How do you plan your meals?

[Mummy_Helen]

Following the other post with an idea for menu planning, I thought we could share how we plan our weekly meals. We might even get some inspiration from each other.

I usually sit down on a sunday (I do my shopping on monday) and think about what I really fancy, whether it be on plan or off plan. Anything I really want, and if it happens to be off plan, I try to make it on plan by changing a few ingredients etc. Last week I had Pizza, Korma, fajitas, beef stroganoff amongst other things and just adjusted the ingredients or substituted one thing for something else. Once I have my meals sorted I make the list of ingredients and then can go shopping.

It really helps me stay on track because I don't ever feel like I can't have something I love to eat.

But I'm interested to see how everyone else works out their weekly meals.

 

[Caramelle]

I generally sit down on Sunday evening and plan our meals. Tis a bit complicated as I eat very little meat (and then only fish), but I cook meat for my husband and daughter. Basically I sit down and try to plan in a number of different types of meats and work from there. For example try to get in a chicken meal, pork meal, fish meal etc. As my diet is primarily vegetarian but my families not I chose meals that are easily adaptable.

Good thread!

Lots of love, Caramelle X X X

 

[dirtydancing]

great thread, has given me some ideas of meal planning, can be hard as my partner has a gluten free diet. Think i need to sit down and plan my meals more, i used to go it a while ago nut stopped and got into lazy habits.

 

[*honey]

Me too a sunday planner. Takes me a while with 1 SW veggie, 1 SW meat eater and 1 fussy meat eater in need of GAINING weight!
I generally have my chart that i made up with days of the week across the top and HE and Breakfast, lunch, dinner, pudding and syns down the side.
I look through the cupboards to see what i have already, and find some meals to use that, i also find old favourites and some new recipes each week from books( not just SW books, i adapt a lot of recipes) I also choose meat dishes that can be quorn adapted for me. Hubby mostly does GREEN with HEB of meat.
I also plan the meals around my working, i work in the morning off in the middle of the day and back to work for the evening, so make dinner at lunch so i just have to re heat. so needs to be something that is happy to be left a few hours.
on nights i dont work, then we have maybe a more complicated, or make and serve imediatly meal. Or something more fancy that needs more time to prepare.
So i make the plan also depending on what HEs a meal may need, which is different for hubby and me, so bit of a jigsaw puzzle making everything fit!
once i have that all done, then make a list of ingredients and stuff for snacks etc i go shopping on my way home from work on a monday.
I drive past a sainsburys, tesco and asda on my way home and have been known to go to all 3!!

There is a pic of my planner here http://www.minimins.com/slimming-world/165322-weekly-meal-ideas.html#post2768594

 

[shell_y]

Honestly, i don't. I just make sure i have plenty of free and superfree food in the house all the time, then i can have whatever i fancy. I have never been one for planning.

 

[lynsey-j]

I do the same - plan my meals on a Sunday and then do my shopping from that. I've also got into the habit of thinking each morning about what I'm going to eat that day. I don't plan it properly but I have an idea about what to have for lunch and tea, plus the syns I will have. I find it helps me keep on track. I'm very bad for going over my syns when I don't plan beforehand.

 

[sarah83]

I do my shopping on a Saturday so tend to plan my week's meals on a Thursday/Friday.
I will go through my recipe collection from here, or some old mags or recipe books and pick a couple of new recipes I'd like to try, then throw in some old favourites as well as some batch cooking out of the freezer.
I don't often get the opportunity for mid-week top-up shops (maybe once a week) so need to make sure I've got enough in at the weekend.
BTW - I rarely stick to my plan lol but there is always enough in to make some variations and it makes me feel in control!

 

[dudette2001uk]

I'm like shell y, I just go to the supermarket and pick up what I think I might fancy for the week and go from there. I live with someone who's not a vegetarian but doesn't eat much meat, and who's generally a faddy eater, so it makes it quite difficult! xxx

 

[ronniejacobs]

i plan on a thursday so i can call butcher on a friday and go to morrisons and butcher after work

 

[Shrimpy]

I'm with Shell_y I don't plan, I just get food in and enjoy it! lol

 

[syren]

I plan my meals for the week , if i can pre-cook something i'll do it the Sunday night and bag & freeze them.. like my turkey sausages that i bring to work for breakfast . I can cook a whole batch the Sunday night and I'm set for the week, just pop them in the microwave. I find the most challenging is planning my snacks so I cut up all my veggies and prepare a fruit tray so when i open the fridge i have a healthy option to choose from. Planning meals is definitely part of a successful regimen..if everything is planned then I don't have to think about my meals and it avoids temptation.

 

[Crazyarmywife]

I'm with Shell_y I don't plan, I just get food in and enjoy it! lol

Me too, I plan meals for my family though and get them in as it helps cost wise but i just buy for myself what i would buy every week things like fruit, veg, lean meat, fish, cheese, milk etc and then i mix and match as and when i fancy. If i want a treat i buy daily as i aint got the willpower to leave them in a cupboard and not eat them all in one go so if i fancy a bar of chocolate i will buy say a kit kat and then spilt it into two give one half to my little one and i will have the other, keeps me in control.

 

[Browsie]

My other half cooks all the tea so I draw up weekly chart with breakfast dinner and tea sections and he fills in the tea bit. Then when I know what I'm having for teas for the week I work out roughly what I'll need to take to work for lunches and snacks (including syns and free food) and make a shopping list up from that. It really helps with SW and I've found it saves money too cause I'm not just picking up loads of random things.

I generally plan what I'm going to eat during the day the night before, so I'll work out if there are any syns / HEX's in my tea. Then write in what I'm going to have for breakfast and lunch and then include snacks. I find that if I do it this way I can happily eat what ever I've got in my lunch box including chocolate / crisps without having to think about it which usually means I don't eat as much.

 

[Kyzi]

I do our shopping online so on a thursday/friday night, i sit down with oh and see what each of us fancy, what weve got on through the week (for quick meals, etc) and what we have in the cupboard and work from there. I just try to do at least 1 new meal every week (we tried the smash pizza last week). And just try and vary each meal.

Can i ask you mummy Helen, what did you use for you tortillas for your fajitas? Weve been craving enchiladas since we started sw but the old el paso ones are just too naughty!

(ive just turned on nigella....am i asking for trouble!)

 

[Littleslimmingbee]

im a monday night planner .. i weigh in wednesdays so my new weeks starts thurs, but have to do my food shop tues eve.


i make my list of meals, one i really fancy! .. then i make a list of the ingrediants i'l need.. as well as checking the cupboards so i dont double buy.. then.. i get really geeky..


i then make a third list, regrouping all my 'ingrediants' into order (dairy, meats, veg) and then in order of how they come up in the store.. for example the first bit i walk into is the fruit and veg, so then i have fruit and veg, then meats, then dairy and eggs, then tins and 'other' items such as fry lights etc.




hehehehe, im a looooser!

 

[Shrimpy]

I group my shopping list just like that Fern. LOL. I thought I was the ONLY loser that did that!

 

[Browsie]

I do that too - saves having to trail right up the supermarket when you've got something out of order on the list - this is why when my other half does the list I always write it out again!!

 

[polly2810]

need to becoma a Sunday planner, more like a drifter maybe try to be more organised, will read all tips thanks

 

[eternity]

I don't plan my meals at all. I just make sure I have all SW foods in then I eat what I fancy at each meal.

 

[Pootler]

I have a spreadsheet with all the days and meals and have it set up to keep a running total of my syns.

On a Friday night, I sit down with the recipe books and plan a couple of main courses that can be frozen. I usually plan one pudding I can make too, pref one that I can freeze. And then I go through and decide what to have for every meal for the whole week, put it in the spreadsheet, and make a shopping list as I go along. We get all the shopping in on Saturday and the diet week starts then too.

And then every day I update the spreadsheet with what I've eaten.

I've never been this organised for a diet before. Never stuck to a diet this long either. I usually only last a couple of days!