Wednesday, September 16, 2009

What's for Dinner?


I'm feeling pretty good today because it is 11:00 a.m. and I already know what we are having for dinner! Most days it doesn't work quite like this at my house. Usually around 3:30 I start looking through the cupboards to see what we can throw together. I call Bruce a lot and have him stop by the grocery store on the way home from work to get a few things. We end up having our "regulars quite a bit: tacos, taco soup, french dip sandwiches, sweet and sour chicken, pizza, and I admit it..cold cereal or oatmeal!

I decided to be more organized and try some type of meal planning. I've planned out meals weeks at a time before and then done one big shopping trip but for some reason it didn't work too well. Does anyone have a marvelous way they plan out menus? Or does anyone actually plan out menus?

I found this idea at littlenannygoat that you should check it out. If only I could think of 30 meals that my family will actually eat!

6 comments:

Brittney Q. said...

I think I'm like you usually, but maybe a little worse. I don't usually know what we're having for dinner until right before I start cooking it. We've tried meal plans before, but then I never felt like eating the meal on the day we planned it.

Deb said...

I print out a dinner a day on our family calendar and then choose from those for each day - just because it's written for today doesn't mean it will get eaten today - maybe we've already had that dinner and maybe we'll have it in 2 weeks. I like only doing one trip a month to the grocery store although we generally do a lot more. We have milk delivered which helps us not run to the store as much. Good luck with meal planning. It can be very liberating. . . :)

Christy said...

Hey Valerie, I found your blog from Stacy's comments :) I am the same way with the meal planning thing. It seems like if I plan ahead I end up "not feeling like" the dinner I was supposed to make :) Good luck. I just try to think about it in the AM if I can to give me time to defrost, etc.

Carla Geddes said...

Went onto the nannygoat website after reading your blog... love the idea... I think once we are moved into our new place and settled, I am definitely going to try get my 30 recipes together... every night, at dinner time, it's "what should we have for dinner tonight?" - and obviously by that time, nothing is thawed etc. I really need a better plan, cos my poor husband has a slacker wife in the dinner department.

Cami Graham said...

Call me crazy-but I have my menu planned out for a year. It's easier than you think. Then again, you have to feed bruce. I've taught this method to my relief society, several have tried it and live by it now. I'll email you my handouts and everything, and you can see if you like it. I never have to wonder what we are having for dinner! I know a year in advance. It was taught to me by Cami Allen from Cove. It saves me so much time, but mostly money. I shop a month at a time and prevent all those stops at the grocery store (or at least Kevin's stops). I just love it!

Cami Graham said...

Second comment. I looked at that nanny goat thing-I would get so bored of cooking and eating the same 30 meals! My plan is way better! We eat maybe 1 or 2 of the same things every month.