weekly menu plans??

[tanni_83]

Does anyone set up a weekly menu plan before you go shopping so you know what you're having for dinner every night of the week

Now that my dh is on dayshift (woot :smiliedance: ) he's home every night for dinner and im struggling for proper meals to make each night that we dont usually have. Some variety is needed.

Any ideas would be great. Thanks :wave:

[Qube]

Yep, the day before I go shopping I write out about 10 meals (DH makes requests) and that usually lasts a fortnight because we go out and DH works late some nights.
But I don't assign particular meals a definate day, I see what i feel like out of the 10 until we are finished and ready for more shopping.
But it has taken some organising to make sure I get everything I need for every recipe and then I have to make sure I use the stuff that may go off first, then cupboard meals :thumbsup:

[sasa]

Yep I do too, I usually make a list of 12 meals (allowing for a couple of slack nights for something easy or takeaway a fortnight)
and then write my shopping list even down to how many rashers of bacon I will need - how many chicken breast etc..

It works really well and I rarely have to run to the shop to get something I need to make a particular meal.. I do have a lit upstairs of the meals but for now I will just write some of the top of my head cause I am preggy and lazy lol

Shepards Pie and Veg
Bacon, mushroom pesto pasta with garlic bread
Chicken stew and mash
Tuna mornay (pasta or rice)
Quiche and salad
Tacos - Burritos or those new crispy chicken soft tacos mmm I love them!
Rissoles and Veg and gravy
A roast with cauliflower bake
Chicken schnitzel and ceaser salad
Marinated chicken wings and fried rice - or chicken kebabs
Spaghetti bolognese
Crumbed fish, salad and coleslaw or pasta salad
Satay chicken and rice
Smoked cod, vegies and white sauce
Lasagne and salad and or garlic bread
Chops and vegies
Chicken kiev and veg or salad
Salmon rissoles and salad
Homemade pizza
Silverside veg and white sauce
Chicken or beef stir fry with hokien noodles

ahh thats about it for now I think, if you want any recipes just let me know! Good luck!

[SassyMummy]

I do... I figure out the dinner menu for hte week ahead and then buy accordingly. Makes shopping easier IMO... I write my shopping list into "sections" too...

Meat
Deli/Seafood
Fridge
Pantry
Breads and Cakes
Fruit and Veg
Freezer

It's easier to remember things on the list when it's in categories.

I go to www.taste.com.au and flog recipes from there sometimes. You can put in the ingredients you want and get recipes containing those ingredients too... so say you want chicken and peas... you'd type:

+chicken +peas

And say you wanted chicken and peas but not chilli...you'd go:

+chicken +peas -chilli

You can also advance search and pick low fat/low GI/low kJ/budget/kid friendly/etc etc recipes too... I do budget a lot of the time. :p

I just go through, save all the ones I like to bookmarks/favourites... then go back through them, delete enough to make sure there's only 5-7 dinner recipes (allowing for room for leftovers/take away/slack days/etc), and then put them all under the heading of "Next Weeks Dinners."

Then go through my fridge, freezer and pantry (often mentally) and see what I need to buy... then write out my list. Then rewrite it into categories. Easy. :p

[mum_inlove]

I do, too. I only start doing it for the past 3 months and it saves us money as we only buy what we need.

I also make my shopping list like Sassymummy, divide in to different sections.

Now that we have 2 bubbas, I look on the internet for easy recipes, most of them that I can just throw in together and chuck it in the oven for like an hour or something so that I can do other things while it cooks.

Normally we'll have:
*Grilled marinated lamb with salad and dinner rolls,
*Chicken tandoori with coconut rice,
*Steak and vegies,
*steamed or bake fish with some tomato salsa,
*silverside with roast vegies
*roast with vegies
*Creamy pasta with garlic prawn or chicken.

I also like to try new recipes so that we don't get bored eating the same stuff:thumbsup:

Oh and Sasa, your meal list sounds delicious!

[Lastcenturymum]

I used to. I typed up some spreadsheets, planned the meals and had a column for fruit shop/butcher/supermarket and checked I had other stuff in the pantry before I shopped.

It used to work well, I knew what I was having and it saved time.

Now I figure out who is home, if I feel like cooking and what is easiest!!

[punkbaby]

We have a variety but over a fortnight this is pretty much what we have

Spag and meatballs
Vegie souvalakis/wraps
Fried Rice
Pasta (a few times)
Take out once a fortnight pizza or fish and chips or chinese
Beef Strogganoff
Chops and 3 veg
Snags and 3 veg
Roast lamb
Vegie bake
Vegetarian shepards pie
Vegie Lasagne
Stir Fry
sweet and sour beef
fish and salad
Salad with corned beef
Easy meals prob 2 times a fortnight are either noodles,toasted sandwiches, those pasta alfredo thingies ors pagetti or baked beans on toast or eggs on toast

In summer we have lots of bbqs kebabs hamburgers etc snags etc that sort of thing

[sasa]

Yep I too write my list the same every week in sections..

Meat
fruit and veg
Cold items
frozen items
pantry items
cleaning/toiletry stuff

I have been wiritng my list the same for ages and write it in an exercise book with the big list of meals at the front, so I can look back what I got in previous weeks and look at the meal list to give me ideas/reminders of what to make.
And i use super food ideas mags for new ideas heaps!

Helps too that I always do my shopping at the same woolies and know it back to front, so I tend not too miss things on my list much anymore.. I am so glad I started doing this, fortnightly shopping is soo much better than weekly!!

[tanni_83]

Thanks everyone...ill have to write something on the weekend ready for shopping on monday :thumbsup:

[RainbowStars]

It is so much easier planning ahead, rather then thinking at the last minute - what do i want to cook tonight? I find that if i leave it to the last minute i am more likely to get take out. When shopping i am also more likely to buy things i don't need, and things that never end up being used. So a 7 day meal plan is the way to go :thumbsup:

Heres a heap of suggestions:
Roast (chicken, beef etc)
Kebabs
Steak
Shepherds pie
Devilled Sausages
Chicken Snitzel
Chicken parmigana
Chicken Kiev
Burrito Wraps
Rissoles
Fried Rice
Home made pizzas
Vegetable triangles
Quiche
Macaroni Cheese
Lasagne
Ravioli
Chicken fettucini
Creamy Chicken and Vegetable Pasta
Chicken and Vegetable pasta bake
Spaghetti Bolognase
Chicken caesar salad


Stirfry:
Sweet and Sour Pineapple Pork/chicken
Sweet and Sour Plum pork/chicken
Mongolian Lamb
Creamy Thai Chicken
Honey Mustard Chicken
Honey, sesame and Garlic
Country Fresh chicken
Lemon Chicken
Honey, soy and Garlic

I am a huge fan of the chicken tonight/kan tong jars, and also those recipe bases from continental, maggi, masterfoods etc. They give a little bit of inspiration!

[BoyCrazy]

wow :thumbsup:

i now have my next month's supply of food ideas!!!

thanks heaps girls!!!

[monkeytoes]

I do... I figure out the dinner menu for hte week ahead and then buy accordingly. Makes shopping easier IMO... I write my shopping list into "sections" too...

Meat
Deli/Seafood
Fridge
Pantry
Breads and Cakes
Fruit and Veg
Freezer

It's easier to remember things on the list when it's in categories.




Yep - another list-freak here too:p I do it the same as SassyMummy.
I don't think I would be able to get a healthy meal on the table every night if I didn't do this!!

[sja]

Try looking through the supermarket catalogues when you make your meal plan - that way you can base your meals on the meat and vegies that are on special that week. Also write your meal plan on the back of your shopping list so that if the shop's out of something or has a similar ingredient on special, you can see if you can swap ingredients.

[RainbowStars]

Try looking through the supermarket catalogues when you make your meal plan - that way you can base your meals on the meat and vegies that are on special that week. Also write your meal plan on the back of your shopping list so that if the shop's out of something or has a similar ingredient on special, you can see if you can swap ingredients.

Yep thats another great idea too :yes: