Anyone back meal planning

[lastqueenofscotland]

Now Christmas is out of the way!

Back planning some healthier food for the week!

Tomorrow I’m at a house party so that could be a disaster

Tuesday: veggie sausage and bean casserole with mash and green veg.

Wednesday: black bean and veg fajitas

Thursday: lentil and kale dhal and rice

Friday: probably leftover Dahl In jacket potato with salad

So I'm almost 40 and have never done proper meal-planning it's a late New Year's resolution to start! Do you use a note book or an app or something else? Where do you get your inspiration?
We're running the freezer down a bit in January as some stuff in there is a bit old, tonight we repurposed some organic burgers as mini sliders as we also had some frozen mini rolls.
I'm pretty much planning on the day, we've several supermarkets and local shops within walking distance so it's not pressing if I don't have a key ingredient in. I just find us having the same stuff again and again!

I LOVE meal planning! It makes life so much easier. When I get home in the evening I don't have to think, just look at my list and get cooking.

I use a notepad and pencil but also have a meal tracker in my sort-of bullet journal which I am finding really helps me avoid cooking the same thing every week (except Friday night pizza)

Tomorrow: quick pasta and tomato sauce for lunch because we're all busy, fajitas for dinner

Sunday: Cottage pie for lunch, soup, cold meats and cheese for supper

Monday: salmon, sauté potatoes, cougettes and lemon butter sauce

Tuesday: jacket potatoes, cheddar and coleslaw

Wednesday: spinach and ricotta canneloni

Thursday: prawn stir fry

Friday: homemade pizza

Some delicious ideas here which I'm going to steal!

Fri: beef & broccoli noodles

Sat: homemade pizza (made my OH & toddler)

Sun: slow cooked pork shoulder, mash, roasted veg and leeks

Mon: (leftover Xmas) turkey (from freezer) risotto

Tues: beef and red lentil chilli (from freezer)

Wed: turkey meatballs (from freezer) with as yet unknown side

Thur: spiced cod curry

Fri:

I too am an obsessive meal planner, IMO it's the only way to eliminate food waste and its so good for the pocket and the planet. It's particularly important for us because we are a family with various different requirements (veggie/pesce/meat-lover) and if I didn't meal plan I'm sure we would eat a lot of beige/freezer food (nowt wrong with that occasionally of course but not every day!).

I do my meal planning just using a note app on my phone, I have a couple of other lists which are crucial for planning and eliminating waste, one is a list of what we have knocking around in the fridge needing to be used up and one is a list of what we have in the freezer. It sounds awfully anal but it doesn't take much effort to maintain these once you have them....

So I start my meal planning with one or two meals which use up anything that is about to go off in the fridge (lots of different recipe websites let you search by ingredient). Then I usually have a couple of cookbooks on the go that I am working through so I will pick one or two recipes from them to try (keeps things fresh and stops us eating the same things over and over). Then the remaining meals will usually be from the freezer - this is also crucial for us and our fussyness because if for instance one of the planned meals is a veggie curry, I can defrost a meaty curry or some supplementary meat for the meat eater to go alongside it (or vice versa).

But with meal planning best thing is to dive in and start, see what works for your family! Best of luck.

LaPufalina

I use a notebook to keep as log as to what I have in the freezer and cupboards.

I then use a week by week dairy to log what we are having and I also make a note on the weekends what I need to prep for the coming week, and anything I need to buy for the following week as I remember.

I also have a simple excel spreadsheet where I keep a record by month what we have eaten but also a list of meals which we all like.

Brilliant, thanks all. Going to steal the excel spreadsheet and inventory ideas, definitely!

I love meal planning, I go through ourfridge and freezer and cupboard to see what we have in and depending what we’re doing that week as well (who’s out, if we have anyone over for dinner), we have a few staple nights (soup on Monday, pizza on Friday, pasta pesto probably at least once) I try and do a new dish one night a week

Tonight: friends over for veggie lasagne and DH is smoking some brisket on the side for the 2 meat eaters, ice cream and heated raspberrries for pud

Tomorrow: out for dumplings

Monday: Thai sweet potato soup
Tuesday: DH sorting him and DC
Wednesday: Middle Eastern bake
Thursday: tapenade cod and rice
Friday: pizza night

All of your meals sound lovely I am definitely stealing ideas!!
I love meal planning and have saved so much doing it! My dc have acitivities during the week and I am a single parent so try to have a couple of cheap meals during the week!!
Monday; homemade sausage roll, roast potatoes and sweet corn

Tuesday; honey and mustard spatchcock chicken with new potatoes and peas

Wednesday; beans on toast

Thursday; pasta in tomato and mushroom sauce with garlic bread

Friday; bacon rolls

Saturday; pizza

Sunday; sausages, roast potatoes, peas, carrots and Yorkshire pudding

I love meal planning threads! Mine aren't particularly healthy but I'm trying to enjoy cooking again and making what I really enjoy is helping.

M: Roast chicken with 3 veg, actifry roasties and home made yorkshire pudds.

T: Leftover chicken, pasta and grilled smoked bacon in a creamy cheesy sauce.

W: Leftover chicken and egg fried rice.

T: Smoked butterbean stew with dumplings and probably some mash too.

F: Toad in the hole with greens and gravy.

S: Runny eggs, actify chips and baked beans.

S: Tuna and veg pasta bake with grated cheese.

Just been planning my meal plan (and shopping list) for the week!

I have quite a lot of food already in cupboards/freezer that I can use so my list is relatively small- I've just added it up though and it's come to £34.72, that'll get me to end of Friday! I swear food shopping is getting more expensive? I usually use Morrisons myself.

I'm not eating dairy at the moment and I only eat fish not meat so that's why there's none in this weeks plan..

Monday
Dinner- plain frozen fish filet (basa) w/ broccoli and peas, tomato ketchup.
Going food shopping tomorrow evening hence why the dinner is so boring

Tuesday
Lunch- avocado on wholewheat toast w/ tomato.
Dinner- jacket potato w/ beans and side salad.

Wednesday
Lunch- half a pot of fresh tomato soup w/ a frozen wholemeal dinner roll (baked in the oven obviously!)
Dinner- homemade bolognese sauce w/ quorn mince, spaghetti and a side salad.

Thursday
Lunch- avocado on toast again with tomato.
Dinner- leftover bolognese this time w/ wholewheat pasta and broccoli.

Friday
Lunch- finish off the pot of tomato soup with another bake in oven roll.
Dinner- plain frozen fish filet (basa) w/ broccoli and green beans, tomato ketchup.

Saturday
Lunch- either half a pot of an M&S soup or something from the cupboards.
Dinner- wholewheat noodles w/ stir fry veg, canned tomatoes.

Sunday
Lunch- same as Saturday probably!
Dinner- homemade macaroni cheese w/ spinach and broccoli on the side.

I've had to knock a tenner off my food budget this week as I've run out of my facewash and night moisturiser. They last me longer than a month though so it's okay :)

Wow! Some of these meals you guys are planning looks amazing, much more exciting than mine!

@2anddone your meal for Thursday sounds like my kind of heaven!😍🍝🍝🍝

Following

Today: lentil chilli and wedges
Tomorrow: pizza from Asda counter
Sunday: mezze
Monday: chippy chips with a friend following a mad fell run with a head torch, if we don’t fall off a hill and die
Tuesday: laska with rice noodles
Wednesday: Moroccan vegetable tagine with rice
Thursday: vegan chilli Mac

Tonight: Thai spicy aubergine and pad Thai
Tomorrow: tapenade crusted cod with rice
Sunday: Bangers and mash
Monday: vegan Cullen skink (trying a recipe ahead of burns night)
Tuesday: DH sorts kids
Wednesday: lentil veggie bake
Thursday: easy pasta pesto
Friday: BURNS NIGHT! Traditional and vegan versions of Cullen skink, haggis neeps and tarries, cranachan

Tomorrow- sausage meatball, veg pasta
Sunday- out
Monday- jacket potato, cheese and beans
Tuesday- chilli and rice
Wednesday- Mac cheese and salad
Thursday- beef stew
Friday- pad Thai

I'd like to join. Stopped meal planning for quite a while but if I have to have another, "I don't know, what would you like?" conversation that goes nowhere, I may have to get a divorce

S - oxtail stew
S - pork belly roast
M - prawn and chorizo pasta
T - veg Thai curry
W - salmon parcels & veg
T - lasagne
F - eating out

This week in no particular order: A mixture of old favourites and new recipes

sticky seame tofu recipe from Bosh book (not had before but it looks lovely) - with rice and stir fried garlic and ginger asparagus and sugar snaps

cheese and shallot tart from The Green Roasting Tin book - with rocket & red onion salad

Veggie chilli with wedges and guac

Veggie spag bol

Cauliflower, chickpea and spring greens with tahini - Green Roasting Tin book (new recipe) - with flatbreads

Fish fingers, chips and peas (bad vegetarian!)

@RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie I ❤️ the Roasting Tin Books!

I've never heard of the green roasting tin books, they sound good! I'm trying to get more vegetarian meals onto our plan but this week wasn't a good one as we had stuff to use up...

Mon: salmon burgers
Tues: macaroni cheese
Weds: lamb and barley hotpot
Thurs: meatball and pepper gratin
Fri: pizza night for the kids, we are out eating haggis
Sat: chicken & chorizo traybake

I plan breakfast and lunch every day too (DH comes home for lunch). At least I only have to think about it all one day a week!

Love a bit of meal planning, stops me wandering aimlessly around Aldi and either ending up buying about 3 days worth of meals for the week or about 17 days worth.

Today: Spinach and ricotta cannelloni
Monday: Burritos
Tuesday: Roast chicken and veg
Wednesday: Risotto with the leftover chicken
Thursday: Crustless quiche with new potatoes
Friday: Chicken and veg soup (more leftover chicken) and rolls

I buy and roast up two chickens so plenty of leftovers for lunches and dinners, it's not one magical mumsnet chicken that does 20 meals :)

Tonight: DP is cooking, god knows he hasn’t decided yet
Tomorrow: out
Sunday: gnocchi bake with spicy tomato sauce and vegan pesto
Monday: mejadra. Not had it for ages I’m so excited
Tuesday: tomato and herb farro bake
Wednesday: jacket with beans and salad
Thursday: lentil spag Bol

I'm just starting again this week after getting out of the habit for ages.
This week is.
Fri-haggis, neeps and tatties, I'm live in Scotland!
Sat- fridge food, there's lots of cheese, cold meats, salads, pickles etc.
Sun- Pulled pork rolls with coleslaw.
Mon- Tuna and artichoke pasta bake.
Tues-Sausages and roast veg
Weds- Fish, chips and mushy peas.
Thurs- Thai salmon curry with rice and green veg.

Sunday: build your own salad bar
Monday: Thai green curry and tofu
Tuesday: DH sorts DC, I’ll have celeriac and butternut squash soup
Wednesday: pasta pesto
Thursday: home made vegan burger with mixed potato wedges
Friday: Chinese fried rice with silken tofu