Sunday, May 4, 2014

Menu Planning Process


I've always enjoyed meal planning.  Lists make me happy, so that aspect of mapping out the week's recipes is satisfying, but it's also enormously rewarding to open my fridge on a Sunday and see mostly bare shelves.  I feel like I've accomplished something culinarily if I've used up what I had bought the weekend prior and when I have nothing that needs to be thrown away because it's expired or gone bad.

But also, you see, if I plan my week well food-wise, I save money.

First of all, it means I only buy what I need at the grocery store.  Making a shopping list based on specific recipes encourages me to actually look through my pantry to see what I already have, a lesson I learned after finding three jars of dried thyme in my spice rack.  Second, it means I can't let my desire to be healthy trump the realities of how many vegetables I can eat in a week; it's embarrassing how many times I've bought an extra bag of spinach, convinced I'll have fresh greens with every meal, only to throw it out half-consumed.  A weekly meal plan, complete with a list of ingredients that I need, encourages me to stay away from the "oh, I could totally make this one night" purchases at the supermarket, ensuring I spend money more wisely and waste food less irresponsibly.

As I've gotten used to my new routine, working a full-time desk job again (plus a 45 minute commute each way) with delicious restaurants just steps from my office tempting me at lunchtime and occasional evening events throwing a wrench in my dinner plans, I've added another step to my weekly meal planning: updates.



I can make all the menus I want and shop only for what I really need, but sometimes life gets in the way and I don't end up eating what I meant to.  Every once in a while, my tupperware of leftovers is just too unappealing and I sneak off to grab Thai food with my colleagues.  Every once in a while, I accidentally eat my weight in pita chips and guacamole while braising the chicken thighs.  Every once in a while - well, you get the idea.  So, over the past few weeks, I've found it productive to update  my weekly meal plan with what I've actually eaten so I can keep adjusting my understanding of what's realistic given my schedule.  For instance, while I might enjoy lasagne on a week night, I now know that has to be made ahead of time because I can't stop myself from noshing while it's in the oven.  And some leftovers are fine when they're reheated for dinner, but they're not appetizing out of the microwave at lunch time.  A lot of this is common sense, of course, but I just process it more effectively when I see it all in writing.

I've tried a few different types of weekly meal planners: I made my own chalkboard one with a vinyl sheet that I stuck to my fridge but I gave up on that after a few weeks because I had a hard time writing vertically; I used a small weekly calendar for a while but it didn't have room for a grocery list; and I wrote on a menu printable once but managed to lose the piece of paper three times in the span of seven days.  I love the one that Jolie at Brim Papery created, up at the top of this post, and I think I might try that next - I like the idea of a magnetic planner that can live on the fridge but with detachable pages for trips to the store.  At the moment, I'm using the wooden one you see in the collage below (and in the photo above).  I don't think it's technically a menu planner, but it's got one column that I designate for lunch and one for dinner and a notes column on the left that serves as my grocery list.  The whole notebook comes with me when I go to the supermarket so I don't lose the individual sheets and it's nice to look back on what past weeks' meals have been, especially when I need some inspiration.

Of course, Jon thinks this whole process is ridiculous and so I'm sure I'll have to tweak my methods when he gets here, but it's working for me really well right now!  Though I can always try to bring him over to Team Organization...

MEAL PLANNERS

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13 comments:

  1. I do the same thing - planning meals then updating them. Sometimes work happens, and after an unexpectedly long day, the last thing I want to do is suffer through a long cooking process. But by at least trying to stick to the plan, I do save a lot of money and don't buy a lot of things I don't end up using.


    I like the printable ideas, but I don't end up using them when I buy them. My best bet has just been the whiteboard I have stuck to the cupboard with command strips. I can write on it, update it, add my grocery list, and take a picture with my phone for whenever I can get to the store.

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  2. I find meal planning so relaxing as well but I really like this idea of keeping track of what you actually ate since its true life gets in the way and we don't always stick to our meal plans.

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  3. I've always loved planning ahead of time and people thought I was crazy. It just make sense! I use an excel spreadsheet for my weekly meals and grocery list broken up by sections of the grocery store. #nerd

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  4. You are so very thorough! I plan out six meals that vary in difficulty and preparation and for no particular day. That way, I can cook up something from my list on whatever day I feel like! Then I assume that there will be at LEAST one day of the week we give up and eat takeout :)

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  5. I am a serious meal planner and I agree with all of your points and I so love that empty Sunday night pantry/fridge which sends Fredrik into shock each week!

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  6. I'm with you on this. I love sitting down and planning out my meals for the week. It makes me feel so much more organized when I know what's happening each night.

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  7. I used to print out all of these things, but now I use my phone! I find it way easier! I love planning meals too. I write what we are having each night on post its on the fridge in pretty lettering!

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  8. Excuse me a moment while I completely GEEK out over organisation like this. I LOVE meal planning, but rarely get around to it with my crazy school schedule. I really should get back into it as I tend to go crazy in expensive health food stores when I go without a list of necessary items. 'Of COURSE I need a jar of coconut oil and this over priced flake salt...I will definitely use them this week for....something...' x

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  9. I like the idea of menu planning but I end up being so fickle about food- what sounds good in the morning doesn't by dinnertime. Hmm... thoughts? I was about to say that Bailie @ Hemborg wife is really in to meal planning, but I see she already commented! x

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  10. Beau and I meal-planned for the first time as a couple last night!!!!! This is a good week to start because he'll be out-of-town for dinner three nights, so it's not as daunting to plan. We went through the ads for Kroger last night and based our planning on what's on sale and what we already have. We actually planned through next Tuesday because the Kroger sales actually run Wednesday-Tuesday. We also made up the shopping list for Wednesday, although we do need to buy just one thing for dinner tonight. We don't have anything fancy for organization. We made out our lists on a note pad, and then I copied over the dinners onto our practical-not-pretty dry erase calendar on the fridge.

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  11. love this! i have a note on my iphone with all of our favorite meals but we always have to go through and remember WHAT is in everything before we go shopping. love the idea of an organized grocery shopping list.

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  12. I have to make a list or everything goes haywire at the grocery. I love the one Jolie made. I use a magnetic list that I can rip an individual page off of so I have one similar but not with categories already printed!

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  13. I LOVE menu planning! I've never had an actual 'meal planner', but on my fridge in France was a looseleaf piece of paper with the meals for the week nicely written on it :)

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