Menu Planning

My style is to plan a rough week's menus. I like to cruise through all
my newest recipes and ideas from here, magazines (gourmet, bon appetit,
etc), freinds, and a few of my favorite cookbooks to get my gastroomic
juices flowing.

I usually come up with about half a dozen entrees that tempt my taste
buds. I also ask for input from my BF and daughter. Once i have some
main dish ideas, I think about possible sides and jot down ideas for
the dinner menus. The sides are usually rough - salad, composed salad,
grain, veggie - and then I look at what's fresh at the store.

I do not designate what day I'm going to eat each meal; in the morning
I take a look at the week's ideas and see what tickles my fancy. If
it's on the menu, perfect. I know I've got the ingredients. If nothing
sounds good, I may stop on the way home to get ingredients for
something else, or I may modify what's on the menu. But what this does
is give me ideas before I leave for work so that when I get home, I've
got direction. My tired mind desn't need to kick in, I can just relax
and cook.

Lunches and breakfatsa are done the same way. Ideas and ingredients are
purchased but not deisgnated by day.

I usually do a "big" grocery shopping every 7 to 10 days, and make
stops for fresh produce or ingredients about 2 to 3 times between big
shopping trips.

Jude said:

My style is to plan a rough week's menus. I like to cruise through all
my newest recipes and ideas from here, magazines (gourmet, bon appetit,
etc), freinds, and a few of my favorite cookbooks to get my gastroomic
juices flowing.

I may preplan ONE meal based on a cookbook or magazine per month, not
week. Most of the time I cook by the seat of my pants. I buy what
appeals to me and cook what I want to put together when it's time to
make a meal. What appeals to me on Monday most likely won't even be
on the radar screen by Thursday.
--

Practice safe eating. Always use condiments.

I shop for food once a week. I plan my meals, but not the order I'll eat
them in. I usually cook a big, freezable meal once a week. A pasta
sauce, a soup, a stew, or a tajine. I guess curries would be great, too.
New territory to explore, for me. Should try that soon.

During the week, I defrost some things for the days when I won't have
time to cook before going to the gym. Some days are meals away from
home, but those are rare. Any days left are a joy: I get to cook
something fresh and I have time to put into cooking. I do plan those
meals as part of the weekly plan. Since I typically need fresh veg etc
for them, they tend to be cooked within the first couple of days after
the weekly run to the grocery store.

Lunch and breakfast tend to be roughly the same in style most of the
time,e usually they are sandwiches. Since they are habits, I don;t think
of shopping for them as planned shopping. Although technically, they are
planned, really.

I like it this way, Planning ahead means I won't have much waste, which
is always a risk in a one-person household. And I don't have to spend
much time shopping.

Yes, I use a list.

jake said:

Yes, I use a list.

are there really people who go grocery shopping without lists of any kind?
--

saerah

http://anisaerah.blogspot.com/

email:
anisaerah at s b c global.net

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sarah bennett said:

jake said:

Yes, I use a list.

are there really people who go grocery shopping without lists of any kind?

I hardly ever see any esle in the store use one.

jake <[email hidden]> wrote in
news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

sarah bennett said:

jake said:

Yes, I use a list.

are there really people who go grocery shopping without lists

of any

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

kind?

I hardly ever see any esle in the store use one.

If I'm following a new recipe I make a list. If I'm just
resupplying I make a list. I have a great memory, it's just short.

Andy

Andy said:

jake <[email hidden]> wrote in
news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

sarah bennett said:

jake wrote:

>Yes, I use a list.

are there really people who go grocery shopping without lists

of any

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

kind?

I hardly ever see any esle in the store use one.

If I'm following a new recipe I make a list. If I'm just
resupplying I make a list. I have a great memory, it's just short.

Andy

🙂

I'll tell you a secret about my list: I have a general list saved on
the computer, with all the items I buy regularly or semi-regualry.
Sorted by aisle. I print it out, circle what I need when something is
used up and use it when walking around the store. It saves about 15 mins
per visit to the store, compared to the pre-printed-list-days. It also
saves me from buying things I don't need.
The list also has a section for the meals I intend to cook, just to
remind myself of what I meant be cooking in case I suddenly want to
change a meal. Then those names help me figure out what to add/take off
the list.
Food shopping has become much more relaxed.

Heather wrote about planning menus:

Quoted message said:

I can't, my schedule is so unpredictable. It's easier in the winter when I
have fewer things going on, but once summer hits I'm lucky if I'm home for
dinner more than twice a week. I usually shop and get the basics and the
things I'm in the mood for and try to work them together or I'll have a
few ideas of what I am wanting to make.

Summer is unpredictable for me also, but for a different reason: What I eat
on a given summer night will most often depend on what looked best at the
farmer's market that day.

Bob

"jake" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...
snip

Quoted message said:

I'll tell you a secret about my list: I have a general list saved on the
computer, with all the items I buy regularly or semi-regualry. Sorted by
aisle. I print it out, circle what I need when something is used up and
use it when walking around the store. It saves about 15 mins per visit to
the store, compared to the pre-printed-list-days. It also saves me from
buying things I don't need.
The list also has a section for the meals I intend to cook, just to remind
myself of what I meant be cooking in case I suddenly want to change a
meal. Then those names help me figure out what to add/take off the list.
Food shopping has become much more relaxed.

Me too. I have my list arranged according to the stores where I generally
get the item. The list also has the parts numbers or sizes for furnace
filters, printer ink cartridges, vacuum cleaner bags etc. Since the list is
kept on the computer, I just add to it as needed and take away as purchased.
I just highlight in bold when I need to get something this week. Makes
everything so much easier. Particularly the purchase of herbs/spices that
are getting low and I know I have to purchase soon. I never get to the food
co-op and remember sage when it really was thyme that I needed. I've had
people come up to me and shake their computer grocery lists near mine and
say 'I've got one of those too!'
Janet

Janet Bostwick said:

"jake" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...
snip

Quoted message said:

I'll tell you a secret about my list: I have a general list saved on the
computer, with all the items I buy regularly or semi-regualry. Sorted by
aisle. I print it out, circle what I need when something is used up and
use it when walking around the store. It saves about 15 mins per visit to
the store, compared to the pre-printed-list-days. It also saves me from
buying things I don't need.
The list also has a section for the meals I intend to cook, just to remind
myself of what I meant be cooking in case I suddenly want to change a
meal. Then those names help me figure out what to add/take off the list.
Food shopping has become much more relaxed.

Me too. I have my list arranged according to the stores where I generally
get the item. The list also has the parts numbers or sizes for furnace
filters, printer ink cartridges, vacuum cleaner bags etc. Since the list is
kept on the computer, I just add to it as needed and take away as purchased.
I just highlight in bold when I need to get something this week. Makes
everything so much easier. Particularly the purchase of herbs/spices that
are getting low and I know I have to purchase soon. I never get to the food
co-op and remember sage when it really was thyme that I needed. I've had
people come up to me and shake their computer grocery lists near mine and
say 'I've got one of those too!'
Janet

Are you saying I am normal? I thought I was obsessivey well -roganized!

"jake" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

snip

Quoted message said:

Are you saying I am normal? I thought I was obsessivey well -roganized!

Well, heck! I didn't go overboard and say normal, I just wanted to let you
know there are a couple more of us around ;o}

Janet

Janet Bostwick said:

"jake" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

snip

Quoted message said:

Are you saying I am normal? I thought I was obsessivey well -roganized!

Well, heck! I didn't go overboard and say normal, I just wanted to let you
know there are a couple more of us around ;o}

Janet

Ok, then I'll say it: we're normal. And clever: we save shopping time so
there is more time for playing (i.e., cooking).

sarah bennett said:

are there really people who go grocery shopping without lists of any kind?

It's a continuum, don't you think? There are people who can't get
through a day without consulting a list, let alone a grocery store.
There are others who never write anything down but have a mental list.
And there are those who only respond to immediate stimuli....

I make a list if I want to follow a particular recipe or if I need
certain things for an event, but nine out of ten times I am listless in
the store. -aem

"aem" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...
snip
but nine out of ten times I am listless in

Quoted message said:

the store. -aem

Low blood sugar?? ;o}

Janet Bostwick said:

"aem" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...
snip
but nine out of ten times I am listless in

Quoted message said:

the store. -aem

Low blood sugar?? ;o}

Good one, but no, I also practice a good rule: eat a little something
before you go grocery shopping. It reduces the number of impulse buys
because you don't have hunger pangs. -aem

"aem" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Janet Bostwick said:

"aem" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...
snip
but nine out of ten times I am listless in

Quoted message said:

the store. -aem

Low blood sugar?? ;o}

Good one, but no, I also practice a good rule: eat a little something
before you go grocery shopping. It reduces the number of impulse buys
because you don't have hunger pangs. -aem

Ain't that the truth!!

On Sat, 11 Feb 2006 05:40:51 GMT, "Edwin Pawlowski" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

"L'Espérance" <[email hidden]> wrote in message

Quoted message said:

I'm envious of those who can sit down and do a week's worth of menus at
a time.

I feel sorry for anyone that plans every part of their life so rigidly.

I can see your point, but when I'm planning menus for a week or two in
advance, it's not rigid -- it's flexible, helpful for shopping, and if
the reality doesn't match the plan, nothing explodes or anything. For
us, since we are usually happy eating whatever is put before us (we
can both cook well), it just eliminates that
what-the-hell-am-I-gonna-make time of some days. And if we decide (as
we did today) to just make quiche instead, we're just as happy.

Basically, it can be a tool of rigidity, or it can just be a
labor-saver, much like a lot of things.

serene

sarah bennett said:

jake said:

Yes, I use a list.

are there really people who go grocery shopping without lists of any kind?

*raises hand*

Some weeks, I plan ahead and have a list, and I like doing it that
way. Lots of times, though (we shop several days a week), we wander
through the store, get what we know we need, and whatever else strikes
our fancy. I guess knowing what we need in our heads could be seen as
having a list of some kind, but y'know.

We know, for instance, that if we don't have them already, we need
cottage cheese or eggs, bread, tomato juice, and coffee (James's
breakfast foods -- I'm not always home to cook it, and he prefers to
have the same thing every day when I'm not). Other than that, we
usually buy a vegetable for that night, a few pieces of fruit, and
whatever else looks good.

Here's what we got tonight. We went there knowing we needed onions
for the quiche.

two onions
two cara cara oranges, 39 cents a pound -- I always buy one or two of
the cheapest oranges, because I love oranges and the cheapest ones are
always so good that it seems silly to pay more
two little cartons of yogurt (cream-top Brown Cow)
a pound or so of raw cashews (lots of vegan creamy things have these
as a base, and I feel like cooking this week)
two pints of strawberries (James's favorites -- weird to have such
sweet strawberries in February)
two peaches
six chocolate truffles (my wife had requested Lindor milk chocolate --
they only had six other flavors, so we got her one of each)
two avocados -- they were 49 cents each and I couldn't resist

serene

serene said:

On Sat, 11 Feb 2006 05:40:51 GMT, "Edwin Pawlowski" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I feel sorry for anyone that plans every part of their life so rigidly.

I can see your point, but when I'm planning menus for a week or two in
advance, it's not rigid -- it's flexible, helpful for shopping, and if
the reality doesn't match the plan, nothing explodes or anything. For
us, since we are usually happy eating whatever is put before us (we
can both cook well), it just eliminates that
what-the-hell-am-I-gonna-make time of some days. And if we decide (as
we did today) to just make quiche instead, we're just as happy.

And for me, maybe 60% of my menus get made. The rest of the ingredients
get rearranged into other dishes, or put off til next week with
ingredients filled in when I shop next. But it gives me a starting
point, and when I come home from work tired, I can think a little
less!!!

aem said:

Janet Bostwick said:

"aem" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...
snip
but nine out of ten times I am listless in

Quoted message said:

the store. -aem

Low blood sugar?? ;o}

Good one, but no, I also practice a good rule: eat a little something
before you go grocery shopping. It reduces the number of impulse buys
because you don't have hunger pangs.

:-) Sometimes, when I want to be decadent, I go hungry on purpose. I get such yummy stuff that way. ;-)

serene