want!) ie to replace store cupboard ingredients for that week. I just don't plan the meals. Like you from early calculations, I was probably spending double before I changed to a weekly shop!

greenval

I do't meal plan as such but do batch cook for the freezer so there's always a reasonable choice there and then just take things out as I need it.

GEEGEE8

I need to start meal planning then it seems. I usually end up eating crap that I don't really enjoy.

I think if I had meals in the freezer I could take it out in the morning and let it defrost

alwaysonthego_2

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MrsE_2

velocitykid wrote: »

I should but I don't

DD has left home & its just the two of us. I still meal plan, but I don't think I would for one - what we all mean is we wouldn't "bother" if it was just for us. But on Sundays I think, do we really need a joint just for 2:(

nuttybabe

When i first lived alone i didnt meal plan. I used to buy a big sack of potatos and a few loafs of bread (27p a loaf i believe!!!) and have chip buttys as that was all i could afford. if i had spare money i would buy junk for the freezer and just see what i fancied that night. BUT I am a changed person. If i was living alone now i think i would spend a day a month batch cooking different meals and freezing them so i could have a decent healthy meal every night. Maybe not meal plan but provide lots of choice and all made from scratch!!

CupOfChai

I TOTALLY meal plan just for me, almost never have for anyone else! I struggle to function if I don't, as I end up staring at the cupboard unable to decide what to make, spending ages longer in the supermarket wondering what things to buy, forgetting to defrost things I want to use, wasting food as it's gone off before I got round to using it etc.

I too freeze the extra of things when you end up making more than you need for one meal, so I'm not eating the same thing for about four days, and I do batch cook and freeze. Don't really have the problem others talk about where you don't want what you've planned, but then I love my food and by mealtime will eat whatever I'm having, often I look forward to the meal I know I'm having that night or another day.

In fact, sometimes when I have guests I get a little bit annoyed that I have to see what they want and can't meal plan it in with the rest of my week!

CCP

I mealplan just for me, and always have - when I first started living on my own money was so tight that I had to do plans, so I could work out what I could afford to buy. I'm not nearly as short of money now but I still do meal plans, partly out of habit and partly because it stops me wasting food - if I buy an aubergine, for example, I plan several aubergine-based meals so I don't end up throwing part of it away.

I admire people who can eat the same thing several days in a row - I have a very low boredom threshold and could never do it myself! As I say, I will do several meals around one ingredient, or cook up a batch of something and freeze it for another time, and always allow myself a bit of flexibility so if I really don't fancy what I've planned I can have something else (usually made with the same main ingredient, though - if I've planned prawn stir-fry, for example, but fancy a curry, that's fine - it just has to be a prawn curry ).

I can understand why not everyone does this, but it suits me, and tbh I rather enjoy mealplanning.

dronid

If you want to save money, yes. When I was single I did. If you do and batch cook for yourself you can save a lot. It's easier if you're on your own too. You don't have to plan with as much focus so long as you know what you can do with the ingredients. Now I meal plan in the sense that I say I have mince so I know a variety of things I can do with it. I do one of them and then have meals for the future. I do that a few times and then I have meals I can pick out of the freezer for a month.

CupOfChai

Another thing I've found batch cooking in particular helps with is if you work full-time or are otherwise busy (and who isn't!), you can cook up a big pot of something that takes a long time to cook, such as a stew, then freeze it. Then when you come to do your dinner of an evening it only takes a few minutes to heat up rather than 3+ hours to prep and cook for ages. Good if you don't have a slow cooker to do it in, even if you have still good to do as you don't need to find time in your busier days to prep things, get them in the cooker and remember to put it on.

Stew-type dishes, also curries, soups and sauces, often are even tastier when reheated too. Something about flavours developing.