Do you make a weekly menu plan? About This Page:

[stretch2864]

I plan meals for the month because I order our groceries online from Welcome to CobornsDelivers.com. As I plan the meals for the month, I make out my grocery list and then order accordingly. I don't like doing a weekly meal plan because we might not necessarily be hungry for certain things on certain days. Knowing what we can make within the month allows for a bit more flexibility. A plus is that our grocery bill has gone way down. We only stop at the regular grocery every 1-2 weeks for staples like milk, eggs and fruit which I can't buy in bulk with our monthly grocery order.

[chezp]

We don't - and I think this is sometimes our downfall, as on nights when we're staring at the fridge and lacking inspiration, we tend to go for takeaway. I do now try and plan at least three or four nights out.

[genhand]

I've been doing weekly menu for a year or 2 now. Really help with the budget. The only time I don't is during summer and DH vacations, but other wise...

Here the one I've found on familyfun. I also write witch book and page we can find the recipe.

[TinkerBelz]

I've been doing this for years. We have some special needs in regards to what we can and can not eat. But I just use a simple notebook.

One thing I'll caution you. If you write a "set-plan" - as in what day you eat what, you'll find things come up, you may be too tired (you have MS right and sometimes it kicks your behind? - cause I have Fibro and have challenges with that as well). Sometimes the family just doesn't want what is "planned". So I put together a list of main dishes; normally about 10 different to choose from. I always throw in at least 1-2 crockpot meals - make sure I've got chicken, beef and pork and/or fish meals. Put together 5 actually side dishes/veggie dishes/special salads. Then I just mix and match. The next week, I just look at what I didn't make, put those on the new list and add a few of whatever is needed.

Hope that makes sense. I just find, if you try to eat XX on Monday and XX on Tuesday, those plans sometimes don't work out and then it's almost like a feeling of failure.

[lexiemom]

I started making weekly menus while I was following the Weight Watchers plan. I am no longer following WW, but I find that making weekly menus cuts down on the amount of food we waste. It is also very easy to make a grocery list from my menus and I try to choose recipes that use ingredients that I already have on hand.

I hang the weekly menu on my fridge, so DH has an idea of what we will be having that week.

[debsta922]

I create one every week before I go grocery shopping. I do it by hand though and not on the computer, but basically plan out Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner each day and keep a running grocery list on the side. One thing that I do every week though is take down a cookbook and use it to decide my dinners. This helps to add variety and also to make sure I have all the ingredients on hand.

[3dogknight]

DW is a list maker and trys to do a menu, I am a spontaneus griller and usually throw the list away but try to use some portion of the list during the week

[Minnie Lor]

I can't imagine grocery shopping without a menu. I would come home with stuff that didn't fit in anywhere.

The day before I go to the store I look at the ad's online and my list of what is in the freezer and pantry. From there I consider our schedule, the season, and ask DH if he's craving anything. Since I've started really stocking the freezer and pantry with bargains and keeping a list it's been easier.

We do soups, stews, and casseroles in the fall and winter. More salads, grilled meat, and etc. in the summer.

My grocery list "form" that I use has a place to write in the menu. This comes in handy if you have to switch the menu at the last minute because something is out of stock, etc. I don't make a menu for breakfast or lunch unless it's a long weekend.

I have a wipe on/wipe off monthly calendar on the side of fridge. I update it at the end of the previous month. It has appt. and important info in red, less important info in green or blue and the menu is in black. My DH looks at before going out the door so then he knows what is for dinner. (although I have switched days on him)

I guess I'm not helping much. I've just always done it even when I was single. You could make a plan of Mon and Wed are chicken, Tues. and Sun are pork, Thurs is fish, Fri is veg, Sat is steak. Or you could go by ethnicity with Mon. being chinese, Tues. being Mexican...etc. Or you could make a list of 10-20 favorite recipes per fall/winter and spring/summer. That would give you two -three weeks of meals to rotate between.

Good luck!

[jjj6689]

I don't usually make a menu. I can , have a freezer full of beef and porkso I can usually put a meal together quick, but this week I went shopping with meals in mind for the 1st week of school and the grocery bill was much lower.

[disneymom9092]

I always plan meals for the week ahead-with work and all the running around it sure helps!

I use the store ad and go through it and coupons. I also look at what the schedule for the week is-when does DH work late, when do the boys have sports, etc. Makes a difference on what time we will be eating or if eating in shifts.

I LOVE to spend Sundays looking through all my many cookbooks or surfing the net for new recipes and printing them off and I have them in a biner with subject dividers.

Yea I'm one of those crazy planners

[Lumieregirl]

Some other tips:
I put my grocery list on an Excel sheet landscape format, then clothes-pin it to the child seat back of the cart, so it is easy to read & I don't have to hold it. I use a retractable Sharpie to mark items off.
One thing I just started last week is my store printed a map, so now I make my list out aisle-by-aisle. Saves time.
I color-code which items I have coupons for.
I plan 5 meals. 1 night we eat out or at my DMIL's. 1 night we eat leftovers.

[TerriB]

I have been using menus since I moved into an apartment in college (so going on 20 years now). We start with a basic rotation of the types of entrees we eat (chicken, beef, pork, fish, and meatless), then I fill in the exact entree I want to use (ie beef stew on a beef night) either from tried-and-true favorites or from recipes I've found that "sound interesting", along with sides (one starch and at least one veggie -- again a mix of favorites and things to try). In addition to the 7 dinners, I plan at least one breakfast (Sunday, rest of the week is "fend for yourself") and one dessert (Sunday), if I'm in the mood. I use the weekly grocery ads and my stock of meats in the deep freeze to keep costs down (ie if chicken breasts are on sale, I stock up). I use MasterCook (I think I have v9)software to maintain my recipes (getting close to 400 now), create the final menu, and make my first draft of a grocery list. The list gets editted based on what I have on hand and what other bargains I can score at the store with coupons (thanks to a service here called Grocery Advantage that matches sales items with available coupons). I used to transcribe the list into my PDA, which had a shopping application that I could pull up the list by store, but it died. So now, I use MS Access to create my final by-store lists. I usually hit 3 stores -- two double coupons and one price-matches but does not double. So if I have a coupon that will not be doubled, I use it at the price-match store, and mark that item off both lists (the price-match store and the double-coupon store). Yes, that means I'm carrying around 3-4 lists, but I would never remember where the specials are any other way.

[Cam22]

I do during the school year as it helps eliminate stress. But I don't plan out specific days for the meals, though we will have them over the course of the week.