Do you plan your dinners weekly?

[lhancock90]

So when you do your shopping do you plan in advance dinners for each night? I didn't notice but i think i do!

I just ordered my shopping and i've mapped out 6 meals.

Toad in the hole with gravy and mash.
Chicken wraps with rice.
Chicken casserole.
Pasta with chunky Mediterranean vegetables, bacon, cheese and garlic potatoes.
Pizza night and garlic bread.
Fish, mixed vegetables and chips.

and 1 freezer dinner with whatevers in there!

 

[Camlet]

I didn't use to but I have very recently started & it has really helped me stick to my diet a lot better & saved me loads of money as I have stopped just buying random things & wasting loads of food that never got eaten xx

 

[tallybee]

Nope I'm rubbish at planning meals really, I like a bit of spontaneity

I buy stuff on offer and reduced, anything that can freeze is put in the freezer on buying and then defrosted the day I want to use it.

I found doing a 'weekly' shop was not efficient for me as I'd buy too much. Now I top up when out and about and waste a lot less

 

[modified]

Yep, but I plan monthly - that way, it's incredibly easy to spend just £100 for the both of us for the month. I only buy what's needed with money left over for treats and snacks. Lots of varied meals throughout the month, only repeating our favourites

 

[Lauraxamy]

Kind of. I'll plan meals in my head when I order or do my weekly food shop. That way I don't buy too much.

 

[dani_tinks]

Yeah, we usually have the same meals each week so I get the ingredients I know we'll need to make them with the weekly shop. I was just saying last night that I think we need to change it up a bit and add new recipes as we're getting a bit predictable .

 

[Natasha2605]

I meal plan , but loosely. If we don't fancy something one night we have something different.

 

[lau86]

I do with meat/ fish. hubby is one of those men that thinks it's not a meal if there's no meat. But I don't want wastage so I think about what the 'staple' is for that meal. Not so much with the carbs and vegetables as we always have pasta in or oven chips/ veg if I haven't bought the right amount of fresh

 

[Banshee]

I plan out all our meals for the week on my planner (I have a pad specifically for it - tragic I know) and then buy the ingredients I need. It's a tricky balancing act sorting meals for the family, taking into account days when I'm working or days when the boys eat at nursery, something simple for the in laws to feed the boys when they watch them etc etc. I'd be lost without planning it.
I also do slimming world so it makes it easier for me to organise healthy meals if I know what we're having.
We do sometimes make a change during the week if we don't fancy what I've planned or our plans for the day change.

 

[Mummy May]

I plan like 7 days worth of meals yeah but if we don't fancy that nights we just swap a night xx

 

[Pearls18]

Oh yes definitely I've done it ever since I was a student living on my own for the first time, I don't understand how people can shop without a meal plan for the days they're buying for? To know what foods to buy fresh and what to put in the freezer etc? I'm not a frugal shopper though however much I try, but I always know what we're having for the week and I try to plan so if for example we're having potatoes I will buy a big bag and have them over a couple of meals. I even make sure I have enough chocolate for 7 nights

Lau86 I agree with your husband, it is not a meal if it doesn't have meat and if a meal doesn't have meat it is usually improved with either tuna, bacon or chicken

 

[jd83]

Not really, I usually will plan 1-2 meals I for sure want for the week, and the rest of the meals are just random meals I throw together based on what we have at home. I do keep the pantry really well stocked though, so the only things that would really possibly be unavailable are perishable items I might not have bought. In which case, I just pick something else to make. lol. TBH, it would save me loads of time and stress if I would just plan ahead though. I hate trying to figure out what to make each night, and I am not a fan of cooking and cleaning up the meal mess.

 

[Kate&Lucas]

Loosely. When I'm shopping I tend to have a list of staples that will do our go-to meals then a few extras that will do for different meals in the week. I used to do a full meal plan and stick it to the fridge but I found I didn't always want the meals I'd planned so we chopped and changed a lot and it got confusing

But I don't like waste so if I pick up an ingredient I don't normally get, I'll plan another meal that week that will use it too. So if want to make say thai noodles, I'll get ingredients to make korma that week too so I can use the coconut milk up. It means my meals tend to have a theme by week but I quite like that

 

[MrsButterfly]

I'm with marine - I don't get how you shop if you don't meal plan! I'd just buy a whole load of random stuff if I didn't.

I generally do 6 or 7 meals and then cook them whatever day I fancy or according to use by dates.

 

[jd83]

I'm with marine - I don't get how you shop if you don't meal plan! I'd just buy a whole load of random stuff if I didn't.

I generally do 6 or 7 meals and then cook them whatever day I fancy or according to use by dates.

I usually shop by checking which items are low in the pantry, to restock those, check what we are low on perishable groceries like egg, milk, bread, etc. I don't usually need to check perishables, actually, lol. Those are usually just a given that I need to buy them each shopping trip.

I do tend to buy lots or random things, though, lol. Which is probably why our grocery bill is so high...But I like my random things

 

[Becky61]

I make a meal plan every week, but the days get mixed up depending on what we do during the day or what we fancy. Sometimes use buy dates dictate what we eat & when too. Every week is different though. OH doesnt like to know what hes getting until he gets in from work (he would be stuck if he ever had to cook for himself!)

Ive only recently started meal planning, but we are all eating healthier meals, & its literally halved my food shopping bill!

I also do at least one meal per week that will see through 2 days, last week was shepards pie, this week was chilli con carne. Its cost effective & means i only have to think of 6 meals not 7!

Meal planning doesnt come natutally to me, i find it a chore, but it saves me ALOT of money!

 

[x__amour]

Yep! I keep track of it through my blog.

 

[sequeena]

I do. It makes life easier x

 

[seoj]

We do not-

I'm sure we should- as it makes meal time easier... but with all our different schedules, it's rare we get to actually sit down during the week together. We do much better on the weekends

Funny thing is- I'm a planner in most of my life stuff. But meals, I just usually wing it. I tend to make meals for me and LO at the same time. Then our teenager fends for herself when she's home from school or work etc... and hubby tends to do his own thing as well. The week days are busy for us all!

For a while, we'd actually pre-make a few meals on Sunday so we could have left overs during the week- but have gotten laxed on that too. We should do that again!

 

[wishuwerehere]

I have a rough plan so i know what o'll make maybe 5 out of 7 days but that's mainly so i can plan what meat to buy. The other days i van make veggie sauce/stir fry/curry etc or roasted veggies without really planning from whatever i have in the fridge.