Ooh you gotta laugh!!

msflowerfairy

I have just done my monthly shop online with Asda, i bought 148 items for £114, and have just stocked my cupboards.
We have recently done an IVA, so are on a really tight budget, and so i have done 4 weekly menus.
OH came in to have a look at the newly stocked cupboards, and laughed saying that we will be fine should there be a war LOL!:D
I looked in the cupboards, and i have stacked all tins together, 4 of each, and built a wall of food in my food cupboard!!!
Ah well it won't take long to get through it all PMSL!! :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

Elliesmum

Well done - hope you enjoy your meal plans for the month.

EM xx

Queenie

:laugh:

:T Well done you on your organisational skills Stick around in Old Style long enough your OH will soon come to think of it in terms of "normal"

Little_Miss_Saver

I wish I could meal plan for the month. I struggle to do a week!!!

Like you say it won't take long to go. :rotfl:

Well done, I wish I could be that organised!!

LMS xx

msflowerfairy

I used the website www.organizedhome.com, and printed off the Household Notebook.
I made up a shopping list by using the Asda website, to find out the prices, and logged off every evening.
The website will store your items, which i added to throughout the week, i then printed off a copy of my list, and stored it in my notebook.
I used this to make up my menus, and of course used this fab site to get a huge list of menu plans: http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=23385 (wicked thread)
I have just made a lovely vegetable soup, with homemade tomato bread rolls, and my kitchen smells lovely.
I have never been so organised in my life, as i work 40 hrs a week, and don't get home until 7pm after leaving the house at 06:30.
My fridge is now spotless, and i have made the pantry inventry.
All i can say is don't knock until you try it LOL!....Mission On!!:T

msflowerfairy

Try this thread too:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=346932

Queenie

Little_Miss_Saver wrote: »

I wish I could meal plan for the month. I struggle to do a week!!!

Like you say it won't take long to go. :rotfl:

Well done, I wish I could be that organised!!

LMS xx

It can seem *very* overwhelming to focus on a month!
If you gather up those weekly one's you've drawn up and rotate them ... voila! ... a month or maybe even two month's menu plans already done

Another tip: instead of trying to write out a week or month of menu plans, just write on your calendar or in your diary what you had that day ... do that every day and at the end of a year ... you have 52 wks worth of menu plans to carry you through the next year!

mumoftwo

Queenie wrote: »

It can seem *very* overwhelming to focus on a month!
If you gather up those weekly one's you've drawn up and rotate them ... voila! ... a month or maybe even two month's menu plans already done

Another tip: instead of trying to write out a week or month of menu plans, just write on your calendar or in your diary what you had that day ... do that every day and at the end of a year ... you have 52 wks worth of menu plans to carry you through the next year!

That is a great idea, thanks a lot. I do struggle finding new things to cook, I get bored with the usual things ie bolognese, chicken stirfry, sausages, hm burgers etc etc. by keeping a daily note of what we have had, I can get inspiration for later on.

Queenie

mumoftwo - you might find it useful to break down your day's of the week into certain food nights. For example, you could have say a sausage night (Monday), a chicken night (Tues), a minced beef night (Wed) etc. Then, think how many different ways there are to serve sausages: Bangers and mash, toad in the hole, etc., chicken night could come from leftovers if you've had a chicken on the Sunday. Minced beef is enormously versatile so you could go weeks and weeks of mince on a Wednesday before having the same dish twice!

The advantage of doing it that way is quite cost effective, because your basic shopping list remains fairly consistent week by week - but your repetoire becomes extensive

dannahaz

I started meal planning by making a list of all our "staple" meals, and I was surprised at how many we had. From memory: Beef casserole (with dumplings, or with mashed potato), Beef pie, bolognese, chilli con carne with rice, chilli chicken, chilli beef piadines, chicken pie, steak, Shepherds Pie, teviot pie, chicken "in a sauce", chicken Patak, chicken casserole, Risotto, Souffle, Roast dinner(Lamb, chicken, Beef, Pork), Parmesan baked chicken, chops (Pork, Lamb), liver (DH only), Steak & Kidney pudding, S&K pie, Gammon, Pasta (me only), Fish, HM Sausages, HM Burgers or meatballs (lamb, beef). Plus of course soups, and salad using leftovers.

This made the first month really easy. I was then able to think about meals we don't have very often, or variations on a theme, and I started incorporating those into my plan too. Now I've been going a few months its really easy, I can just scan back at what weh haven't had for a while and put that in.

I can make my plan according to what I meat I have in the freezer, and I can group meals to make good use of vegetables and leftovers.

I plan a week at a time, but sometimes I find myself filling in my planner for the following week as well, as I think of something I haven't had for a while, or if I come across a recipe I want to try (often through reading these threads, or the meal planning thread)

I've never been this organised before, and I'm amazed at how much time and energy it saves. In the time it used to take us to discuss what we were going to have for dinner that night, I now have the whole week planned.

I get the meat out of the freezer the night before, I always have the right stuff to make it. If we don't fancy it, we change it round. DH can see what's on the menu and do the cooking.

I can't recommend it highly enough.

morganb

Wow, your tomato bread sounds lovely ... any chance of a recipe please??