A friend of mine told me recently that his wife had gotten into meal planning to cut down on wasted food. While that seems like a good idea to me, I'm just not organized enough to make it happen. Instead, I cut down on waste by making a point to use everything I have before buying more, even if this means making non traditional "makeshift" meals. He told me this has never occurred to him, and I know it hasn't because I've many times been able to find myself a meal or at least a snack while at his house on days he was claiming to have "no food at all." Do the rest of you plan your meals out or "make do"?
I mainly cook for myself, and planning a weeks worth of meals usually doesn't work well for me. What I'm in the mood to eat changes constantly. I may buy a bunch of ingredients to make stir fry's or salads throughout the week, then as the days go by I'm not in the mood for either and start craving Italian or southern food or something. Nowadays I usually check a food blog when I get home from work and see if any recipes interest me, and I will go to the store and pick up just the ingredients I need for it.
I'm not big on planning, but we never go hungry, so I'd say I'm a makeshift person. My husband is one of those people who likes to decide on the day what he's going to eat, so I just offer him a choice of 3 or 4 things each day. At least twice a week, I tell him what we're having, because there's nothing much in the fridge, and he'll go along with what I suggest. Sometimes you can over think things.
I generally plan each meal and ensure that it is balanced. I am one of those people who believe in freshly cooked food. No freezing food for me. I use a lot of fresh vegetables, especially green leafy ones and I prefer them fresh. I cook just enough for the four of us, for that particular meal. With experience it takes just a few minutes each day. I am very particular about this because they children need to get all they nutrition they need. I love cooking so this is no big deal for me.
I'm not really big into meal planning. I buy groceries for a few days only. I don't try to shop for a few weeks or the month. I have saved a lot of money doing this. I really don't leave far from my favorite grocer so it's not big deal to walk a few blocks to the store. Since I have eliminated meat, it has gotten even easier.
We usually plan out our meals for the upcoming week when we do our grocery shopping on Friday. Our plans usually last until Wednesday evening, but when Thursday comes then we're always in deep trouble. Other than that, Friday to Wednesday we have decent meals and hearty and filling.
I am a planner and it has saved us a ton of money. I have 4 weekly calendars printed out. I keep them in page protectors so I can use a dry erase marker and when the week is over I can erase it and start planning the next week. This helps me in a few ways. First I know what I need at the store and second since I plan a month out I can shop that far out. I do one big trip to the store for everything then a trip about two weeks later for milk, bread, eggs and other perishables. It simplifys life for me since I hate going to the store. I also watch the case lot sales and have a good supply in my pantry. I can shop from in there first so it is like everything is on sale.
I love to plan meals because I love to cook. My problem is that I enjoy cooking technically-complex dishes, which usually cost $$$. My wife and I usually keep a constant supply of staple items on hand because there are several dishes we both like that are easy to make and inexpensive. In comparison to our friends with children, we have to work much harder to plan meals for two that don't leave us with a ton of leftovers. Food can definitely be a budget buster if you're not careful.
