Weekly menu planning...?

TwoChickens

I've never done this before.  I've always had a stock pile of groceries and just cooked whatever I felt like.  But now that I'm on my own with the kids, a little more structure is necessary.

 One thing I've considered doing is planning a weekly menu and then shopping accordingly.  In theory, it sounds super logical but at the same time, is it hard to stick to?  I know that some days (like...the days the kids are with their dad) will not matter much but what about days I just don't feel like cooking?  Should I have a backup plan or what?  

Reagan's Mommy

I usually to a weekly menu (actually, at one point I did them monthly...that only lasted 2 months..ha ha)

Usually, I plan 2-3 easy meals (homemade pizza, pasta, etc) for those nights I don't feel like cooking a lot or don't have time.  I tend to just make the list of things we are going to eat that week, but I don't necessarily stick to the day of the week it is scheduled for.

This way, you have the structure of having meals planned out for the week, but some flexibility on what you feel like and have time to make.

korr04

I plan 6 meals and go to the store on Mondays.  Some days we end up eating out so I just roll that meal over to the next week.  I don't buy meat at the store, I buy it from Costco and freeze it, so wasting meat isn't an issue.  I just pull it out the night before and it is thawed by dinner time. We generally make sure we. eat the meals with things that go bad, like burger or dog buns or fresh potatoes, that week though

cokt

I make a menu on Sunday morning for Sunday night-Thursday night. ?I just buy stuff for those meals and breakfast since we eat leftovers for lunch. ?It always happens that we go out one night or just don't feel like cooking, so we will postpone one of the planned meals for the weekend. It totally has made a difference in how much we spend on groceries and it makes me try new stuff all the time. I subscribe to Cooking Light and get 75% of our dinners recipes out of there. The rest I get from Food Network.

joseysbride

We do this, and it works wonders for your budget, imo.  I don't think it's hard to stick to at all.  I have the menu on the fridge, and it is almost something we look forward to.  We know what we're having for tomorrow, and look forward to it, I guess.

On the days I don't feel like cooking, which is a lot now that I'm pregnant, I keep a few frozen/nonperishable type things on hand.  I buy frozen chicken, and we will make chicken salads, chicken quesadillas, etc. with that.  Or we always have stuff in the house to make soup and sandwiches, which is easy.  We always have pre-made pizza dough, and it is easy to make a pizza with that.

shopgirl78

I try to do this. It's more in my head than written out.    I also use the sale ads to help structure this, especially when they have buy one get one free meats (2 weeks ago it was chicken, this past week it was roast).   It's lessned our grocery bill

springmom

Ditto what everyone else said. ?I do all of my shopping on double coupon day and plan a 2 week menu. ?

I try to double a freezable recipe when I can, so if I have baked ziti for dinner one night, I buy enough to make 2 and put on in the freezer. ?Then, if I don't feel like cooking/get home late/have to work/whatever, I have a go to meal that isn't spending $20 ordering a pizza. ?We stick to the menu, and sometimes shuffle around meals, but always eat what we buy. ?

If you know the days the kids will be out, you could plan a big meal the night before and have leftovers the night they are gone, that way you aren't cooking or wasting any food!?

Jaylea

I tend to look at the sales flyer for the grocery store each week, and plan meals based on items that are on sale... (not only on items on sale, but if asparagus is really cheap, I'll get that, or chicken, or steak tips, etc) plus I think about our week. If I know we'll have a busy day, we'll have sandwiches and DD will have something quick and easy.

It works fine. I just freeze meats so if we're tired by the end of the week, we do takeout instead and don't lose anything.

tanzer13

check out www.menus4moms.com I have been using the basic weekly menus (free) for about 1 1/2 years now and LOVE them!  I have never menu planned before either and this site makes it really simple!

HTH!

Ciarrai

I do a weekly menu most weeks.  I plan out all seven days but some days are things like chicken nuggets and french fries (frozen), out, or pizza.  I even sometimes plan a "left over" day.  I would say I follow about 5-6 days a week.  Sometimes I switch up days.  A lot of my planning is based on my work, though.  I try to plan on crockpot meals or easy ones for the nights I'm working or quick meals for the days we have a ton going on.  Still, I don't follow it 100% but at least then I get the groceries I need and have meals on hand.  I've found I save a lot of money with it just because I'm not buying stuff I don't need or throwing away veggies, meat, etc. because I don't use them.  I still have hot dogs, frozen pizzas, etc. in my freezer for those days when I change my mind.  It's not set in stone.  It's just a guide for me for the week and honestly sometimes it's nice to not have to think about it.