Okay simple question here....

How far ahead do you plan your meal menu...

On the day?

A week ahead?

A month?

And do you shop with that menu in mind or do you fix the menu around what you fancy?

Karen

I'm abit disorganised but am trying to be super domestic goddess at the moment and doing a weekly shop. When I do this I tend to buy meals for each night so then I plan menus in advance.

When I am unorganised definately not domestic goddess I plan tea at tea time when I am whizzing to local shop to buy whatever they have in!!! Costs me a fortune hence the trying to be organised now, the last few weeks have gone quite well.

See thats what I find, I buy things and then don't use them or eat them then throw them away so decided to get strict with myself hence this post for advice/thoughts.

So planning on tomorrow looking through and listing whats in my freezer then work out meals around that and shop accordingly.
Should also find myself saving money.....this way hopefuly.

Fingers crossed.

When my children were alot younger I planned a menu a week in advance and pinned it up in the kitchen.
They all just accepted what was coming on a certin day and didn't grumble...'awww dont like that' or such like.
It was easy to make a shopping list in advance and also worked out in all ways so much easier,
No moans, cheaper  (less wasted food), less stres as it was all thiought out ahead.
Now............it's back to chaos...take aways, an excuse to go out to eat, in fact any excuse I can find to not cook.

So I would really recommend planning and shhopping ahead at least a week ahead.

Karen :)

eta; I always asked them all to choose a meal each, as it saved me having to choose them all.
       lot's of variety, lasagne, bangers and mash, roast dinners, chicken pie......all home made and yummy.

Excellent idea.Ta

:) :)

never plan, hubby never complains he's happy to get anything as i work nights and the last think i want to do is cook whe i get up, so it comes out the freezer and into the oven,

I go grocery shopping once a week- and plan my meal that night lol

Usually hubby cooks :-)

Sometimes I will pick up a roast, corn on the cob what have you, something different- ya we usually go for what ever is in the deepfreeze. Usually chicken or porckchops very seldom have hamburger since I really don't like the taste of it.

Today I made porckchops (put a bunch of stuff on them like ketchup, soya sauce, garlic, parsley, BQ sauce, italian dressing), baked potatoe (just wrapped up in foil with margerine) all in the oven and vegetables mmm it was good...

dollface--- whats porckchops? or do you mean pork-chop.

I always used to plan a week ahead, and stick to it, but it just doesn't work anymore. The children are a bit older and their activities change daily so I need to be more flexible. Instead I buy for a weeks worth of meals (well that's the idea) and then decide day to day what we're having. I like to decide first thing (or the night before when I'm organised), so I can defrost the meat if need be, and then I can get things started mid afternoon if it's something that takes some time (ie casserole). I always have a packet of mince in the freezer and tins of tuna in the cupboard so there is always something I can cook quickly on the days that don't go to plan.

We used to have a veg box delivered but I haven't had them for a while. It sometimes felt like hard work organising the meals around whatever arrived in the veg box - and the portions were never quite right. Now I just buy the vegetables I love, and if anything looks like it wont get used, it gets chopped up and put in a casserole or curry.

I think if you buy some good staple ingrdiants in your weekly shop you are always able to rustle something up....sometimes more ahead than others. Failing that, just ring takeaway!!!!

Tend to do one big shop twice a month with the odd trip to M&S or Tesco Express in between & eat everything we have in before going again!!  The last few days can be very weird mixtures of food!!

Gembo, i love those meals. I'm one of those people that doesnt throw food away (it was the way i was brought up) so theres often little dishes with tiny portions of food in the fridge. I enjoy putting the odd combinations together and eating them when its time to use them up!!!

dollface--- whats porckchops? or do you mean pork-chop.

yes  pork chops-  lol I always spelled it as one word heheh

i try to plan for the week before doing the shopping, that way it doesnt cost so much and theres nothing going bad before i use it. I too hate waste.
Also i do the same with leftovers.
In our house its called " if its night " this stands for if it needs using up its on your plate.
OH doesnt mind as long as his fed!!!!!!!

I'm one of those people who never have leftovers unless its curry and rice or casserole and that becomes the next days meal for me - I don't mind eating the same meal 2 days in a row. I try to cook just the right amount - if theres too much, it goes on hubbys plate - he never complains :-D

I also just decide what to cook there and then, unless its sausage pie or a roast for hubby as the pastry or the meat needs defrosting. He'll eat anything as long as it has  roast potatoes ( weaned him off chips when he moved in :-D )

I have my freezer full of meat/fish, bought from Costco when they have their deals on.  I have a folder with all my favourite/regular recipes and plan my meals weekly, that way I only have to go to the supermarket once a week. :)

Jax

I plan a week ahead and shop around my menu, I am so pleased to read others do this and I believed I was odd!

Sunday is always/mostly a roast, Friday is always .....and chips....Saturday is always get what you can!  and the other 4 days are chosen as follows, myself, daughter and hubby having a meal choice and the 4th day is determined by what was on offer and bought as an extra the previous week, works for us x

That morning based on what is in the cupboards or freezer, very occasionally further ahead..

i am terrible, i rarely plan ahead and i should-getting better at it now that i'm dieting. buying in stuff for tonights tea though, a mixture of mushrooms in a garlic and creamy chicken sauce in a filo pastry case.

except christmas. christmas, it turns out, i plan ahead. tis my first christmas in my own house and it shall be an extravagansa!

I plan on the day and call to Sainsburys or M&S on my way home to get what I need. That way at least nothing gets wasted.

I personally could never do a weekly shop. I couldn't decide today what I might fancy in 3 days time.

The kids are the same they just text me what they want for tea.

Pre-children I was very organised and there was very little food wastage but since having the little ones I will admit to having more "ready" meals than I would like (for us not the kids) and being very disorganised when it comes to the shopping - we never stick to budget either!

I am now giving myself a swift kick up the bottom to get organised!!!

:-)

I try to plan mine a few days in advance...but when we do a big shop I try to dissuade the OH from buying fresh food, as we often end up throwing stuff away when its out of date, and I hate wasting stuff. I'm quite sad, I buy stuff that isn't fresh (packet sauces, jars of stuff) and think of meal ideas for them and write them down - I usually make everything from fresh to go with the packets & jars etc so a trip to the supermarket after work is often called for. We were working out the other day that the amount we spend on food is quite ridiculous !!

MY OH works a few evening hours in one of the smaller Sainsburys. They close at 10pm and 10 minutes before closing all the meat on it's last day gets marked down to a fraction of it's original price. He buys as much as he can and we put it in the freezer so we don't have to plan at all :) It really helps the budget.

> a mixture of mushrooms in a garlic and creamy chicken sauce in a filo pastry case.
>
>

Astarte - how does that meal fit in with dieting?!!! :) Special K for me this week!!  Went home at the wknd & mum & dad both commented on how much weight I'd lost & I haven't been really trying all that hard! Bring it on!! Size 8 wedding dress here I come!! :) :) :)

> Astarte - how does that meal fit in with dieting?!!!

weight watchers! mushrooms free points, couple of slices of filo were i think 3 (?), sauce made of a tin of campbells soup (cunning, no?) was i think 3 again

> weight watchers!

I need to investigate weight watchers now if you can eat stuff like that!