Do you plan meals and menus ahead?

1. 89

   Rochelle Frankposted 12 years ago

   Do you plan meals and menus ahead?
   
   How do you do it? Does it save time and/or money?

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2. 69

   veggie-momposted 12 years ago

   Yes! I'm the cook in the family, but grocery shopping does not always fit well in my schedule. So, I prepare a grocery list weekly for my husband (stay at home dad) and children to go when it's convenient for them.
   
   Having them shop during the day saves time for sure, as the grocery store is less busy during the week than on the weekends and having the list definitely helps us to save money.
   
   Sometimes my meal planning thoughts are a bit scattered, but I definitely plan a variety of meals. Thursday nights are always pizza night (toppings vary greatly). I also usually plan for some type of stir fry (switching up vegetables, noodles, rice, etc.), a Mexican dish (burritos, fajitas, tacos, etc.), a pasta night (lasagna, alfredo & linguini, traditional spaghetti or bowties), sometimes I plan for a quiche or pot of soup/stew and then I always have something super simple like veggie burgers and fries for nights that I need a break from the kitchen.
   
   I've written up quite a few of these recipes already as hubs and as a newer member of HubPages I am finding that my creative energy in the kitchen has returned giving me lots of motivation to cook new foods and write about them!

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3. 66

   Claudia Telloposted 12 years ago

   Yes, I almost always plan meals and menus ahead, that is a much quicker way to go grocery shopping and buying everything you need instead of running back and forth to the store every time you forget or need something else; plus, I avoid buying too much stuff and having to throw out rotten food latter, which means it does save money.

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4. 67

   thebiologyofleahposted 12 years ago

   I love to cook but hate to food shop so yes I meal plan, I try to stock up on canned goods that I know I use often in recipes and in addition I meal plan so that I can go to the grocery store less. Plus if I meal plan for two weeks get everything for the first week, then the non-perishables for the second week's meal I can ask my boyfriend to go to the grocery store the second week to just pick up fruits, veggies and meat.
   For me the time saver is the big thing but it probably does save me money as well. Like veggie-mom says sometimes it's not a full recipe but it's common ingredients I know I can throw together and we as well almost always have a homemade pizza night so I make sure to always have those ingredients on hand. I do try and use recipes that overlap in ingredients so they use up items. As well things that will go together as leftovers.

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5. 60

   penladyposted 12 years ago

   Yes I do.  What I do is plan in my mind what I want to cook for the week while making out my grocery list.  I consider the ingredients that are needed for each meal, and put all of this on my list.

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   1. 89

      Rochelle Frankposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Simple and direct, as it should be.

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6. 81

   Wesman Todd Shawposted 12 years ago

   I don't.
   
   I tend to purchase the same kinds of things - with only some very small amounts of things that I'm wanting to experiment with.
   
   I like finding new combinations of ingredients that wind up being wonderful.  I'm also very into sauce....there are lots of great red sauces out there, and I want to try all of them.

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7. 47

   DDEposted 11 years ago

   I don't plan meals and menus ahead  I enjoy a good meal daily with creative ideas

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