Menu Planning 101

[hithere]

So, I need to desperately start meal planning! Mostly because we are very busy, and *every single night* it is a last minute decision, and often a 'fend for yourself' that leads to unhealthy or unbalanced meals, and not eating together.

Is there an actual way to do this, besides the obvious -
- sounds good
- something in the fridge that needs to be used up
- ingredients that are on sale
- Getting home late, so start the slow-cooker in the morning

For example,
- Do you plan one meal that has an aspect to it that can be created into something different the following night?
- Do you keep in mind key ingredients (example - sausage is sold in 1lb packages, so you have two recipes that week that each include 0.5lb sausage). This seems logical, but complicated, too.

For someone that considers myself an inexperienced cook (I'm more than willing to follow a recipe, but don't feel confident 'throwing something together') it seems a bit intimidating to try and incorporate the above - turning something in to something else, etc etc. Maybe I should just start with a few random recipes, plan for leftovers the next day, and then with more experience will be able to have a little more logic behind the menu choices?

Any science behind this?

Your advice would be much appreciated!

[cookaholicwife]

I think you'll need to try different things to see what works best for you. First I'd spend some time looking for meals that can be made quickly and that interest you. Cooking Light magazine has a handful of 20 minute recipes and on most websites, you can search for recipes by the time it takes to make them.

I buy all of my meats in bulk and when they are on sale. Then when I get home, I portion everything out. That way all I need to do in the morning is grab a package of chicken/beef/whatever out of the freezer.

Its also really important to ask yourself "are you really going to eat those leftovers?" Its great to double a meal with the intent to eat it twice, but more often than not, leftovers get tossed in my house. So just make sure that you really are going to eat them instead of wasting money.

I don't usually use an ingredient that can be recreated into different meals, mostly because I like to use a variety of proteins throughout the week.

If you are going to eat leftovers, then yeah, your plan for them sounds great. Also, you can look for recipes that can be made ahead of time and reheated, like chili, soups or even most crock pot meals. Sometimes I'll spend some extra time in the kitchen on Sunday morning so I don't have as much to do throughout the week.

Hope that helps.

[redheadbaker]

When I meal plan, I first find recipes to use what's in my fridge/freezer. By the time I'm ready to go grocery shopping, I only have one or two proteins left.

Then I check and see what's on sale, and plan the rest of my meals around that. If there's a great sale on something (ground beef for $2.99 or something), I buy 2 to 3 meals' worth.

I tend not to try to "re-purpose" leftovers. They're usually my lunch for the following day.

[ally]

To start the process DH and I talk about our plans for the week - some nights require quick/easy dinners, some nights only one of us is eating, others we can take more time, etc.

If either of us wants a particular dish it goes on the weeks menu.

If we have something to use up - cheese, vegetables - I plan a meal to include it.

We have a fully stocked freezer - so I try to choose a variety of proteins and often a previously frozen leftover.

We like leftovers for lunch, so I plan something around that (pot of chili, roast chicken).

I get ideas from posts like the weekly menu plan and blog updates. In addition to other blogs that I follow and a variety of cooking magazines. Plus, there are standard meals - pasta, burgers, soup & sandwich, stirfry - that are in freqent rotation.

My meal plans are flexible - life happens! A dish can be moved from this week to next and I try to skip one day each week to help accomodate for that.

[alare]

All these suggestions are great. I'd just add to make sure you're being realistic while making meal plans. For example, I'll be looking up recipes and everything sounds great and I think, of course I'll make all these things . . . and then I end up throwing away untouched produce and barely cooking meat before the expiration date. Or I'll plan a dinner with prep time of 1 1/2 hours for Tuesday but then Tuesday ends up being a day from hell and there is 0% chance of me preparing this meal that looked delicious on allrecipes.com.

Good luck with the meal-planning endeavor!