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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To ask how much time you spend meal planning?

84 replies

Totallyuseless31 · 26/01/2015 19:57

I seem to spend huge amounts of time meal planning, only to not make all the meals as they were too time consuming, or dds ate the ingredients etc. so I spend about an hour a week on it only to fail. How much time do you spend meal planning? And what are your best time saving tips? Also to what extent do you meal plan (eg just evening meals or all meals and snacks)? If you just do evening meals what do you do for the other meals and snacks?

OP posts:

arethereanyleftatall · 26/01/2015 20:43

Never. Tbh I'd never even heard of meal planning before I came on mn.
I have a large freezer and large larder. When I go shopping I only buy what's on offer.
So, my meal plans would take 5 seconds every morning when I reach in to the freezer to get a bit of meat out to defrost. Matched with whatever veg Abel and cole have delivered.

skylark2 · 26/01/2015 20:45

Almost zero.

Every so often someone says "I fancy x, we haven't had that for ages." I write the ingredients on the list, if they aren't things we'd have anyway, so they get bought next time we go shopping.

Not planning as such, but I often Google three ingredients together with "recipe" and make whatever takes my fancy from the results. Normally when we've been just about organised enough in the morning to get chicken or mince etc. out of the freezer but not to make any decisions about what to do with it. It avoids getting in the situation where we have the same few meals over and over.

BonkersAsConkers · 26/01/2015 20:51

I meal plan by looking through a few favourite sc recipes. Then I shop, then I prepare ten meals in an hour (like this: www.livingwellspendingless.com/2014/08/15/10-freezer-meals-in-one-hour-2/ but using my selected recipes) .

Then each night at around four I pull a meal out of the freezer,bung it in the oven then throw in some frozen veg at the right time. dinner takes literally five minutes prep tops each night. (I would use the actual sc but the inner dish broke )

BonkersAsConkers · 26/01/2015 20:54

Oh and because it is ten meals not seven, you essentially gave three meals left over each week. So there is a 'free ' week of shopping, except to tip up fruit bread and milk.

Actually sometimes I shop the clearance meats then work out which sc meal to use!

PopularNamesInclude · 26/01/2015 20:55

None. We tend to put together a meal from what is in the fridge and the larder and decisons are made when we get in from work. I make a shopping list. Does that count as planning?

bambinibop · 26/01/2015 20:59

About 30 minutes on a Sunday evening to meal plan and make a shopping list. Have to see what is left in the fridge and freezer to use up first. Last night however it took me hours because I had no inspiration at all and kept getting bored of it. Got there in the end though!

I only really plan evening meals although I do think of a few things me and dd could have for lunches and buy accordingly!

ocelot41 · 26/01/2015 20:59

FA. I always mean to but fail

BauerTime · 26/01/2015 21:04

About 30 mins at the same time as making my shopping list. I do a big shop every month and buy all meat, store cupboard ingredients, frozen foods etc and then batch cook some pasta sauces, chilli or similar. Then each week I'll just sit down and plan meals to get a mix of meat, poultry, fish, veggie, pasta, potatoes, rice, breads etc bearing in mind what's in the freezer/cupboard. Then make a list of what fresh stuff we need to make them, plus bits for lunches, breakfasts etc. I only really plan dinners though and only 6 days as usually there is at least one day we end up having beans on toast or eat out etc. towards the end of the month I try to use up stuff and do a really light shop in the last week.

vdbfamily · 26/01/2015 21:07

we have 3 kids so will give them the chance to chose one evening meal each a week, then with homemade pizza on Saturdays and roast on Sundays it only leaves 2 more meals to fill in. Easy.

CobbOnn · 26/01/2015 21:10

About a minute checking what I have in the house and coming up with rough ideas, then a couple of minutes at Aldi when I see what veg is in super 6, and fit the meals in around them.

We have about 10-15 regular meals depending on what's cheap and in season (and easily batch cooked and reheated after work, which fit in with DSs allergy requirements)

Before DS I used to love an omelette or scrambled egg ontoast for dinner, but the little bugger is allergic to eggs. I miss eggs- so cheap and delicious.

batgirl1984 · 26/01/2015 21:14

5 mins. I have two under school age who I pick up on the way home and I find that bit of the day stressful so I have to have a post it note on the calendar telling me what is for tea else it would be fishfingers every work night. If I write down what I am planning to eat, DH will ensure he buys it. Like everyone else, reheated spag bol on rushed nights, something more elaborate on days off.

Hatespiders · 26/01/2015 21:16

Same as you Gemma, I just have a look in the freezer, pick something to defrost and that's it. In the evening I get any vegetables that catch my eye in the fridge and stick 'em in a pot. Done.
And that's only every other night, as dh does himself a spicy horror with rice and I have a cold dinner from the day before.
I always make a list for our supermarket shop, but take advantage of any offers so it isn't set in stone.
Lunch is soup and bread, or a kipper each, or ham sandwiches.

CalicoBlue · 26/01/2015 21:19

stillwishihadabs sounds yum...

dimdommilpot · 26/01/2015 21:21

I have a list of all lunches and evening meals we like and then just pick 7 of them each saturday as i order the shopping for sunday night delivery. I ask OH and DD1 if there is anything they fancy that week and choose something quick and easy when i know i wont have much time. Meal planning and ordering the shopping takes around an hr to do.

morethanpotatoprints · 26/01/2015 21:21

I think my family must be the only people who don't meal plan. We usually cook one thing for everybody and we decide by looking what we have in and what we fancy, or i go last minute grab the offers and we have whatever there is.
It would bore me rigid to have to plan and cook in advance.

Jackiebrambles · 26/01/2015 21:24

I've started to try to be a bit more organised since the new year! So I've been spending 20-30 mins on a Sunday looking in the cupboards/freezer and doing an Ocado order on my phone with the calendar in front of me.
I'm also writing down what we are having on the calendar as my memory is so awful!

ireallydontlikemonday · 26/01/2015 21:27

I spend about 20mins writing a least / meal planning before I do the weekly shop. I've always done this.

For those that don't, how does it work? Do you go shopping and buy a load of stuff and then just sort of hope you have what you need to make a meal or do you shop on a daily basis for whatever you fancy that day?

I meal plan in that I plan out 7 days worth of food but then eat in whatever order we fancy it, not in a 'it's Monday we must have gammon or Tuesday we must have fish' kind of a way.

tippytappywriter · 26/01/2015 21:27

I order the online shop which takes about 15 mins. Meal planning involves looking in the freezer to see if we have anything that will make a meal and then writing a list of what we'll have each evening.

CalicoBlue · 26/01/2015 21:37

I find that by planning what we are going to eat during the week, I don't have to go to the supermarket during the week or spend an hour cooking when I get home.

Having to think about food and shop each day would drive me nuts, after an hour on the tube all I want is a relaxed evening.

bluesbaby · 26/01/2015 21:40

I go shopping regularly so never do huge shops. I shop little and fresh.

Meal planning- every few days to be more flexible. My oh works away a lot and isn't the greatest at letting me know when he's not eating so I often cook for one. Takes 10 minutes. I often browse recipes online during my lunch breaks and save them for later. OH also gets involved and provides ideas and recipes for meals. I do most of the shopping atm but he will also go out and do a shop if coerced

Jackiebrambles · 26/01/2015 21:41

The reason I meal plan is that with work and DS there is no time to nip out to the shops, so I need to know what we are having!

It makes my evenings much calmer. And we have takeaway on Fridays :)

Froggio · 26/01/2015 23:13

I love cooking but find it a real drain to cook midweek, especially if work is busy. I started meal planning a while ago after seeing DD's timetable for school dinners. It seemed so simple and I started doing the same. It helps with shopping and when I'm lacking inspiration at the end of a day. I spend about 10 mins a week on it and it goes something like this:
1 day pasta
1 day something simple like soup or jacket potato
1 day fish (fish cakes, fish pie, fishfingers, homemade if have time)
2 days something out of the freezer (either something I've batch cooked or something with oven chips)
Saturdays usually have an American theme and I usually cook
Sundays usually roast and I sometimes do a pud.

I also have a written list of meals that the whole family likes and that are easy to do for when I'm really lacking energy. eg. cornish pastie and beans!
DH sometimes cooks.

DeliciousMonster · 26/01/2015 23:19

5-10 mins. I tend to double up so tonight i cooked a curry, double batch so that tomorrow i can serve it with bread or potatoes rather than rice.

I am used to cooking with seasonal veg so i just use what i have and pair it with a starch of choice. So we go pasta, rice, potatoes or noodles and then go round again...i never use recipes so every meal tastes different.

I try to stick lots of pulses in what ever i am cooking, always have pre cooked beans and chickpeas in the freezer as i buy dry and cook in batches.

And i have loads of my dehydrated veg that i can soak and add in as and when.

Philoslothy · 26/01/2015 23:21

We gather as a family once a week and plan for the next week. We have a board and everyone has to choose a meal they would like and a meal they would like to cook, often the one they would like. You have to clear up after the meal you have chosen.

If DSS is home that is a week's worth of food.

I do a mixture of online and in store shopping. I pop into the village or town most days for coffee, lunch or a walk and so do it then.

We have in the kitchen laminated checklists for ingredients that we have in the store cupboard, you tick when they are running low. I use those to do my shopping list.

JaceLancs · 26/01/2015 23:43

No planning here either
Evening meals depend on who is in to eat, what needs eating up, what gleanings there are from the reduced counter (some fairly whacky but tasty combos can be found)
I always keep a store cupboard of basics and 2 fairly full freezers so once the former has been considered I can always rustle up something
Needs must and my food bills are very low - we eat little processed food, easier to deal with allergies when eating meat/fish/chicken salad/veg type meals too

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