Comments on: P365 - Day 121 (Menu Planning)

By: Posie

Posie — Sat, 05 May 2007 14:35:13 +0000

Okay, well I thought I would reply later but there are so many good comments here that I couldn’t NOT comment! How interesting that someone mentioned Dave Ramsey because at our MOPS meeting yesterday we used some of his principles!! Also a “coupon queen” shared her tips, sale paper websites (sites that coordinate your local sale paper with the sunday coupons) and helped us make coupon organizers. One of her suggestions was to go into your pantry and plan a menu using what was in your pantry - ha! how boring is that but hmm….it might actually save me some money by using what I have. Anyways, I try to plan a week at a time before I shop. I always leave a day for being lazy/rushed schedule, etc…that way I don’t feel pressured to have a meat/veggie/salad meal everyday. I also do the coupon thing and stockpile so that I’m not always going to the store for that day’s dinner..I may not have a need for the 8 bottles of name brand soy sauce but since we use it quickly, it was worth the ten cents a piece that I paid for them (after coupon of course). I also do my majority of shopping at 3 different places: meats & veggies at Kroger, household stuff at Walmart (don’t do coupons there, it’s a pain) and bulk stuff at BJ’s… Buy meat in bulk and freeze and I buy lots of ingredients for fast and easy side dishes… It’s trial and error but stick with what you find most comfortable and within your budget…I tend to take after mom though and I cook for more than our family and I try to do meat, veggie, salad and bread…Maybe if I simplied our meals I wouldn’t be cooking for so long….ha! Good luck!!

By: KME

KME — Fri, 04 May 2007 18:43:54 +0000

Dorothy - I LOVE, absolutely LOVE the way you figure veggies into your regular meal planning. I am doing great with the main dish things (casserole or other main dishes) but I am usually behind on veggies. I tend to throw a salad together at the last minute and call that good enough. I would like to bring some more vegetable dishes into our daily meals. I need to go back and look through the recipes on your list and actually print out the ones I like (and already commented on and promised to make - ha).

Thanks for taking the time to write and share your tips!!

By: KME

KME — Fri, 04 May 2007 18:41:50 +0000

You all are so awesome!! Thanks for sharing tips, ideas and thoughts.

Emily, you’ve inspired me to pull out my stack of magazine clippings and computer printouts and try to make something organized of it. I have some breakfast recipes that I use ALL the time. I need to get them into page protectors and put them into some sort of a small binder. I also want to throw away recipes that I’m not EVER going to use. They don’t take up too much space but they are clutter and unnecessary. I need to go did around in the garage and see if I have a box of extra page protectors on hand.

Thanks!!

By: Emily

Emily — Fri, 04 May 2007 02:21:42 +0000

Congrats on your menu planning, budget and organization! WAy to go! I also LOVE Taste of Home Magazines . . the recipes are great but easy too.

I love collecting recipes off the internet and from others. I had sooooooo many that they were just piling up. One day I brought them all and sat them on the floor in front of me. I then got 3 binders and a ton of sheet protectors. I then put them all in the proctectors in the binders. Now, when I try a new recipe - - if we like it - -it stays in the binder- - if we don’t like it - - in the trash it goes!

By: Dorothy

Dorothy — Thu, 03 May 2007 18:27:29 +0000

Kathy,

I forget sometimes about how many great recipe books I’ve collected over the years. If I can find an afternoon in which to do this, I’ll sit on the sofa with them all spread around me. Then the I start to go through them and make a list of all the meals I know my family love, I’ve just forgotten them lately.

Next, I arrange them with my diary (schedule) in front of me, making sure I don’t pick anything too complicated for busy days etc.

Then I add in the vegies I want us to have, so brassicas x 2 weekly, red/orange vegie x 2 weekly, green leafy vegies x 3 weekly etc until I can see we have a very balanced diet over the course of a month. Yep, if I have the time I can do a month at a time.

Next I go through my cupboards to check what I already have, what I need to buy and make a note in my diary about when to buy fresh stuff.

That’s more or less it. I don’t always stick to the meal plan, it depends. I like to be flexible. When you plan for a month ahead, it’s easier to have a number of options if something unexpected crops up.

Oh, and I like to plan a couple of meals in a month that are for hospitality and another couple planned to easily make double so I can take one to someone. There’s always someone with a dh in hopstial or a new baby or something.

Hope that helps!

By: Cynthia

Cynthia — Thu, 03 May 2007 11:34:20 +0000

Kathy,
I’d LOVE to see the spreadsheets, too. You can NEVER have too many KEWL spreadsheets, imo.

As for the WW meal makeovers. It’s only available with the online membership. I’m planning to pay for that extra membership for only a short time - long enough to transform our favorite recipes.

I make 12 meals each time I go to our Dinners’ Served place. It’s about $16-18 dollars per meal and it feeds all 6 of us with a few left overs for lunch the next day most of the time. I know I can make meals more inexpensively myself, but the thing is when I don’t have time to make a meal at home we pay MORE than that to eat out or order take out. Even purchasing 2 Papa Murphy bake at home pizzas costs me more than the nutritious, home-made meal from Dinners’ Served… So, while it is a little more expensive than cooking from scratch, it’s STILL saving me $$ because I’m faithful to use my meals instead of grabbing chicken, fast food, or pizza on my way home. I simply don’t have time to cook like I used to right now so this service is a blessing to us and since I would have ordered out anyway.. it’s also cheaper.

By: KME

KME — Thu, 03 May 2007 07:30:13 +0000

Lisa - okay, I know people LOVE Dave Ramsey. Can you share more info? What are you doing differently since you started studying his materials? I’ve been meaning to read more from him. Does he have a book or website I can check out? We are in a good budgeting groove right now but that doesn’t mean we wouldn’t benefit from some further help.

Thanks!

By: KME

KME — Thu, 03 May 2007 07:28:29 +0000

Debbie - dh says we can definitely load a link to our Excel spreadsheets. I need to learn how to do that. I LOVE these current set of spreadsheets we’re using. A friend developed them and I adjusted them to fit our budget/recording lifestyle. I’ve already shared them with another friend (who is also using them). Very fun (in a horrible, budgeting sort of way).

By: KME

KME — Thu, 03 May 2007 07:27:00 +0000

Amy - do you get the Quick Cooking ones as well (or whatever they are called now)? I have both and have been getting them for more years than I would like to admit.

Hey, we’re going to be in Mich this summer so let’s be sure and plan a day when we can get together. I want to see your new house!!

By: KME

KME — Thu, 03 May 2007 07:10:53 +0000

Cynthia - what a great idea! I didn’t know Weight Watchers offers that possibility with their membership. How awesome! I must admit the things I am feeding the family these days are a little more than I can eat. I usually stick to the salad and veggies portion of their meal and let them eat the casserole dishes.

How many meals are you doing with Dinners Served? We have Dinners Done and Dinners Ready here (same concept). I think they sound wonderful!!! My friend LOVES them and uses them regularly for her family. It’s too pricy for us right now.

I have to be careful because I don’t eat flour or sugar and if I start baking bread for the family it’s nearly impossible for me to resist.