Meal Planning?

mrstmoose · October 2015

Prior to being pregnant, I would religiously meal plan every week. Now that I'm pregnant, I'm trying to do the same but I'm running into a problem. Whatever I think sounds good whenever I write the grocery list, doesn't sound good that next week. Does anyone have any tips or suggestions?

cortney626 · October 2015

Stick to the meal plan. LOL With being pregnant, sick, food aversions, etc my meal planning has suffered as well. But I plan and stick to it for my husband and daughter. When the day comes, I will eat the dinner mostly. I'm too tired in the evening to try and come up with something to cook, so planning ahead works better.

Unicorn522 · October 2015

Our eating habits have suffered tremendously.

We have been ordering out or H has been cooking for the most part. I hate that I have pushed it off on him but most days I can't even tolerate being in the kitchen. I've been trying to think up fast easy meals and we've been buying some frozen meals that just need to go in the oven. I guess that would be my only tip. Try coming up with some freezer meals that don't require as much work but still have some nutritional value.

countrygrl5533 · October 2015

Meal plan in pencil. This has always been my "go to." I also stock up on what is on sale each week, not necessarily what I want for a menu. Then I have basically everything on hand at all times between the pantry and the freezer. Makes it easier to meal plan for me, especially when I don't always feel like eating what I wrote down.

AmmyBelle · October 2015

I have had the same troubles! The last two months all I can stomach is plain pasta with orange juice - and I am a huge foodie who loves making elaborate dinners with all sorts of things, and I meticulously plan out the week to include leftovers and such. Now that my nausea is subsiding, I am hoping to get back into that, particularly because I haven't been getting enough protein in my diet given my huge aversion to all meats (and there are only so many beans I can eat!). Last night I made a veggie lasagna and actually ate it without feeling sick - so, tomato sauce and cheese are now on the food list - high hopes

wsgjmw1 · October 2015

This is my problem for sure. I used to meal plan like crazy, go to the store on Sunday and have everything ready for the week. NOW...I am so picky I can barely decide what to do for dinner in the morning. I have to make dinners on a whim, or visit the store 3-4 times a week. Also we have been resorting to picking up food on the way home from take out etc. I hope this is just a 1st trimester thing, and once it passes I can get back to my normal meal planning schedule because I hate not being prepared for the week and eating out so much!

laurenmdrn16 · October 2015

I have less than no advice! This was our plan:
Monday- Lemon pepper chicken with egg noodles and mixed veggies
Tuesday- Teriaky pork chops with rice and broccoli
Wednesday - Black bean soup and grilled cheese
Thursday - Chicken tacos
Friday - Home made pizza

This is what we have had so far...
Monday - lemon pepper chicken with egg noodles and mixed veggies
Tuesday - I couldn't eat/cook so MH picked up burgers for himself and our son
Wednesday - Grilled cheese and tomato for my son...mashed potatoes for me. Maybe MH will have the soup when he gets home.
Thursday - my girlfriend just invited me to hang out so I will be eating out while the boys are probably going to have chicken nuggets
Friday - who knows?!

kbrands7 · October 2015

@laurenmdrn16 that's pretty much what my meal planning this week...well, the past few weeks has looked like.

sjecc09 · October 2015

I menu plan weekly too, and try to force myself to eat what is on the menu, but often end up with a PB&J instead! Last night was supposed to be pork loin, Brussels sprouts, and wild rice. We ended up having pizza instead! I feel your pain!

Edit: Typo

vinerie · October 2015

mrstmoose said:

Prior to being pregnant, I would religiously meal plan every week. Now that I'm pregnant, I'm trying to do the same but I'm running into a problem. Whatever I think sounds good whenever I write the grocery list, doesn't sound good that next week. Does anyone have any tips or suggestions?

This is so me!! I meal plan every Sunday. Tonight is salmon. I so don't feel like it, though. I'm currently on my couch trying to decide if I should cook it, or eat crackers and cheese for dinner.

mrstmoose · October 2015

@vinerie I got my life together and actually made beef stew for tonight. I'm considering it a win.

doozer1345 · October 2015

I'm running into this too. I've still planned my meals for the rest of the family but what I've done is stocked up on foods I'm typically able to stomach if my appetite disappears or I start feeling nauseous at the idea of what I've cooked. So while I made tacos tonight for my family, I'm eating a fried egg sandwich (I don't know why this is a craving).

vinerie · October 2015

@mrstmoose And I made the salmon. I'd still rather have a burger, though. Or pizza!! But it will be salmon tonight.

mrstmoose · October 2015

@vinerie I ate 3/4 of a cup and couldn't force anymore down. DH asked if I wanted ice cream so he is currently on his way to get me a hot fudge sundae. I think he really wanted ice cream and knew I'd be easy to coerce into eating it. I don't feel too bad since this is only the second time so far that I've had it since I got pregnant. Winning.

That1didntcount · October 2015

I had spaghetti o's with meatballs for dinner tonight. I don't know why I freely typed that. The shame.

Par13 · October 2015

I'm in the same boat!

The worst part for me is even with cravings I get the food in front of me and then want to gag. It's terrible to essentially have to force myself to eat and I always feel even sicker afterwards.

I guess my only advice is to buy less at the store - I've been trying to plan meals with pantry or freezer items I have on-hand, so even if I don't want the food when the time comes, I'm not wasting much.

vinerie · October 2015

mrstmoose That's funny, I had a sundae last night, too. We wanted to celebrate finding out the baby's sex and since wine is off the menu...we went out for hot fudge sundaes!

mrstmoose · October 2015

What are you having @vinerie!??! I didn't see that!

Never mind, I went searching and found it! Congratulations!

LadySamLady · October 2015

You guys, I am an immature human. I have literally never planned a week's worth of meals in my entire life and I have no excuse. I guess that's all about to change, huh?

kmcchs · October 2015

@doozer1345 fried egg sandwiches are currently a craving for me as well!

kbrands7 · October 2015

LadySamLady said:

You guys, I am an immature human. I have literally never planned a week's worth of meals in my entire life and I have no excuse. I guess that's all about to change, huh?

I never meal-planned until just before I gave birth to my first. I would always buy some staples and fruit/veggies to snack on when I went shopping and then would make extra trips every few days for meal-specific cravings. There's just no time after work for that now.

vinerie · October 2015

How do people cook and eat without meal planning? I ask in all seriousness. Do you go to the store multiple times a week? Or do you just make something with whatever you buy at the store on the day you go? On that last question--how do you know what to buy and how much?

LadySamLady · October 2015

@vinerie I pretty much Forest Gump my way through meals and it is a miracle my husb and I haven't starved to death. I have no idea how much to buy and what depends on our mood at the time. There are a few dishes I know how to make that I plan for but it is rare, my mother was not a SAHM and I never really learned how to cook or take care of a home. I don't blame her since I had plenty of time to teach myself, but at 33 I am only just figuring it out. In the early days we did the classic New Yorker thing and ate take-out most of the time but that quickly got too expensive. Husb works from home so he spends a lot of time back and forth to the grocery store, or we meet there after work. Since getting KU we've gotten better about keeping more meal options in the house because when I get hungry these days I do not want to wait. In general though, we fly by the seat of our pants....

Jesse835235 · October 2015

vinerie said:

How do people cook and eat without meal planning? I ask in all seriousness. Do you go to the store multiple times a week? Or do you just make something with whatever you buy at the store on the day you go? On that last question--how do you know what to buy and how much?

I hate the thought of going to the store and buying an entire cart's worth of groceries. I get weird anxiety about having too much food because I loathe wasting food. This drives my H crazy, but he is starting to accept it a little more. I go to the store multiple times per week. Probably not the most efficient use of my time, but hey, I always have fresh goodness! The store is literally right on the way home, so that's quite convenient. Plus, I can usually run in and fit everything I want in my hands or a handheld basket. It's quicker than bobbing and weaving with a cart.

Right now I'm especially not crazy about meal planning since I never know what I'm hungry for until .02 seconds before I want to eat. I have been so bad about eating out!!! I don't feel quite as bad because I'm getting healthier things like salads, naked burritos, Subway, etc. It's an unnecessary use of money, but it's all that sounds good. Sigh... The good news is my H is out of town for work for two weeks, so I'm on my own and won't have to feel guilty about grabbing something quick or having a PBJ for supper.

laurenmdrn16 · October 2015

During the summer/early fall, I don't usually meal plan because I would go to a lot of farmer's markets and just pick up whatever looks good and find a way to make it work for dinner. When MH was working evenings, I never planned out meals because it was just me and my son so we would have whatever sounded good at the time. Actually, when my son was younger and I made baby food, it was so much easier to plan because I would make his food and then plan a meal around either squash or beans etc so we were eating kind of the same thing. Now, he would eat chicken nuggets, bananas, yogurt, and eggies every day if I let him! I do try to get him to eat what I am eating and he has tried tacos, stir fry, and my attempt at Indian food (he mostly just noshed on naan, but had a little chicken korma so I call it a win!), but I swear that if chicken nuggets didn't exist, he would be a vegetarian. He hates beef and pork...and honestly, I am with him most of the time!

I am the big problem recently with meal planning. Just like a lot of you have said, something that sounds awesome at the beginning of the week or even earlier that day is suddenly the grossest thing in the world when it comes to cooking/eating it. I feel bad because I have made such a big deal about encouraging my son to eat what everyone else is having (I'm not a short order cook) and here I am eating PB&J or plain mashed potatoes.

:-??

mumbolino · October 2015

I have a solid basic list of stuff i like, which I buy once a week from the supermarket. I just add whatever i feel like eating the next week.

Fresh Fruit and Veg are bought Saturday on a market.

That way, i always have the foods i like at home, and i can whip something up. I have never planned meals, and it would not work for me now, as i often change my mind.

I also don't like wasting food, and that never really happens, as we know what/ how much we need :-)

That1didntcount · October 2015

My meal planning right now consists of making sure I don't hit the same fast food twice in a row. Because I'm organized like that.

No meal planning isn't possible right now for me with my food aversion. My husband is the main cook, and he's basically doing the same cooking with a lot less input from me. Before pregnancy I would plan and write out the schedule for the week, now he just wings it and I try to eat it if I can. I think we are both looking forward to getting back on track!!

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