Do you menu plan for the week?

SumnerBride

I'm trying to start a new habit of making up my menu for the week, but I'm having a really hard time thinking that far ahead!!! 

I'm trying to get a hold of my grocery spending habits before baby gets here, and I think if I go to the store with a list, and stick to it, I can save us a lot of time and money in the long run.

What site do you use, if any, to plan your menus?

amiamish

I do it... I just write it on notebook paper as I make out my groc. list. I don't necessarily stick to it day by day, but it lets me know what I have available to cook.

PinkPiano

We do usually plan our menu for the week and it makes shopping much easier.  Here's a tip that helps me.  I plan 2 nicer dinners (read: time consuming to prep), 3 healthy but quicker to make meals, then 1 or 2 really quick things that I can just throw together (or just plan to get carry-out if you know you'll have a rushed evening).  When I first started meal planning I'd get overly ambitious and plan 5 really nice dinners but then wouldn't have time to make them all, so this has really helped us a lot and food never gets wasted.

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j-w

We plan our meals for the week. We have a calendar on the fridge and either pick recipes out before going to the store or we start to write things down ahead of time as we think of something that sounds good.  We do fill up an entire week and write things on specific days, but that is more to ensure that we have the groceries than anything else.  We do not necessarily do the recipes in the order they are written down.  There is really not much of a method.  We always like to try new things, so we just go through our recipes and pick stuff out that way.  It is just nice to know what you are going to make and it helps me remember to take stuff out or put it together early, etc.

~Kat~

I try to, but I have been bad at it recently. I don't really use a particular site. I make my regular recipes most nights, and then one night I might try something new. I get burnt out if I am making new stuff every night. I like allrecipes.com, kraftfoods.com, and recipezaar.com for finding new stuff.We also do all of our shopping on Sundays so that way I'm not having to pick up stuff all week.

zacook

kraftfoods.com i love that site!

mn2003

I almost always plan 3 meals at a time - any more than that and I don't want to cook what I chose when the time comes. I keep a list of go to meals, and I get new ideas from the cooking board on here, allrecipes.com, and menus4moms.com

jaredswife

I really try to make a weekly menu but it doesnt always happen. 

I dont use a website or anything.  I just write it out on a note pad that I can hang on the fridge.  I make my grocery list according to the menu and try to only go shopping once during the week. 

 

sunshiny79

Man, I used to be really good at this before kids.  I would plan out our weekly menu and really stick to it.

Now, I'm lucky if I grab enough for a complete meal at the store.

I try to do one crockpot meal, one pasta dish, and a pizza (homemade, store bought or order delivery) weekly.
 

excitedchic

on sunday or monday when i stop at the store and get "things for the week" like milk and lunchmeat, I try to plan in my head what we are going to eat all week. I usually have the majority of ingredients already and just have to pick up the extra things--like sour cream or buns or whatever.   I typically plan at least Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday only. By Thursday (my last work day) Im tired and we order out or eat something simple. Friday too.

Shmar

Since I WOH, I usually only plan to cook 3 nice meals per week.  The rest of the time we eat leftovers, easily thrown together stuff or just eat out.  I love the menus 4 moms site, and I also get ideas off of this board when people post recipes.  I usually sit down on Sat or Sun and decide what I'll cook for the week, and then make one big grocery trip.  Before DS was born, I'd decide that afternoon what I would make for dinner and then make a quick trip to the grocery on the way home from work for whatever I needed that night.  Now doing menu-planning/making one big trip has really cut down on our grocery spending. 

Ciarrai

I try to.  I find I cook a lot more when I do which means healthier meals and cheaper meals.  I try to plan it out Sunday night and then go shopping Monday just for what we need.  When I started out, I was using www.menus4moms.com a lot for my meals.  Now I tend to just do one or two of those a week (if that), but it gives me good ideas...

WifeyLindsay

I have a list of everything that I know how to make. I just add things to the list as I think of them, or as we try new things and like them.... and then I plan out the meals for the rest of the week, but I feel like I have to do that or else I forget all that I bought and the food gets wasted because I forget about it.

 I write out the menu for the whole week on large post-it's and stick them to the fridge... and then, after that week is over, I keep all of the post-it's so I can go back and see what we've had incase I need ideas. HTH! GL! It really does help. Just keep it simple.

mgfit1

I collect recipes all the time and just copy/paste them into a file on my computer.  On Saturdays I just go through my file and pick out what I want for the week and write my grocery list.  I get lots of recipes from the What's Cooking gals here and from www.cookinglight.com.