ThePunkHippie
Assistant Cook
I came up with this technique for planning my meals about a year ago, & haven't looked back.
I'll just say up front that I have my recipes meticulously organized, & I can easily search by ingredient, or tags that I've put in myself. Organization really is key
I used to HATE planning the meals for the week - I’d just end up BSing my way through, usually having about half of what I needed to make anything (& ending up opening a can of something & throwing it on the stove at the last minute)
Now, however, I’ve found a trick that works for me. I have a general idea of what is in my freezer & cupboards at all times (I’d love a list, but I never update when I add/remove things, so it just wouldn’t work). Every week, whenever I think of something I’d like to eat, I write it down. & I’m not talking about recipes, I’m talking “hmmm, I’d like something with bacon in it” or “I want something Mexican”
By the end of the week, the list has 3 or 4 ingredients/themes/flavours listed on it
On Saturday, I poke my nose in the fridge & see what I have on hand that should be used up, usually adding 2 or 3 things to the list
I take a mental inventory of what I have in the freezer (I stock up when I find meat on sale or half off because it’s going to expire soon), & throw 4 or 5 more ingredients on the list, so I have about 10 things on my list
Then I go through my recipes & browse through each ingredient, looking for something that sounds good & that I have most of the ingredients for (if you don't have the ability to search your recipes by ingredients, the same thing can be accomplished by going to a recipe site like allrecipes & doing an ingredient search)
I pick a recipe, cross the ingredient(s) that it uses off the list, & continue until I have 5 meals planned out (I don’t cook on weekends, there’s usually enough leftovers, or I throw a bunch of stuff in a pot & call it soup)
I go through the recipes I picked out, & write down all the ingredients that I don’t have. A quick trip to the store & I’ve got everything ready for the week ahead
I'll just say up front that I have my recipes meticulously organized, & I can easily search by ingredient, or tags that I've put in myself. Organization really is key
I used to HATE planning the meals for the week - I’d just end up BSing my way through, usually having about half of what I needed to make anything (& ending up opening a can of something & throwing it on the stove at the last minute)
Now, however, I’ve found a trick that works for me. I have a general idea of what is in my freezer & cupboards at all times (I’d love a list, but I never update when I add/remove things, so it just wouldn’t work). Every week, whenever I think of something I’d like to eat, I write it down. & I’m not talking about recipes, I’m talking “hmmm, I’d like something with bacon in it” or “I want something Mexican”
By the end of the week, the list has 3 or 4 ingredients/themes/flavours listed on it
On Saturday, I poke my nose in the fridge & see what I have on hand that should be used up, usually adding 2 or 3 things to the list
I take a mental inventory of what I have in the freezer (I stock up when I find meat on sale or half off because it’s going to expire soon), & throw 4 or 5 more ingredients on the list, so I have about 10 things on my list
Then I go through my recipes & browse through each ingredient, looking for something that sounds good & that I have most of the ingredients for (if you don't have the ability to search your recipes by ingredients, the same thing can be accomplished by going to a recipe site like allrecipes & doing an ingredient search)
I pick a recipe, cross the ingredient(s) that it uses off the list, & continue until I have 5 meals planned out (I don’t cook on weekends, there’s usually enough leftovers, or I throw a bunch of stuff in a pot & call it soup)
I go through the recipes I picked out, & write down all the ingredients that I don’t have. A quick trip to the store & I’ve got everything ready for the week ahead
