To hate meal planning?

[NoLeslie]

I am so bored of trying to plan meals. DH did it for a while, now it's my turn again but fuck me its BORING.

One person doesn't eat meat or fish.
One doesn't eat carbs.
One doesn't like soup or eggy stuff or quorn.
One doesn't like pastry or fried stuff.

So far my list is
Day 1 Chilli with meat and chilli with quorn.
Day 2 no idea.

Zzzzz

I do mine as i walk round the supermarket

It's easily my worst chore.

I actually hate it.

I don't particularly enjoy it - however, I think you find it difficult because your family seem quite fussy and therefore finding things they will all eat will be difficult.

My meal plans are pretty boring/samey though!

I also do mine as I walk around the supermarket but there’s only two of us with no dietary requirements.

DP knows if I plan it, it gets cooked, don't like it? Eat the bits you do like or do yourself something else as my mother used to say

Yep just planning our last week before payday meals and the plan is so uninspiring I am in such a food rut

I feel the same. I actually got DH and DSs to vote on what foods they like and dislike to reduce the pulled faces and turned up noses when I put a meal in front of them. It’s helped to an extent but I find I’m cooking the same meals over and over 😫

I don’t plan meal, we eat the same foods. Maybe some stuffed vegetables (with mushroom filling) and quionah/rice for carbs one day?
Courgette bolognese with soy? (I’ve never cooked this and can imagine the reaction)
There’s no way I’d cook two separate meals unless someone had an allegy but you can make a pasta and a non carb version.
I feel for you.

With that level of restrictions - I think everyone needs to do their own meal planning

Can’t you recycle old meal plans? When we’re budgetting we have a plan for 3 weeks the start again. Order food to be delivered so call the saved shopping lists 1, 2 and 3. Couple hours thinking then it’s done. Found 3 weeks long enough between meals to not get bored.

I love and hate meal planning at the same time! I love a meal plan but hate actually doing it although I'm going to have to start doing it in earnest as I've been recently diagnosed with coeliac disease.

Gone are the days when I could have some toast or grab a packet of Supernoodles if I couldn't be bothered!

I love it! From renewing my pretty clipboard and collection of coloured pens and paper to setting my diary out to see who's about each day if the following week. Checking my notes about who's said they fancy what, coordinating it with any special offers or money off vouchers! I do an inventory and use stuff up. I fed 8 of us for many years but we're now just 3 but with regular guests for meals. I'm on a weight loss maintenence plan, DD is very fussy, DD2 and both DSDs are vegetarian but DH is easy to please. I've been doing this for 30 years and find it an hour of real pleasure!

How many of you are there? Divide that number into 28 and ask each family member to come up with that number of meals. Rule is they have to be balanced meals. For littlies you can take the idea and make it a meal yourself.

Then you have 28 meals and can comprise a 4 week menu that incorporates all of them.

Just change maybe one meal a week or use different veg etc to vary it.

If they’re going to be fussy then they need to take some responsibility for the planning.

How old are they all?
Wraps?Large salad and then a choice of things to add like cheese,chicken.No carb person just doesn't eat the wrap.
If someone is no carb I would be having a serious chat with them,everyone needs a bit of carbs.

I never meal plan . In fact I very rarely cook a "proper" meal.

I very rarely waste food though too - when I shop I buy a variety of roughly coordinating veg, meat and carbs then make it up as I go along through the week.

Oh my God @MaMisled - you're a bloody saint! 😀 I'm envious!

I don't really plan, just base meals around which thing is likely to go off first and usually decide on the day what to make. I still hate deciding though and DH says he doesnt mind every day

If I had to cook for them, I'd cook a few things like a chicken, a pasta, make a salad, a potato salad or potato bake (dauphinoise), and put it all on the table with some wraps and/or bread rolls, and some cheese, and let them help themselves. And then I'd pull it all out of the fridge the next day and the day after that too.

How old are they and how are the preferences divided up? Some of those preferences sound like adult ones, in which case they can sort themselves out.

I don't really plan, there's no point with teens as their plans change like the weather and I never know who'll be in for dinner. I'm vegetarian so keep a stock of frozen veggie grills and veggie sausages in the freezer that I can quickly cook for a quick meal with some salad. I make sure I have plenty of frozen chicken breasts, mince and pork chops, so can make quick meals for the teens, things like curry, spag Bol, stir fry, etc. Stock up on staples like passatta, dried pasta, garlic, baked beans, that way there's always something you can cook quickly.

I used to enjoy it but now hate it due to years of dealing with restricted diets. I find it easy for DD and I but factor in DH and DS meals it's just fucking stressful!

DS won't eat;
Meat except sausages and bacon
Fruit or vegetables (even potato)
Eggs
Cheese (unless melted on toast)
Wet foods like soup/curry/sauce
"Soggy" foods like pasta/rice/noodles
Fish (except fingers 🤔)

DH won't eat;
Fruit or vegetables
Can't eat too much pasta due to IBS
Fish

DD and I will eat pretty much anything so it's frustrating for us as we don't have an unlimited budget!

How about this

Day 1: black bean chilli with cornbread/cauliflower rice)
Day 2; Veg curry with cauliflower rice
Day 3; ramen soup (with wholemeal and courgette noodles), veg, meatballs for the meat eaters
Day 4; jacket potatoes with beans/cheese
Day 5; baked, breaded cauliflower florets with sweet potato wedges
Day 6: broccoli and Stilton soup with wholemeal cheese scones
Day 7: roasted, stuffed butternut squash with roast potatoes, stuffing, veg, etc

I enjoy it. But then we all eat most things, so I guess that makes it a lot easier.

How old are the DC? Can you go hard core on the restrictions?

Could you just make one meal and offer something very simple for the refuseniks?

@mamisled please can you do mine? Or post yours for a few weeks please. I too hate doing this especially when DH then arrives home with a shopping bag full of things he fancies! To be fair mine eat anything bar the youngest who is a tomato phobe - including on pasta!