Do You Meal Plan?

Cuz i do not.

I've thought about it.
I've researched it... a bit. 
But i still haven't done it.
Anyhow, BIG busy summer coming up!
(I say summer whilst thinking- wth is it still so cold outside?? And, though perennials are peeking up... no trees are budding.  Read: Big Sky Country is now known as Big Cloudy Sky Country. ~sigh~)

I thought having a meal plan might make things easier during this time. Can you, my readers please help me?

What site or program would you suggest i use to build a meal plan?
-I would ideally like it to collect its own grocery list for me to print off.
-Will i be able to add things (dishes/foods) we already enjoy into the meal plan??
-Can i input the activities we have to do during the week? Ie; Soccer, Camp etc.

I'd love to hear your suggestions~


Comments

Catherine Dabels said…
I meal plan but not as intense as it seems you are looking for. I have my fave cook books and websites and I come up with a weeks worth of meals and then i make a list.

That's about it. I'll be interested to see what this post comes up with. good luck.
May 9, 2011 at 12:21 PM
Dana said…
I use BigOven to organize my own recipes, and I've tried using it for meal planning, but I found it too annoying because I don't really stick to the plan. It's more of a guide.
May 9, 2011 at 12:58 PM
Keri said…
Allrecipes has one, and wovenfare has one. I know there are many others, but those are the ones I know off the top of my head. I think you would like wovenfare.
I meal plan, but I just keep a list of our most frequent meals in the pantry. We build the list for the week based on ingredients on hand, on sale, and our plans for the week. Alot of carry over happens (like bbq an extra 2 chicken breasts to use on the pita pizzas the next night).
I honestly don't think I could function without making a meal plan - my kids would eat cereal every night!
May 9, 2011 at 12:59 PM
Lee Ann said…
I do it the old fashioned way. Pen, paper and a cuppa.once a week I check the freezer and cupboards, see what we have. Choose what we are going to eat for each night then break it down into whatwe need to buy. As I have just checked our cupboards etc I know we may already have some if the ingredients.

I like to do it weekly so I can plan for easy dinners if I have a long day at work or somewhere to be .

I always have an "emergency tea/dinner" in the freezer, that can be cooked from frozen. Something that I can slam in the oven if a day runs away with me. This happens every week lol .

I don't even have a fancy menu board just a scrap of paper that kicks about all week .

It definitely makes life easier, not getting to 3pm and suddenly thinking oh what's for tea tonight!!

Good luck, just go for it ! x
May 9, 2011 at 3:37 PM
Joanna McCallum said…
I am with Lee Ann. The new job has brought on a higher level of organization for me and Andre won't tolerate eating take out crap for dinner (nor do I frankly). Pen, paper, sale flyers and cupboards. I also make lots for the freezer (chili, spag sauce, sheps pie, lasagna) for days I know that dinner will not be the gourmet experience I would like it to be.
May 9, 2011 at 4:40 PM
Rebecca said…
I like flexibility. I plan that I'll have chicken 2 days a week, and hamburger 1 day of the week, then some 'throw it in the oven or microwave' night and then fish 2 days. The other night is something that we either have delivered or go out to eat.

Then I have plenty of frozen veggies on hand and pasta sauces. I have spices that I marinate the chicken in and bread crumbs/cornflake crumbs to bread the chicken in if I'm so inclined.

So, while I don't have a plan, I have a general idea.
May 9, 2011 at 7:25 PM
Mom vs. the boys said…
oh man, I tried once it, it lasted two weeks. I'm not cut out for it
May 9, 2011 at 8:09 PM
Fourdayshome said…
Check out Jill's site - she's been doing the same thing! http://mealplan-it.blogspot.com/
May 10, 2011 at 8:58 AM
melanie said…
We don't meal plan at our place either. We both seem to just cook a lot and our fridge is always full of things to eat. We tend to make big pots of things and then the Mister takes them for lunch and there is always something frozen in the freezer if I didn't get around to making lunch for M & I (and increasingly F who is now loving solids). I think part of it is because of our diet - we don't eat meat or dairy - so we make all our own food (including bread, almond milk etc.) and have just gotten into the habit of it. I suspect that when the girls are older and I go back to work we will have to start some sort of meal planning.
May 10, 2011 at 9:21 AM
Heather said…
meal planning is something I've wanted to do but it just seems like such an overwhelming task. I like flying by the seat of my britches. If you figure it out let me know!
May 10, 2011 at 9:57 PM
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