[dapgal]

Do you plan out your meals for the week or do you not know what you are eating until right before you do it?

We are trying to be a little better about planning things but we aren't too good at it. Today I picked out three recipes online and gave DH a list to pick up on his way home. Tonight we had a simple meal but it turned out great. DH grilled chicken breast tenders on the BBQ pit and then we put them on buns with a little BBQ sauce and mayo. He cooked the chicken perfectly, it was nice and juicy. We also got stuff to make Tyler Florence's Cuban sandwiches (it is supposed to cook in the pressure cooker and I have never used one before- wish me luck), Tex Mex Beef wraps from the slow cooker, and slow cooker roast. Now I just have to figure out what night I am going to do what recipe.

[bostoncreampie]

I try and meal plan so I can go grocery shopping just once a week. I do all the shopping and cooking so it makes it easier for me.

Does Collin do a good job eating whatever you guys eat? My son is so picky, so half the time I make 2 meals, one for my son and one for my husband and I. And as of this week, my husband is going on a "wheat free" diet, so that's one more thing that needs consideration and planning.

I HATE meal planning and grocery shopping. I wish someone would do it for me. Especially now that I have a kid, it's by far my least favorite part of being a mom. Having to worry about making him well balanced, healthy meals 3 times a day is really stressful for some reason.

[dapgal]

Collin usually does really well but sometimes he just isn't interested in food at night. Tonight was a bad night. He only ate the bread to his sandwich and some Nilla Wafers. But I try not to worry too much about it since he usually eats really well for lunch and very well rounded with fruits, veggies and a protein of some sort. Sometimes I do end up having to make something separate for him though and that is always a pain. I don't even know where I would start with the wheat free diet!!

I don't really like planning things out either, especially when I am pregnant. I am just to indecisive and not really into food that much when I am pregnant so it makes it hard. But I am trying to be better. In the long run it will save money and calories I am sure.

[katy625]

Im a planner. There is nothing I hate more than going to the grocery store with no clue what i will be doing for dinner for the week. I get groceries Sunday evenings and usually making the list Sunday morning. I sit for a little while on Allrecipes.com and get a couple of recipes. If all else fails I just go with a couple staples to fill the gap for a couple of days..like spaghetti and/or steaks & sweet potatos.

[dapgal]

I have to say that I love allrecipes.com and I love that it lets you save recipes there too.

[Karine119]

I used to plan them out, but now I just try to plan it the night before... but my in-laws are a pain and decide what they want that day. Half the time if I plan a meal they end up not eating or eating something else and the meal I worked hard on goes to waste.

[Babymakingprincess]

I am a total freak when it comes to menu planning when I am losing or maintaining my weight. Right now I am still planning, but not as precisly.
I actually prepare a page for each week- like a, uh, spreadsheet LMAO
Daily I plan each breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner, snack, my workout for the day and any special plans I have comin gup for the week so I can properlly plan for my food intake
I am too picky right now to plan like that, but am doing the best I can.
We save money because of it, and I do plan a treat here and there... lately it's a lot more lol...
I'm doing much better on my weight gain this time around because I'm stille ating as healthy as can be and still plannning at least my dinners and shoopign once a week for them. The only thing we really eat out right now is when I'm craving thai chicken soup...

[sunny]

I used to be pretty dang good about it but since becoming pregnant my cooking has become VERY sporatic LOL! When I do get back into the swing of it I try to post on my blog (my friend does this and I think it is a great way to stay motivated to meal plan!). Hopefully I will be fully into it again soon but right now mehhh not so much! Some of my regular meals are way simple that I use as go to meals....veggies sadly are tossed in as an afterthought so really need to improve that! here are some of my faves

spaghetti (made with penne or something similar as I am not a fan of classic spaghtti noodles haha)

lasagna (classic meat and cheese but I always use lean ground beef or ground turkey)

mexican lasagna or some sort of made up mexican casserole concoction usually involving meat, cheese, corn or flour tortillas or tortilla chips, garnish with tomatoes, green onions, etc...

regular tacos or taco salads (always have to do a can of fat free refried beans with cheese as my hubby can and does eat these alone with a spoon LOL)

meatloaf and mashed potatoes

steaks done on my griddler (like a george foreman by cusinart) with whatever for sides

creamy crockpot chicken over rice or noodles

Japanese curry over rice (one of our faves that i have not made in forever need to make this!) usually do up some crispy chicken strips (tyson are the fave in our house) to cut up in this

grilled cheese and tomato soup

hamburgers on indoor grill with fries

hotdogs or chili dogs with whatever

various takes on the pampered chef crescent roll rings (ham and cheese, meatball, taco, chicken and broccoli, quiche style, etc...)

Ok think you get the idea LOL

[Lauren0603]

I plan my menu a week in advance and do my grocery shopping every Tuesday. I hate going to the grocery store, but it's nice to only have to do it once a week. I have several meals that I circulate through and try to throw in a new one each week too. My husband and my son are both super picky eaters, so we pretty much only eat chicken and beef, both of which get old to me.

Weren't we going to have a sub forum for recipes and food ideas?? I still think that's a great idea. I'd be willing to post my weekly menu if it would help give others more ideas - and I could use some new meal ideas too.

[eli's momma]

i used to meal plan, i listed it on my blog and everything....but i got out of it b/c it if i got "off" for some reason.....it irked me. i would get behind a day and just "mess everything up" haha. i can't handle problems even the stupidest thing like, i can't do such-and-such b/c we ran out of whatever, and i can't get to the store to pick any up for whatever reason....so i just quit doing it and back to the old way of waking up each day clueless as to what we'll be having. and during this pg lots of nights i have not cooked b/c i didn't feel like messing with food and/or dirty dishes. poor dh!

[lromkee]

I usually plan. I usually buy whats on sale and plan my menu around that. Since my husband is medically retired, and I work, he does the cooking. He is an awesome cook but he does better when there is a "menu" laid out for him. I like to make a weeks menu and he can choose what days to cook those meals on.

[sunny]

What I do now is just plan 5 to 7 meals (sometimes more if we are doing a bigger shop) but don't put in stone what day we are going to have them on. That way it can depend on our mood of what to make.

[Lilmom]

We both work a lot so there isn't a whole lot of planning. Sometimes I just make something quick for Ivy (grilled cheese, macncheese, soydog, veggie burger and a quick veggie in the microwave) and give her fruit and or yogurt for dessert and then mom and dad don't eat dinner or if we do it's after she goes to bed. Shes starving and begging for food when we get home at 5:30-6pm so I can't spend an hour making dinner, esp when she still needs a bath and to be in bed by 8pm. Even when one of us does make a meal for the whole family it's something super fast or else it's pizza. On the weekends I used to do better, but since I'm having crazy bad food aversions, I just make sure Ivy is well fed, DH is on his own. I eat what I can when I feel like it.

I have a plan to start making something reasonable a few times a week. I'm going to start prepping something like lasagna, or baked chicken or baked ziti the night before so that the next day when the first person gets home from work all they have to do is pop it in the oven. Whoever doesn't pick up Ivy is usually home by like 5:15 so it could be already half cooked by the time whoever picks her up gets home. I don't know why I never thought of it before, but this just occurred to me like 2 days ago.

[sunny]

Oh yes prepping so you just have to pop in the oven is the BEST! I hope to do more of this winter and try out some freezer casseroles and such too! Hoping I get a cooking bug when the nesting kicks in and I will do all that

We def need a recipe/food idea forum here! Of course will that come along with us when we turn into a playgroup though? I guess it all could be cut and pasted huh?

[TXMomTimes3]

Originally Posted by Babymakingprincess

I actually prepare a page for each week- like a, uh, spreadsheet LMAO

You put me to shame.

I try to plan, but with me and DH working it's hard. Our schedules are different and the girls are always hungry by 5:30.

Here's my plan usually:

once or twice a week: CROCKPOT! (easy to throw things in and let it cook while we are gone)

once a week: breakfast for dinner

once a week: Free for all - whatever you can find is what you get

4 times a week I usually have a plan - I have this great Rachel Ray kids' cookbook and the girls and DH usually like the recipes so everyone is happy.

I use the Internet A LOT. I decide what I want to cook (usually last minute) find a recipe and substitute whatever ingredients I have.

For the record - I hate shopping. Dh does it and for that I'm SO grateful. He does a good job and we make the list together. He also does dishes. What a dream!

[KikoAsh]

um wish i could sy i cooked...but i dont

My dh does that for me!!! love him to death so i dont know what he does...i just come home and eat whatevers there and dont complain!

[AmandaLynn84]

I'm SO SO SO bad about planning meals. I did well for a while, but I fell off the wagon. I end up at the grocery store at LEAST 3-4 times a week because of it (and I grocery shop at walmart, so I always buy more than I went in for). It's killing my budget. I need to start menu planning again.

[szczepanski]

DH and I do a lot of eating together....but different things. So now we are slowly trying to get "on track" for what we want to eat together. One of my goals before the baby comes is to get a good recipe stock of things I can go to & figure out what we want to eat for the week. Also want to use the crock pot more & more because great meals come out of the crock pot!!!!

DH is a great cook and sometimes I just steal some of whatever he has cooked. He is SUPER picky but has made great strides since I am more adventurous than he is. So a lot of the things I love...he wont eat (egg salad, tuna, grilled cheese). So if I want those things I eat those and he makes something for himself.

We do operate under....if you forgot it at the grocery store, it wasn't important and you wont get it until next week!

[Alicia W.]

Normally I plan the week out in advance as I found it really helps with shopping and cuts back on those last minute drive-thru trips. But since being pregnant and not wanting anything we've gone back to each night struggling last minute to find something. But the last couple weeks I have been able to at least plan a couple meals out.

[MsSilverSpec]

Nope, we just think of what we'd like to eat beforehand. Sometimes I try and plan something though!