Who Plans out their Dinners?

I receive a newsletter every week (in the US) which gives healthy recipes and divides out all the ingredients you need for the week. It makes shopping really easy (see: www.thescramble.com)

It's been great. Has anyone seen something similar in the UK? I'll be moving over soon, and want to make cooking as easy as possible when I get there

i LOVE that website... gonna see how i get on without subscribing first.

One thing that drives me nuts about the planned meal programmes is that they don't ever take into account that you can only buy things in certain amounts and that the meal for the day only uses a tiny bit but the next meals don't have it at all.  So you end up buying more than you need and then what do you do with it? 

I would love to see a meal plan that takes shopping in a real grocery store into account. 

I have been using Saving Dinner, which has meals per week based on the season (hearty meals for Winter, light meals for Spring sort of thing), and also comes with a shopping list per week. We use about 2 or 3 meals per week as there's enough food leftover (even being a glutton during mealtime) to spread out during the week; doing each meal every day was a bit much for our family. But it's got good ideas and generally the meals are tasty.

 

Other than a set list of staples that I stock up on as needed, I shop more to what looks good, what’s in season, what’s on sale, etc. and then plan from there (4-5 days in advance).

I usually have a vague idea what I’ll cook with what I buy, but if needed I’ll consult a recipe for inspiration afterwards.

For example: When I went shopping last night, Tesco had a special on minced lamb (two packages for £5). Tonight I’m making stuffed peppers with one package. I froze the other and I’ll make something over the weekend – probably minted lamb burgers or something like that.

Also, the parsnips looked good so I bought a bunch and last night I roasted them with some carrots and potatoes I had in stock. I’ll use these to make an omelette later in the week or use them as a side dish with something else.

That takes care of at least three night’s worth of dinner. We’ll have pasta tomorrow, which makes it four. Friday is our night to eat out so all I need to cover one weeknight and Sunday.

Other ideas:
Roasted vegetables go along way: great as a side, a main, or as an ingredient in another dish.

Legumes/beans. I made a batch of lentils the other day and that stretched to 2-1/2 meals. I’m trying to use more dried beans than canned because I think the taste and texture is better. Dried beans require more planning because you have to soak the them overnight before cooking, but it’s worth the effort.

They’re very versatile: good in soups, salads. I often sautéed white beans in olive with garlic and pepperoncino and then add dried sausage/chorizo, or mix them some tuna.

My resolutions:
--More green salads
--More steaming vegetables, less sautéing
--Less pasta
--Less bread
--Smaller meals in the evenings

I write them up on the IKEA blackboard in the kitchen so everyone knows what they're going to be eating.

I do this too, only i use a dry-wipe marker on a magnetic board on the fridge.
It also lets DH know if im going to be home for dinner or not...

Dried beans require more planning because you have to soak the them overnight before cooking, but it’s worth the effort.

Opinion is divided on this point. As a vegetarian I eat a lot of beans, and I never ever soak them. Usually I just sort, rinse, and throw them in the slow cooker with some water, maybe some seasonings if I feel like it. It still takes a bit of planning, but it's practically no effort.

I plan on and off, although I'm making a big effort to do it now (fresh starts and all that). It helps me make sure I get in lots of fruit and veg, and it keeps costs down. I think it's a good idea - if I can only stick with it.

I try to, although I'm fairly flexible about what we're having what day and like to have some store cupboard alternatives if I can't be arsed to roast a chicken or something like that. 
I start by having a look at what already in the freezer/fridge/cupboards and figure out what I'd need to buy to have a weeks worth of meals. 
The last few years I've been on a real drive not to throw away any food, so I'm pretty good about using what we already have without buying extra. I always have staples such as rice, pasta, cheese and buy my meat based on what we're having.  It works pretty well.

I meal plan a week in advance.  Saturday morning I write up my menus and order online for delivery on Wednesday.  Also on Saturday, I pick up any perishables (like milk, bread, veg) that may have run out.  My week works like this:

Sunday: roast or large meal
Monday: leftovers
Tuesday: double meal
Wednesday: leftovers
Thursday: double meal
Friday: leftovers
Saturday: something nice, out of the ordinary

I like this plan because none of my boys are picky about leftovers and it leaves me with cooking only twice during the working week.

I'm a planner, but I'm also a newbie cook so I don't want to be committed to a specific recipe every night.  I do the hard work of following recipes once a week on Sundays, and then the rest of the week I make sure I have things in the house which I know I can make multiple meals from off the top of my head (ie pasta, chicken, eggs, mushrooms, root veg, bread, herbs, cheese etc).  Right now we're doing a weekly shop on Saturdays.

Cait, I really like your idea as I seriously cannot cook more than about 2 or 3 times during a work week.  I am going to try it - thanks!

i've got a couple new years resoluations which revolve around food- one of them is to try a new recipie every fortnight.  the other is to do a better job of planning my meals/shopping trip (too many trips to the store for this, that and the other). 

does anyone else do this?  any tips? 

next week- going to make a big chicken on sunday and then use it to make enchilladas & then stew later in the week.

I'm basically having the same resolutions, including less money on groceries. I'm being a bit more ambitious and trying something new every day. I'm also doing the something new every day because DB thinks I'm a picky eater and wants me to try more things. I'm making a blog out of it to keep myself dedicated. We'll see how it goes, I think I was too ambitious!

My food blog

I haven't updated it in a few days because I either fell asleep too early and we lost the internet for a few days, but I have been sticking to it and will try to catch up tonight!

I am trying to keep some staples around in case I don't get to the store, or am working off leftovers and need a side. I am trying to plan a week's worth of meals ahead of time, but not plan the days. This way I have the flexibility to go with my mood, but I am also still planning my meals.

ETA: DB eats a ridiculous amount, so it makes planning difficult for me. I have made meals and plan to leave leftovers, but he'll just keep on eating. I've started to make a full batch and then set aside half before we even begin eating. When making meatloaf, I made a full pound, but then used my scale to set aside and freeze half before cooking.

I also just got a slow cooker for Christmas and I love it so far! It really seems to be helping.

ETA: DB eats a ridiculous amount, so it makes planning difficult for me. I have made meals and plan to leave leftovers, but he'll just keep on eating.

my boy's the say way.  i usually make (3) portions of meals and then dish out all three- place (1) in the fridge right away.  if it's out, he'll eat it.  it's like he's afraid there won't be food tomorrow or something. 

I have two high performance athletes to feed, one of whom is a growing teenage boy.  Oy! 

He needs lots of protein so a good portion of our diet is meat.  He loves fruit so getting that into him is no problem.  He isn't that crazy about meat though and I think he would happily become a veggie.  he's learning to cook and loves it (FOUR cookbooks + an apron for Christmas!) so I imagine he'll find some new recipes - at least I'm hoping he will, I could use some input!

I cook very much like Mindy does.  It seems to work for me.  We could do with more veg in our diet though.  And I need to drink more water.