The I will MEAL PLAN and not change my mind thread.....

[Deleted User]

I haven't done any menu plans this week as we are still eating stuff from Xmas. However, I am so proud of myself this evening - I had already decided what we were having for tea when my sister visited. She always wants us to have a takeaway when she comes to visit but I resisted the temptation of saying yes and said I have already made a start on tea. At that point she invited herself to stay and I quickly had to find a way of making a tea that serves 4 into a tea that serves 6 (MIL staying as well). Normally I would have panicked and gone back to the takeaway option - instead I opened a bag of lettuce (left over from Xmas day tea) and made portion sizes of the main dish a little smaller :-)

lostinrates

sonastin wrote: »

Its one of my new years resolutions too... but I'm not starting until after new year. Plans this week are way too fluid and I've no idea how long I can realistically stretch the leftovers out to so I'm going to start with a half-week plan on January 2nd. Might even start on the 1st if we're not doing anything exciting!

May I make a suggestion?

I love meal planning, find it good when in the habit and also live in a house where plans can change at least three nights a week. Rather than meal planning for half a week, I meal plan for ten days, which, with storecupboard meals or re worked left overs can be a fourteen day plan easily if needed. Doing a half week plan is, you will find, if anything a little harder when you are in to the habit, and avoids the benefit of reducing time being spent in supermarkets/shops instead of at home doing more interesting or useful things!

Other more general things that help me are to eat relatively seasonally (but not maniacally, we have a big, well used freezer for stroking veg bought/harvested in season) as it keeps planning fresh and exciting. You get excited about meals you have not eaten for almost a year when they come back 'in season'

Good luck everyone!

EN3

I'd like to join too please. I try and menu plan already to a certain degree, but my partner and I both work shifts (which often change at the last moment) so sometimes the plan goes out the window! We are pretty good at batch cooking and eating left-overs for lunches etc, but apparently the EU food mountain is residing in this house and we are only 2 adults + 1 dog!!:eek:

So the plan is run down the freezers and the cupboards before buying anything else other than fresh stuff (milk/eggs etc). Thats the theory anyway, in practice I suspect it will be a work in progress! I am going to try and inventory what I have in stock already, then meal plan around it from Jan 1st.

WantToBeSE

Good morning

On tonights meal plan is Spaghetti Bolognaise, so i took out the mince from the freezer last night and it defrosted overnight.

Debs2009

I would love to join you all

This is the kind of thread I need. Sometimes I manage to stick to planing for 2 days then end up with a takeaway.

I made curry with rice last night and plan on mince and potatoes tonight


Need to plan for more days


Debbie

lostinrates

Debs2009 wrote: »

I would love to join you all

This is the kind of thread I need. Sometimes I manage to stick to planing for 2 days then end up with a takeaway.

I made curry with rice last night and plan on mince and potatoes tonight


Need to plan for more days


Debbie

Plan for more days and keep a simple meal up your sleeve.

E.g. A baked potato takes a few seconds handling time while you can have a bath/watch a favourtie tv show/ do your flylady ing. Whatever. It's a good one to know can be your extra or planned later in the week/fortnight.....or brought forward when needed, but...it takes a while. Several types of pasta meal can be on the table in just over ten minutes (depending on the type of pasta) and for me these can be 'meal plan savers'.

Broccoli pasta, for example......pasta in water, broccoli in steamer above pasta, grate some Parmesan......done. Hm to ATP sauce? A light sauce reminiscent of a summer day can be done while the pasta cooks....tomatos, or a can of them, in a pan with a tiny splash of o,I've oil, maybe half an onion softened, some capers, a couple of anchovies maybe. Or any black olives you might have lurking. And obviously some garlic! That grated cheese and...the pasta is done, poured onto sauce and both then played up.....twelve minutes. It would take me three times as long minimum to get a takeaway tbh.

Other quick meals can be 'breakfast for supper (bacon and eggs, or just eggs) veg omlettes, soup from the freezer (bath cooked or whoopsied).

My succesful fortnights have days off 'serious' cooking. You can even so two or three course meals this way. Pasta followed my some cheese and an apple or a couple of dates for a 'cheese plate'. Some of a packet of olives used in a pasta dish are tomorrows per supper canap! with an aperitif.

Honeythief

I'd never manage any frugal eating or meal planning if it wasn't for the freezer. Batch cooking and freezing is the way to go, so long as you don't have a power cut! Then it just takes three or four minutes in the microwave to have a hot filling cheap healthy meal after a long shift at work.

We freeze double portions of rice in those clear plastic takeaway tubs and portions of curry in other tubs so I can just defrost/heat both and that's dinner for two in ten minutes.

Having packets of mixed veg in the freezer and a tube of Thai flavouring (the lemongrass/ginger/coriander type) in the fridge means I can whip up a stir fry in a few minutes too, with no chopping or faffing around. We buy red peppers in season and chop them up for the freezer to liven up the cheaper supermarket frozen veg. Just defrost some rice and we're good to go in a few minutes.

Yay for freezers!

Debs2009

Thank you lostinrates you have gave me some great ideas and everyone in the household loves baked potatoes so no seperate meals.

Debbie

Marmite27

Update!

T 27th HM Lasagne (already in the freezer!) salad and garlic bread.
very much enjoyed

F 28th Chicken curry & pilau rice.
Even had a friend and SiL round to play daft games after!

S 29th [STRIKE]Chilli Chicken Pasta Bake.[/STRIKE] Tuna Pasta Bake.
Realised I missed a day! there was a meal planned for it however I just forgot to write it down. Bit of an experimental recipe for me, not feeling too good, so may sub the homemade sauce for one from the cupboard. Planning to mix frozen cooked chicken with cooked pasta and tomato sauce, layer of pepperoni on top, and a layer of cheese on top of that, bung under grill, and, well I'll let you know!

Feeling even worse as the day has gone on, changed this to TPB (tuna pasta bake) so OH can cook, he did say he would do the new recipe, but as it's one I've made up and not written down, he politely declined lol

S 30th Cottage pie, cauli/broc/carrot.
Base for this (and at least two more to freeze) is in the slow cooker as I type :j

M 31st Pork chow mein.

T 1st NYE dinner at my parents.

W 2nd First day back at work since before Christmas, so fish fingers, chips and beans.

T 3rd BE Chicken Chargrill in a pitta with mushroom rice & salad.

Mags_cat

Keep myself on track :

Fr 28 L : [STRIKE]Bubble and squeak[/STRIKE] D : [STRIKE]Penguin pie + fresh veggies[/STRIKE] Pie was lovely, but I should have realised that I could only manage half of it. I will need to eat the other half tonight, as it came out of the freezer so can't be refrozen.

Sa 29 L : [STRIKE]Bubble + squeak soup (l/o veggies + l/o chicken + stock)[/STRIKE] (Delicious and there's at least another 2 portions I can freeze for work lunches), D : [STRIKE]Pork stir fry + noodles[/STRIKE] Now a repeat of yesterday, pie and veggies (or possibly salad instead). I had taken the pork out of the freezer, so I'll have that tomorrow instead.

Su 30 L : Pork stir fry + noodles, D : Beans on toast

Mo 31 L : Shepherd's pie, D : Probably more shepherd's pie (Wot?! I like it )

Tu 01 L : Beef Yuk Sung (Mince, fine chopped crunchy veg + chinese spices, eaten in lettuce leaves), D : Pasta and tomato sauce with salami

Wed 02 (Back in the office) L: Chilli + pitta, D : Battered fish + chips + peas

Th 03 L : L/o gammon in pitta, D : Turkey curry + rice