Do you plan meals and menus ahead?
How do you do it? Does it save time and/or money?
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
I don't plan meals and menus ahead I enjoy a good meal daily with creative ideas
by KimmiS 13 years ago
Do you bother to look at ingredients before you buy things at the grocery store?If you do, are there ingredients that will prevent you from buying?
by Keely Deuschle 11 years ago
Do you plan your meals out in advance or figure it out the day of?I have always been a "day of" meal planner which means quick trips to the store. In the past several months, I've started planning out the meals for the following week on a Friday and then add my ingredients to the grocery...
by Shil1978 14 years ago
Are you the sort of person who always plans ahead, or do you live in the moment? Reasons?
by Kim Lam 13 years ago
What's the first isle you go to when you enter a grocery store?
by h.a.borcich 14 years ago
I am curious where you get your food from.. Do you shop traditional grocery stores or are health food/co-ops the store for you? Do you grow gardens of produce? Do you can or freeze much if you do garden? Do you shop farmers markets rather than grow your own? Where do you get meats from?...
by toomuchmint 12 years ago
Do you buy mint or dandelion greens in a grocery store? Why?
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