Menu Planning?

[CarolPa]

Saturday morning I make a shopping list considering what I already have in the freezer, planning meals that use different proteins and are a mix of "meat, starch, veggie" meals and stews/soups/pasta dishes. I have my laptop open to RECIPES so I can ensure I buy all the ingredients I need. Then we shop, cook, eat.

I try to mix cuisines, types of meats, starches and veggies. At least once a week lately, SO wants to have a salad for dinner so I have a duck breast (which she hates) or something else she doesn't like.

Other times we wing it and/or go out.

Welcome back, Andy!

Many times I will make different things for DH and I. Otherwise, I would never get to eat some of the things I like that he would never try.

For 30+ years there has been a list and a pen on the counter where we jot down things as we run out, or nearly run out. When we go to the store, I just grab that list to make sure I at least get those things.

 

[Andy M.]

Welcome back, Andy!...

Thanks Carol but I'm still in Aruba. I posted that during breakfast and now I'm having lunch.

 

[skilletlicker]

Skilletlicker, do you have a smart phone or a tablet?

No but I'm going to have to get one or the other.

Cheryl J
I'm kind of resistant to change (or so my daughter tells me ), so I don't use the grocery apps. But I can see where they would be very helpful for those shopping for families. I don't buy very much weekly, mainly perishable produce, since I'm only shopping for one.

I have a dry erase board on my fridge and write down things as I use them and think of them. Then when I leave the house to go shopping, I take a picture of the dry erase board with my cellphone, and there's my list.

As far as planning, I do as others here have said and check what's in my freezer and what's on sale, and try to work around that. I use the heck out of my foodsaver for breaking down larger amounts of chicken and meats into useable amounts for one.

I like Cheryl's ideal of a pic of the whiteboard. Also, all the stores now charge extra if you don't have their customer inconvenience card and the new wrinkle is loading coupons onto your card so you, supposedly, get the discount without cutting a coupon out of the paper. Problem is, without those little paper snippets how do you know what coupons you have unless you can view it online right there in the grocery isle.
Having the grocery list on everybody's phone would be great but like Cheryl I'm shopping for one. Haven't invested in a food saver but I break down those family packs and pork shoulders into smaller units for the freezer.

 

[Katie H]

I'm entering this discussion a little late in the game but I will share what I do.

Near the end of each year it seems we're slammed with calendars, which is good because I choose one of them that has a lot of open space for each day of the week. This become my "menu" calendar. Then the planning begins.

I plan menus for a month at a time, beginning by going in week increments. Of the seven days in each week I begin by writing either a C (poultry), B (beef), F (fish), M (meatless), L (lamb), LO (leftovers), P (pork) in the upper corner of each day. I do this throughout the whole month and try to space out each entree type so there is plenty of time between having one or another.

Once I've made the entree type notations, I go to my file of "recipes to try" and see which ones will fit. Once I do this, I can check the ingredients needed and make a list, by the week, and have a rough grocery list set up. Then, I check the pantry, refrigerator and freezer for some of the items and scratch off the ones already in my stock.

By doing this I can take advantage of specials in the market and also include fun meals for times like Valentine's Day, St. Patty's Day, etc.

We get a variety of entrees and almost never have the same-old, same-old syndrome.

In past years I have taken one of the less active months and planned a whole month of nothing but our favorites. That was a blast.

This may sound like a lot of work but, once I established my plan, it comes easy. And looking back on past years' calendars really is fun.

 

[Dawgluver]

I use the Our Groceries app. I have various lists, one for regular grocery shopping, one for Costco, Asian market, Cozumel, non-grocery, etc. DH was hard to convert, he would copy the Our Groceries list onto little post-it notes, and lose them, defeating the whole purpose. Now I've trained him to use his iPhone app, and he deletes as he picks up stuff.

 

[skilletlicker]

... I plan menus for a month at a time, beginning by going in week increments. Of the seven days in each week I begin by writing either a C (poultry), B (beef), F (fish), M (meatless), L (lamb), LO (leftovers), P (pork) in the upper corner of each day. I do this throughout the whole month and try to space out each entree type so there is plenty of time between having one or another.
...
This may sound like a lot of work but, once I established my plan, it comes easy. And looking back on past years' calendars really is fun.

It doesn't sound like a lot of work. It sounds brilliant. I think the self imposed discipline is the key. It could just as easily be C (cajun), B (barbeque), F (french). Or New Recipe, Old favorite, Old favorite, NOONOO.

Thanks again. Glad you're still here. Hope all is well in with you.

 

[Recipe Lova]

A good solution for me

I have been using some software called Cook'n. It is really useful for my meal planning and grocery shopping. It lets me plan all my meals and then it lets me create a shopping list based on the meals in my menu. It has saved me a lot of time and has made my meal planning a lot quicker and easier. You can check it out and see if it might help make it easier for you too.

 

[CraigC]

I have been using some software called Cook'n. It is really useful for my meal planning and grocery shopping. It lets me plan all my meals and then it lets me create a shopping list based on the meals in my menu. It has saved me a lot of time and has made my meal planning a lot quicker and easier. You can check it out and see if it might help make it easier for you too.

Does this product, or for that matter any of these planning products, allow you to account for what you have on hand before creating a shopping list?

 

[taxlady]

Does this product, or for that matter any of these planning products, allow you to account for what you have on hand before creating a shopping list?

Our Groceries does. When you say to add the items in a recipe to a shopping list it highlights each item and asks which list to add it to. It has a button for skip item.

 

[Dawgluver]

Our Groceries does. When you say to add the items in a recipe to a shopping list it highlights each item and asks which list to add it to. It has a button for skip item.

I haven't even begun to tap all the features of Our Groceries. Great little app!

 

[Somebunny]

You folks are all so organized! I rarely plan a meal unless I am entertaining. I guess I just fly by the seat of my pants, but like Cooking Goddess I have quite a stockpile of dry and canned goods and the freezer is pretty full too. I think this comes from growing up when the "pickins were slim". Nobody's going hungry around here!
When I use the last of something or know that I will, before the next shopping, I put it on a list kept in a kitchen drawer, then when I do a big shopping maybe every couple of weeks, (except for fresh stuff) I leave it at home so I can strain my brain to remember what was on it. Lol! It used to be that once I had written something down, I would remember.....not so much now
I also use the Our Groceries App when I remember to...
DH is our resident grocery flyer reader, coupon clipper, sale finder. He reads the flyers and then tells me what is on sale and if we decide that we need/want it, it goes on the list and we plan to shop while the sale is still in effect. Our local grocery is pathtic, so we have to go to the "big town" to shop. It's 25 miles away, so shopping often gets done when there is another reason to be in town. Sometimes DH will pick up a few things on his way home from work passing thru an adjacent small town, they have a Safeway, much better than our store.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

I have a small notebook by my computer, I write down whatever Shrek mentions, things I know about and then forget to take it with me.

The parking lot for the apartment building cuts through the city block. We leave through one end and before we get to the corner I'm telling Shrek to circle around, I've forgotten the list...again.

 

[Whiskadoodle]

I do 3 things, all tied together. I too keep a little note book beside my computer to jot down the Real grocery list esp when I use the last of something so I Remember to buy it again. This works most times-- it's a long way from the kitchen to den. 2ndly, I use an excel spreadsheet, with one tab marked groceries. On that I have sub categories, things to buy at the Asian mkt, things for Costco, or where did I find xx brand product the last time, a new product or brand to try. If I want something on that page I jot it to my scratch pad.

I have an add'l tab labeled Menus. On that page I list a Main menu item, next to it I list the recipe source and recenty I have been C/P the actual link. Handy if you want to find a DC ( or other) recipe without doing a long search. I must have a half dozen ways to cook Kielbasa et al and Pasta as a main menu item is approaching the point of ridiculous. Next column I may or not list what I might like to serve with the Main.

I found this page useful when playing Pac's PPPC football challenge. Not that I followed what I write, but it was fun if I had a little time planning or searching ahead.

Before shopping, I look at the ads on line, and that pretty much determines where I go shopping. We are lucky, neighborhood grocers, big box, Costco, and several food co-ops. I pretty much don't shop at Target, and the food co-ops not so much( too expensive). Summers I add farmer's markets into the equation. I prefer the neighborhood mkt closest to DxW's house rather than my own. They have increasingly upped their organic inventory on just about every product line.

A lot of the time I look for a main meat item that I can readily convert or use in successive dishes. Which is mainly why I started writing down menus. My limited imagination vs what's in the frig need better coordination.

Now, this is all predicated on the assumption that I actually put the grocery list in my pocket when I go shopping.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

I do have a white board in the hall closet for toiletries. I have it marked in permanent marker with the Store names and then the name of the item I buy there. In wipe off marker I have the amount of each item. When I take something out, I change the number.

I wanted to try this with the pantry, but there is so much in there...

 

[Aunt Bea]

I do have a white board in the hall closet for toiletries. I have it marked in permanent marker with the Store names and then the name of the item I buy there. In wipe off marker I have the amount of each item. When I take something out, I change the number.

I wanted to try this with the pantry, but there is so much in there...

Years ago Amy Dacyczyn owner, editor of the Tightwad Gazette came up with a price book to track her routine household items. Many of her ideas are still valid today. This link has a brief explanation of the process. Today with computerized grocery receipts that provide a detailed list of purchases it would be fairly easy to keep updated after the initial set up is complete.

Use a Grocery Price Book to Slash Your Food Spending

 

[PrincessFiona60]

Thanks Aunt Bea, I downloaded an Excel Spreadsheet that I can adapt to inventory.

I can use spreadsheets, but have never learned how to create them.

 

[taxlady]

Thanks Aunt Bea, I downloaded an Excel Spreadsheet that I can adapt to inventory.

I can use spreadsheets, but have never learned how to create them.

Did you download on of the spreadsheets listed in Aunt Bea's link? Which one?

I am thinking about making a spreadsheet as a price book in Google Drive. That way I will be able to access it from my phone. I already have one that just lists various products and the brands and a note about what we thought of that brand.

If I make one in Google Drive, I will make it into a template and link it here. If anyone is interested, please let me know. I can make modifications based on other people's suggestions.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

Did you download on of the spreadsheets listed in Aunt Bea's link? Which one?

I am thinking about making a spreadsheet as a price book in Google Drive. That way I will be able to access it from my phone. I already have one that just lists various products and the brands and a note about what we thought of that brand.

If I make one in Google Drive, I will make it into a template and link it here. If anyone is interested, please let me know. I can make modifications based on other people's suggestions.

I nabbed this one: Creating Your Own Price Book, Free Downloadable Price Book

It comes already populated with some information so it might take me less time to set it up.

 

[Kiwibird]

I meal-plan with a small magnetic dry-erase board that stays on the fridge. Basically, It's drawn out in 3 vertical columns- Breakfast, lunch and dinner and then 7 horizontal ones for the days of the week. I bought mine years ago at Target already made (with the columns), but I think you could just use a permanent marker on any plain dry erase to make the columns "permanent" and use the dry erase marker to fill them out each week or buy a pre-made one online (they seem a lot more expensive then I remember paying though).

I go shopping once a week, and fill out my meal-planner the night before. In the morning, I check through the fridge/pantry and see what I already have/need to buy and make my shopping list accordingly. I go a little OCD and actually put on my list how much I need of what (3 pears, albs of potatoes, 2 cans of tomatoes ext...), but if you have a good idea of what you use, you probably don't have to go THAT crazy on it. In total, I spend probably an hour a week on it, but it saves a lot of money on buying stuff you don't end up using and lot of time when you can see what you need to make right there.

 

[taxlady]

My issue with menu planning is that come the day, sometimes we aren't in the mood for what's in the plan for that day.