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I feel like I spend more money when I plan actual meals, because I have to track down ingredients I wouldn't usually get, etc. And yet I hate just buying a bunch of groceries and throwing something together, because it seems like we have the same (boring) thing all the time.

Am I doing it wrong? Any meal planning tips?

We made a list of meals (approx 15-20) that we all like and it lives on the fridge. A lot of the meals have certain ingredients in common, like veg (onions, mushrooms etc) or can be eaten with rice, pasta, mash, or boiled spuds.

When I come to write the shopping list, we've picked out seven meals for the week, and I just add the components to the list (if we don't already have them).

I try not to have the same 7 meals two weeks in a row, and like to rotate the meat content (IYSWIM)

I've saved a fortune meal planning.

I think the idea is to plan meals you do have the ingredients for, or to have a larder that's better stocked with the basics. What kind of meals do you usually cook?

When I meal plan,I base it around what I have already and then write my shopping list for what I need to add to make the meals. I always spend less if I meal plan. However,I do buy meat and freeze it when it is reduced which makes meal planning easier as there is something to start with.

Hmm...usually spaghetti, burritos, chili...hmm...I know there's more! Scrambled eggs with veggies and cheese, different soups, chicken things in the slow cooker. I'd like to to more slow cooker meals as well since it's so easy to just throw things in in the morning.

If you are choosing random recipes and sourcing all the ingredients from scratch yes, you would spend more but if you do what morecoffee says you shouldn't, and you also eliminate waste.

I always keep certain things in the house that I can make a meal from, e.g. frozen prawns and calamari which can become thai curry, rissotto, pasta or pizza marinara; bacon and eggs for breakfast and spaghetti carbonara which is a 15 minute dinner that everyone in our house loves, or a quick quiche; mince beef that can be meatballs with either rice or pasta, chilli or ragu for spag bol or lasagne - you get the idea.

I think it comes down to have a well-stocked pantry, basically. Takes a while to build up, but a lot of the stuff lasts for ages and tend to only need replacing at different times...

Pasta, spaghetti, etc
Rice - basmati, aborio, etc
Pulses and lentils
Dried stuff like mushrooms
Herbs and spices
Sauces - worcestershire, soy, chilli, golden syrup, tobasco, honey, etc
Vinegars
Oils
Flours
Breadcrumbs
Tinned toms, veg and fish, coconut milk, etc
Stock cubes
Raisins, sultanas
Frozen stuff like fish, seafood, and stuff that freezes easily like Turkish bread, tortillas, etc

And you're laughing - you can pretty much whip anything up by adding in whatever fresh ingredients you want.

Should add for the freezer - veg, of course, and also pastry. Plus I tend to put chicken carcasses or other bones from meat in there, and then make fresh stock as and when for soups, stews and casseroles.

Ah, see, I always plan on having a meal plan, then go to the supermarket, encounter the mayhem, promptly forget the plan, and try to escape as quickly as possible. Seriously, went to Tesco yesterday, the place was so overrun with eejits that I just grabbed a few bits of food, some wine, and fled!

So, right now, no meal plan here (unless wine, cheese and crackers count. Which I rather think they do, calcium, carbs, and, erm sulphites? ). We are preparing to move at the moment though, so almost no cooking and lots of living on take aways. Only due to most of the kitchen utensils being packed. Not due to laziness at all . This is not really helpful, is it?

Good ideas, thanks!

I have just spent the past three hours clipping coupons, double checking sales flyers, rummaging in my cupboards, and Googling new recipes. I'm going to make this work.

Wine, cheese, and crackers are a lovely meal Shadows. I'd live on that if I could, plus fruit!

As would I, Cheerful. Probably without the fruit though, I prefer the pure, unadulterated fat . Seriously though, I can send you some great stew recipes, if you want. They are great for meal planning, as many of the ingredients overlap, plus they can be prepped early in the day, fecked in the pot / slow cooker / pressure cooker, then dished up at dinner time as you calmly sip a glass of wine.

I only plan 4-5 out of 7 meals and make the rest out of the inevitable Whatever Is Left Over In The Fridge. And I don't do posh Recipes, just buy stuff that goes into the meals.

That would be great Shadows, thanks!

Isn't it just chosing what you are going to have for 4-7 days and buying it in advance and then jiggling what you need as you go along either buying a bit more to use up some bits and bobs or popping a portion in the freezer.

For example on Friday we were going to have fishcakes but something came up for ds and dd so they are now in the freezer. Yesterday I made a big casserole with dumplings and there is enough left over for dh and me tonight and the dc will have the fishcakes.

Tomorrow there is a chicken pie and on Wednesday now we will have pasta and meatballs and I'll probably buy a bit of salad. If there's something tasty or good value or reduced on Wednesday, I'll probably buy it to get through Thursday/Friday.

We try to have easy meals in the week when I'm working.

Like msweather, I only plan 4-5 meals too. Dp and I usually make one weeks worth of ingredients from a meal plan last two or three weeks as well, so only buy top ups of milk/eggs/veg inbetween

meal planning is my saviour how we do it is plan it round the meals we like although it can get repetaive but we are fussy eaters , but all you do is plan dinners around what you like and i think it works out slightly cheaper we buy meals for the month and it works out fine , we need to go to the supermarket for top ups though , but the freezer is full ,

OP, as others have said, you need to choose meals across the week which have similar ingredients. A well stocked pantry is necessary and that way you only have to add additional ingredients.

If you're short of ideas, the BBCGoodFood website has some good and simple recipes if you need some inspiration.

I think the point of meal planning is that you plan to make meals where the leftovers from one meal will be useful for another.

e.g. Roast chicken on Sunday, plan to actually have the ingredients to make something with leftover chicken on Monday.

Spaghetti bolognese on Tuesday, you have half a pack of mince left so one meal later in the week should be mince-based

Something with mushrooms on Wednesday, big packs of mushrooms are on offer so instead of letting the second half go to waste make sure you have bought the complementary ingredients for another mushroom-based meal.

I plan for 5 main meals for a 7 day period, and I'm getting into leftover creations.

I've saved (in 4 weeks) about £200.

You have to invest in a good storecupboard of spices, herbs etc., but say a whole chicken can make a roast dinner one day, a chicken pie/broth/one pan rice dish another day. I've learned to actually look in the freezer a lot and use it a lot, as for example I'd hate chicken two days in a row!

My basic food shop is pretty much the same every week, but because I'm cooking a lot (in advance, on a Sunday with a bottle of wine) we're eating more different things than we used to pre-planning.

So for eg this week I got a chicken for a roast tonight and then enchiladas a couple of days later plus sarnies. So I also got the wraps and sauce for it. I got sausages and tinned toms so can so sausage casserole and a cooked breakfast (for dinner) so also bought some beans. That four evening meals from 2 main things iyswim. Then got some steak pies for a change inbetween the chicken. And Brie and pate with part baked bread and salad to split up the sausage nights, plus left over cheese and pate for lunches.

You could post you next weeks plan and we could give tips?

I also make more than I need and freeze for following weeks.

DS2 (11) read that meal planning can save you money, so he planned out four weeks of meals for me, taking into account (with some guidance from me and a list of what we like to eat) days with after school activities (something quick), days when everyone's at home to eat together and days when DD has a hectic after school shedule and a cooked school lunch (so we have rice which she doesn't like, but everyone else does).

It's saved me money and means I'm not doing a quick shop every day on my way home from work, desperately trying to think what to cook, buying sausages and then finding five packs of sausages already in the freezer. Roast chicken yesterday, so chicken pie for tea tomorrow.

I have a box of recipes, and if I have to buy a particular special ingredient (creme fraiche off the top of my head), I will pick out another recipe that also uses it to keep costs down and use up everything iyswim.

I roasted two chickens yesterday (they are expensive items in Belgium) so I like max value from them.

So, roast chicken and veg yesterday. Wrap for ds today, and fridge pasta (chicken, bacon, toms, onion, celery, courgette, pesto, creme fraiche) tonight. Wrap for ds tomorrow, 300g needed for chicken soup, either chicken divan or will make the filling for chicken and ham pie from the remains and stash in freezer to be topped with either filo or sliced potatoes. The chicken pie should do two nights for the three of us. That's 3 main meals (more if I do the pie filling) for 2 adults and a 16 yo, plus soup for 4 and two wraps, and scraps for the cat. Not too bad.

I tend to sit on a Sunday and plan round what's in the freezer. I also have freezer months where we eat through what's in there, so I use up any reduced meat I've bought, like cheap strips of steak in a stroggy; frog in a bog; paprika pork; loads of veg roasted with cheapy chicken legs cooked on top; I braise stewing steak in cider and onions and then add lardons and mushrooms, but I make loads and freeze it, so if I can't be bothered to cook one night, it's there.

Ah, see, I always plan on having a meal plan, then go to the supermarket, encounter the mayhem, promptly forget the plan, and try to escape as quickly as possible. Seriously, went to Tesco yesterday, the place was so overrun with eejits that I just grabbed a few bits of food, some wine, and fled!

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