I admit, I have never been a meal planner. I used to idolize others who would write out their entire week’s worth of meals on Sunday nights. Those who know on Sunday what they will be eating on Thursday.
Do people actually do this, I asked myself.
Well, after doing a little more investigative research, I discovered that yes, many people do plan out their meals ahead of time, and *gasp* even use recipes!
I have never done this. At most, I come across a recipe and use it for inspiration because I can’t be bothered to follow all those rules.
However, the downside to all of this spontaneous fun in the kitchen is this:
Monotony and lack of variety
I discovered that since I was not thinking about meals until, ummm I got in the kitchen, I tended to rely on the same, recycled meals over and over again because it was easy.
And let’s be real, that isn’t good for anyone let alone someone who is dedicated to pursuing a healthy lifestyle!
So I decided enough is enough.Today marked the first Sunday that I would plan my meals out for the week.
And this is what I did:
Duration on Sunday afternoon: 50 minutes
I walked into the kitchen with scrap paper and a pen. I decided the best way to attack meal planning (yes, I just said attack. This is war and planning is the enemy!), was to dig out the resources that I have at my fingertips.
1) Dig out the food you already have
I divided up my food into two groups: “Meal Bases” and “Veggies”. Meal bases are things that I rely on. These are things such as lentils, beans, whole grains, etc. If you eat meat, you would probably have some chicken, beef and whatnot included in this too.
Meal Bases
- Black beans
- Lima beans
- Quinoa
- Red + green lentils
- Split green peas
- Whole wheat spaghetti
- Brown rice
I was quite surprised at how much I had just sitting in my cupboard!
Veggies:
- Cabbage
- Red + orange pepper
- Dill weed
- No salt added tomatoes
- organic carrots
- broccoli
- green beans
- sweet onion
- canned mushrooms
2) Write down what you have
And off I went to the computer!
3) Dig up old bookmarked recipes. Re-evaluate.
Luckily I was 2 for 5 because I already had 2 recipes bookmarked that I have been meaning to try. But that didn’t mean I was going to make them of course. I re-evaluated the recipes to see if I still wanted to make them and if I had the necessary ingredients.
I don’t have soy creamer and I don’t have sherry or french fried onions. But that is ok. I am going to make an inspired version of this casserole without having to run out to the store. I will use what I have and it will be just fine…promise! This is where the free-spirit cook in me gets to come out and play.
b) Bean and mushroom burgers
I love beans and I love mushrooms, why haven’t I ever had these two ingredients meet? It is beyond me. I like the concept of this recipe. It is a good foundation, but I already have plans to modify it. I will be reducing the butter, oil, and I won’t be using mayo. Oh, and I am using canned mushrooms since I have those on hand. Repeat after me: It is ok to change recipes! :)
So there.
I already have two nights out of 5 decided upon.
For the other three, I hit up one of my favourite websites.
4) Visit All Recipes and type in the ingredients you have and the ingredients you don’t have. Click. Poof. Instant meals ideas.
Look over the recipes. Accept nothing less than 4.5 stars. I’m joking, I’m joking. With that being said, I usually don’t click on things without a picture. Obviously, I never took to heart the saying ‘Never judge a book by it’s cover’….errr lack of cover.
After some detective work, I found 2 more suitable recipes for this week. One night is going to be a BBQ with the boys, so that is sort of a ‘free’ night.
5) Plan what nights you will have each meal and record in your to-do list or on a calendar. Whatever works!
Click to enlarge:
I entered all of mine in Todoist. I created a special section called ‘Recipes to Make’. I can plan out meals and also ‘bookmark’ recipes that I want to try. When I make them, I will cross it off.
So there we have the full week of dinner’s planned:
- Monday: Green Bean Casserole
- Tuesday: BBQ
- Wednesday: Bean + Mushroom Burgers
- Thursday: Pumpkin Curry lentil apple stew (again lots of modifications will happen!)
- Friday: Cabbage rolls
The only thing I plan on picking up from the grocery store tomorrow is vegetable broth. The rest I should be able to make with slight modifications and not have to buy anything else.
The best part:
It took me under 1 hour to plan all 5 nights! I am really surprised! It was so quick and easy. And I feel more organized already. I also find that I am really looking forward to some new and exciting meals this week!
It will be a miracle from above if I can actually follow this! Here’s hoping! :)
Tonight’s question: Do you plan your meals? If so, how do you do it? What is the method to your madness? Or are you like me- totally plan-a-phobic? Does meal planning help you eat healthier? Share your thoughts!
Happy Birthday to sweetie pie Caitlin!!
See you tomorrow for my thoughts on Running in the blog world!
Wow thanks for the fantastic layout of the whole process. I have been wanting to try meal planning but it seem kind of intimidating. But I think it definitely deserves a try!
oh yes I plan my meals! :) When I decided to start a vegetarian lifestyle I knew I had to plan my meals or I would resort to my old habits. Every Saturday I go through my cookbook and google online and plan my meals according to what I haven’t made lately. I then go over my meals with my BF ans see if he would like to add or change anything. I write down a list of all ingredients needed to make the meals and on Sunday I;m off to the local farmers market.
Everyone at work is amazed I can do this but I know that old habits die hard… if I want to continue a healthy lifestyle I must plan accordingly! :)
I shop about once a week — absolutely no time for more than that. I think through what I’d probably like to eat that week, but it’s really basic (will I make a stew or rely on fish for a couple meals, etc.). Then I find 1-2 interesting extras at the store that I use to “spice up” whatever I’m making. Some good olives, a new hot sauce. . . this allows for variation on a theme throughout the week. Frankly, with my schedule, if I don’t have something I can eat pronto when I get home, goodness knows what I’d do!!
When I’m in classes and busy I plan my meals but right now since I have lots of free time I just go with the flow and make whatever!
Now that is an organized way to plan!
As far as my meal planning: Every weekend, I plan out all my meals for the next week in a spiral bound, 3″ x 5″ index card notebook before grocery shopping. (I not a fan of using technology to plan… I have to write everything out). I use a single index card per week and divide the index card with vertical lines to create 7 columns. The top of the column is breakfast, middle is lunch, bottom is dinner. Although the breakfast and lunch meals are tentative, the dinner usually doesn’t change. I find that I end up buying just what I need, and if I change my mind, I usually still have the right ingredients to satisfy my cravings. And, of course, I buy the pretty neon index cards to spice things up!
Quick question: I’ve heard of todo list, but haven’t tried it out for myself. What’s your take on the site?
I plan our meals each Sunday after church and then grocery shop that afternoon for the items that I need. I typically plan 3 meals per week and then eat leftovers, Amy’s soups, salads, etc. on the other days. It does make things SO much easier when you plan them out though.
Best of luck! I’m not a great planner either, so i”ll be following along and trying to get some inspiration.
I also can’t wait to see what you do with the burger recipe! Your modifications sound great – I actually would make them next time with just some mustard on top instead of the mayo, but I was practicing my mayo making skills from class :). With the cooked mushrooms you should barely need any beutter at all and could just mix them right in with the beans!
Kudos to you for meal planning this week and sharing your system with us all. As you know, from Leah, I love menu planning. I gave more details today over at my blog if you’re interested.
http://johnstonesvinblanc.blogspot.com/2009/04/menu-planning.html
I plan my meals the night before, but only one day in advance. It saves time, in my opinion.
I definitely meal plan. I used to think it would take “all the fun” out of cooking, and that it was boring, and took too much time, but now I find myself floundering for meals/ motivation to make meals if I don’t menu plan! And the more you menu plan the faster it will go.
When I menu plan I usually take stock to see what I have, then go through coupons and sale ads to see what produce is on sale that I incorporate in my week. Then I design a menu either creating my own recipes or using recipes I’ve bookmarked. I also make sure that I have a couple “easy” nights built in for those nights that I may work later/ have a busier day (such nights are like a Caesar salad night, a baked sweet potato with toppings night, or a simple soup/salad/bread night). This way too you can swap nights (I don’t like feeling restricted…if I want Tuesday’s meal on Monday, whatever, just so long as all the meals are used during the week). Anyway! Ah I’m so wordy!
Sometimes I plan my meals, but I end up just picking recipes I want to try and buying all the ingredients for them. Then I always have way too many leftover ingredients to use up! Your way looks a lot more practical!
When I lived alone (and therefore only cooked for myself), meal planning was a must because all the responsibility fell on me for preparing food! It was a pain to get to the grocery store, so I usually tried to go only once every 1-1.5 weeks. This requires planning! The bonus to eating alone was that I usually always had leftovers so I didn’t cook every night…definitely a good thing for a busy college student! I had my staple meals that I made fairly often, quick recipes for when I knew I was going to be busy, and then I would search the internet for new recipes I wanted to try. I think it was very helpful for grocery shopping purposes.
This is really inspiring to me Angela! I definitely am stuck in a rut dinner-wise, and you’ve provided some really great tips, thanks! :)
Great step by step instructions! I plan on occasion — I bookmark recipes as I go and then add ingredients to my list. Lately school has kept me too busy though. An amazing source is www.vegweb.com — they have so many great healthy, vegan recipes and it’s easily searchable. I’ve made a green bean casserole similar to the one you posted from there and it was a hit!
I LOVE allrecipes. I would be lost without it!
way to plan!!!!
Hey Angela, this is my first comment but I’ve been following since November. Thank you for your incredible blog! I wanted to say I do menu plan, and sincerely must or I totally panic when it comes to dinner time. I have a hard time keeping my blood sugar balanced and if I don’t know what I’m making for dinner ahead of time I get out of control. I have a 3 and 4 year old and just simply can’t have them witnessing mama freak out! =) I love recipzaar.com for inspiration. I was also wondering if your counter tops were granite and if so whether you knew the color. I’ve been perusing Rate My Space for months looking for a good fit for my oak cabinets and couldn’t believe it when I realized I’ve been looking at it for the last 6 months. Thanks so much!!! ~Stacey~
Nuts, that’s recipezaar.com =)
wow, we are in sync today! tina just posted a guest post that i wrote on this same topic — our strategies are similar although i am old fashioned and like to plan everything out on paper :)
for me the key is making myself shop for the week, and sticking to my list! i enjoy everything else (the planning and the cooking part, as long as i have what i need.)