How Do You Meal Plan? Or Do You Not?

@gtdoss (1013)
United States
August 25, 2022 2:30am CST
Hello, all of my fellow Mylotters! I was up very, very early this morning (2:00am) to work on my family's meal plan for the week. We have a Google Doc called "Family Menu" with all of the days of the week on it. Since I go grocery shopping on Thursdays, I will work the family menu up until Wednesday, so I basically plan out Wednesday through Wednesday every week. My husband and I actually do this planning together for the most part, since he does most of the cooking. This week it looks like Thursday - get takeout, Friday - fish/tater tots/broccoli, Saturday - homemade sushi, Sunday - potato broccoli cheese soup, Monday - green chile migas, Tuesday - pasta dish/salad, and Wednesday - sauteed chicken/rice/green beans. Do you do meal planning? By the month? By the week? By the couple of days? Or do you pick out what you want that very evening for supper? (Image by Sean Hayes from Pixabay)
11 people like this
10 responses
@celticeagle (167019)
• Boise, Idaho
25 Aug 22
We go day-by=day. Whatever we feel like fixing. I have tried to get my daughter to take out meat for the next day. She does pretty good. We all have our own way of doing things.
2 people like this
@celticeagle (167019)
• Boise, Idaho
26 Aug 22
@gtdoss ........What I am saying is that I am trying to get my daughter to remember to do this.
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@gtdoss (1013)
• United States
26 Aug 22
That is true; we do all have our own ways of doing things that fit our schedule and desires. Just getting the meat out of the freezer in time to thaw for that evening's meal is half the battle for me, LOL!
2 people like this
@LadyDuck (471421)
• Switzerland
25 Aug 22
I usually do the same, I make a plan of the menus, that I can modify according to what I find when I go shopping.
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@LadyDuck (471421)
• Switzerland
26 Aug 22
@gtdoss I do not like too much to go grocery shopping, I go once a week. We went this morning.
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@gtdoss (1013)
• United States
25 Aug 22
I think some people find it calming to go grocery shopping in one go and have all they need in their kitchen according to a plan, like my husband. Personally, I could wing it day by day and have no problem, LOL!
2 people like this
@allknowing (136530)
• India
26 Aug 22
I always plan what to make for breakfast and lunch the previous day and sometimes even earlier as I would need to get the ingredients.
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@gtdoss (1013)
• United States
26 Aug 22
Yes, that's how we do it for the week.
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@rebelann (112875)
• El Paso, Texas
25 Aug 22
That homemade sushi sounds awesome. I generally only plan something if I'm going to fix a chicken dish but mostly all I do is throw everything I want into the instapot and let it do it's thing. I have a pot of it in the fridge and maybe I'll have quesadillas later.
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@rebelann (112875)
• El Paso, Texas
25 Aug 22
I think most people had crock pots for quite a while but this instapot is wonderful when it comes to pressure cooking etc.
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@gtdoss (1013)
• United States
25 Aug 22
Oh, the wonders of the Instapot! We do quite a few meal parts in their as well. I don't know know how we survived without it!
2 people like this
@DaddyEvil (137259)
• United States
25 Aug 22
No, I don't plan my meals. We normally keep a stock of the things we both like and I think about what I want to eat that day and thaw the meat I'll need in the morning and cook the meal before we eat it. A lot of the time Pretty makes something for herself. (Usually something I'm not interested in eating but she still might eat some of the food I make, too.) We buy groceries every two weeks.
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@DaddyEvil (137259)
• United States
26 Aug 22
@gtdoss It's always worked for us. And, since the pandemic began, Pretty has insisted that we buy extra canned goods and dry boxed goods, in case prices ran out of control.
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@gtdoss (1013)
• United States
26 Aug 22
So you do an interesting combination: a two-week stock up on the things you know you and Pretty will like, and then planning the meal based on what you're hungry for that day. Actually pretty smart!
2 people like this
@Beestring (14558)
• Hong Kong
25 Aug 22
I plan in the morning after breakfast. I usually check what I have in the refrigerator. If I really crave for something, I'll go to the supermarket to get it. Supermarket is just a few minutes walk from my place.
2 people like this
@gtdoss (1013)
• United States
25 Aug 22
How wonderful that your supermarket is just a few minutes walk from your home! Ours isn't very far away, but you still need a car to get there.
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@Beestring (14558)
• Hong Kong
25 Aug 22
@gtdoss Yes, that's convenient. The Wet Market is also just a few minutes walk. This is the pros of living in a compact city like Hong Kong. But we don't get to enjoy the nature that easily. Have to travel for quite a while to go to a natural park or anywhere with lots of plants.
2 people like this
@FourWalls (68084)
• United States
25 Aug 22
No meal planning for me, per se. I have an app on my phone that counts my “points” for my Weight Watchers plan, so that sort of “plans” what I do. Out of points, out of food!
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@gtdoss (1013)
• United States
25 Aug 22
I used to do Weight Watchers back in the day. That was back when you had to attend meetings. It's so much better these days where you just have to count points in order to tell what you can or can not eat.
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@jstory07 (139742)
• Roseburg, Oregon
26 Aug 22
I buy in bulk for the whole month. I fix whatever I want each night no planning ahead.
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@jstory07 (139742)
• Roseburg, Oregon
26 Aug 22
@gtdoss At Costco once a month and the gas is cheaper there so we fill the car up once a month.
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@gtdoss (1013)
• United States
26 Aug 22
Now, that's a new one! Where do you shop for your bulk items? We go to Costco two times a month.
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@sol_cee (38219)
• Philippines
25 Aug 22
Homemade sushi! I’ll be there on Saturday
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@gtdoss (1013)
• United States
25 Aug 22
LOL! We just discovered how to make sushi within the past year or so, and we've really been enjoying it. See you Saturday, LOL!
1 person likes this
25 Aug 22
Sounds like a delicious week you are having! I usually just plan for the day or two and then go shopping for it or I use what I have if I’m too lazy to go.
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@gtdoss (1013)
• United States
25 Aug 22
Since I only go grocery shopping once a week, we kind of have to plan the things we (he) are going to make so I can get the correct groceries. If our supermarket was super close, I would probably just go every day or two.
2 people like this