Need advice about Meal planning

[BlackCatinaWoollyhat]

Hi all, How do you all go about meal planning?
I feel I need to get to grips with it as yesterday at dinner time I was in a blind panic about what to cook.
Do you go through your cupboards/freezer and list what you have or do you think " I would like x y z for dinner" and go shopping or is it a mix of both?
Any advice gratefully received.

I sit down on a sunday before i go shopping and write a meal out for every day, i check cupboards etc to see what we have already and then try to make meals out of them, then i stick our meals on the fridge and we know what we're having every day :)

I do a mix of both - look at what you already have then incorporate some meals you would like.

I tend to do a two week meal plan so that I can for example do chilli with rice at the beginning of week one, cook extra and freeze it to have with Jackets on week two.

Also I tend to use one meal as a basis for another, so we will have a roast on Sunday, buy a slightly bigger joint then use the leftovers for curry or a pie the next day. Or bubble and squeeak with leftover veg.

And batch cook, always cook double of things like lasagne / stew/ bolognese and freeze half to bank as a meal later on.

Oh how I wish I could batch cook... Everytime I do, DH just eats it all, or eats enough that there's not enough to bother freezing for another time so I have a bit more as well. No self control

Thanks for the replies. and thanks for the PM MartyrStewart.
I'm going to see what I have in the cupboards/freezer in a minute as I'm fed up of getting stressed at dinner times. I might need to go shopping to add bits to make meals.
Will report back.

Def make a meal planner, look through recipe books/internet for inspiration and try to use things you already have. Then do your shopping for things you need.

You are all set for at least a week and you dont have to think about meal planning again.

Just made a list of what we have, Here goes:

TINS:
Plum tomatoes
baked beans
new potatoes
sliced carrots
sweetcorn
peas
tuna

OTHER:
Pasta
sauces for potato bake
sauces for Lasagne
Lasagne pasta sheets
Potatoes for Mash/boil/or chips

FREEZER:
Mini turkey kievs
fish fingers
quarter pounder beef burgers
cauliflower cheese grills
a few hash browns
pizza fingers
onion rings
microwave fries

Frozen veg:
broccoli
diced onion
broccoli & cauli cheese
mediteranean veg
mushrooms
garlic

Fridge:
cheese
Nice Ham

Any suggestions?

I keep a list in the kitchen of what I have in the freezer and also what I need to use up from the fridge. We then decide what we want by combining the two.

Misskitty- DP does the same! Made a hotpot the other day that should have fed four at least- I had a normal sized portion, he scarfed so much that all that was left was a half sized portion that I gave DD for her tea last night with some extra veg and a jacket potato to bulk it out. It was a FULL casserole dish so I reckon it should have done enough for two meals. I try to take it as a compliment ;)

I had the problem of DH scarfing more than he should so when ready I dish out onto plates and then immediately box up the left overs and pop them in the fridge to cool down before labelling and freezing. Has helped a hundred fold.

I have built up over the last year six weeks of menu plans and they link into each other so I can use up stuff, so in essence 3x2 weeks. I don't have specific meals for specific days but seven meals that I can do depending on what sort of day it is.

I have a few slow Cooke meals and at least two veggy meals a week as well.

I have a small white board in the kitchen and use this to plan one week ahead. Everyone can see what's written down. This normally stops the other half snaffling bacon / chicken etc from the fridge as he can see it's needed later in the week.

I go to the farmers' market on a Saturday morning, so I check what's left in the fridge (not much normally), decided on what I want for the week and then go buy all the ingredients I need. I then normally have a couple of hours making things (bolognaise, fish pie or just jointing meat) and freeze what's needed.

I have to remember is to check my board before I go to bed so that stuff can be defrosted if required.

It has saved me a fortune and meant a much less stressful week.

Do you have any salad or bread in? What herbs and spices do you have?

You could have burgers in buns with salad and some onion rings.

You only need to buy mince to make the lasagne.

The kievs or fishfingers with the microwave chips.

A tuna pasta bake. Cook some pasta. Fry some onion, garlic, add tin tomatoes, a few herbs(basil, oregano, or mixed herbs), stir in tuna. Mix tomato/tuna with cooked pasta. Put in casserole dish & top with some grated cheese and put in the oven until the cheese browns. If you made a lasagne and had any white sauce left over you could put this on the top before you add the cheese.

I like to spend hours some time going through my cook books on Sunday evenings. DD has started joining me too.

I then decide on some things to cook and try to marry them up with what is happening on what days (for example the days I know we will all be eating at different times).

But I realise I stick to the same old same old and I need to break out.

Might start a thread asking people for their best recommendations.

What's the potato bake sauce like, a cheesey/white sauce.

You could do mushrooms, ham, then mix it with the bake sauce and potatoes(not tinned ones). Have with salad or some broccoli. If frozen mushrooms give off water as they cook/defrost I'd do that first then add them to everything else.

Those cauliflower grills would go well with beans, or potatoes and some veg.

The Potato Bake sauce is by Homepride, it is Garlic & Herb flavour. It is creamy white colour.

Thanks for all your suggestions.