Meal Planning

missyt

missyt

Cathlete
Does anyone plan there entire weeks meals?

Everyone tells me that I am crazy....but I feel it helps me stay on track and also helps me with time. I work full time, so I am limited on exercise time. This is what has helped me stay consistant with exercise.

I go to the grocery store once a week. I then post on the fridge what the evening meals are for the entire week. That way when I get home I know what I need to prepare.

I also prep all my snacks for the week in ziplock bag/bowls. I usually do this on Sunday's.

Anyone else do this? :D
 
I do a relaxed version of this. I used to be more anal about it but now I just plan out 2-3 days in a row. I buy chicken breast is bulk and use the sell by date as a set point basically what needs to be eaten by when and then go from there. I take requests from the family and try to incorporate them. I have a few snack staples that I keep on hand for me and make sure I always have them prepared and portioned out in the fridge. This helps me too but I think it annoys my husband how much I plan it out, I'm sure he'd like to go out to eat more often. :)
 
Random

The meal schedule for my son and me is completely random. We do try to eat fairly healthy by simply limiting the amount of processed foods we eat and by eating at home. Every meal has fresh fruits or vegetables for him (6 year olds are a challenge to get to eat vegetables....still working on that but he loves fruit) and vegetables for me.

I heard that meal planning is cheaper too but I am just not organized enough to do it.
 
Missy, I think meal planning is a terrific idea. Saves time, money, brain space, etc.

DH and I split the cooking duties and I plan the meals I cook in advance. My step-sons have a favorite dish of mine so I always make that for them on the weekends they're here. Thursdays are spaghetti night, Mondays are "make pizza" for my kids.

Also...I LOVE your avatar pic!
 
Suzzanne---thats my cat Boots!!! He is all grown up now. But, I think it was the cutest picture ever!!!

Natasha---People say I am to organized!!! My husband, loves it! Because he always knows what I am cooking that evening!!!

Most of the people I know are not into the healthly lifestyle/exercising.
But, I don't let it stop me. If people really sat down and looked at america today, and saw what they actually looked like and took into consideration there health. I think more people would be like us. But, its sad to say that most people don't care!!!:)
 
Boots is awesome! I have 5 cats and am surely just.this.close to being a Crazy Cat Lady.

A few years back I came on the forums here to beg for help because I am chronically disorganized. A kind soul recommended FlyLady.

FlyLady.net

This changed my life in so many ways. She is a big proponent of meal planning.

So...you go with your organized self!
 
missyt said:
Suzzanne---thats my cat Boots!!! He is all grown up now. But, I think it was the cutest picture ever!!!

Natasha---People say I am to organized!!! My husband, loves it! Because he always knows what I am cooking that evening!!!

Most of the people I know are not into the healthly lifestyle/exercising.
But, I don't let it stop me. If people really sat down and looked at america today, and saw what they actually looked like and took into consideration there health. I think more people would be like us. But, its sad to say that most people don't care!!!:)
Click to expand...

BTW, I meant to say I really love your Avatar pic too! I have 2 cats, but they are seniors now, both 13 years old. I still think of them as my little kitties :(

It's great you're so organized. You should be proud of everything you are doing to contribute to your healthy lifestyle. Once you make fitness/health a priority, it becomes second nature. I understand about people not understanding, it's like that in my life too. I am a "rarity". Most people I know do not exercise or eat well. I get laughed at when I purchase fitness equipment/DVD's. Don't let that discourage you though. Keep up the great work!!!
 
Natasha--- I also have 2 cats. Boots is 3. Blackie (my other cat) is 6. Blackie acts like she is a senior. The lazyest cat on the planet!!! I also have a dog which is 2 and 2 horses. My hisband and I have enough animals!!! But Boots is the best!!!! He is momma's boy!!!:)

But, as for our unhealthy friends/family. I know how it is. Everyone says... you bought what??? Or if we go out to dinner... you ate what??? I don't even let it get to me anymore. I am who I am.

At least we have each other that have the same interests. It doesnt matter where we live. As long as we have a computer...we can still chat!!!:p
 
I usually plan my meals mostly because I bring my lunch to work so I need to prepare something that can keep in the refrigerator and microwave well at work. This keeps me from "winging it" which can lead to me eating something that's not a good choice.
 
High fives to the OP & everyone else on meal planning. It's a great way to manage your diet. :)

I also brown bag for work even though I can get a FREE meal there! My colleagues are used to my brown bagging now, but at first, they were startled that I'd pack a lunch when we can eat there for free. The food that's served in our team dining room is just gross. Everything is fried, greasy, and/or comes out of a can. Blech! I've seen the food prep folks just dump a bag of lettuce into the bin...unwashed!!!! The same with the apples....right out of the box & into the bin. Apples (and occasionally, bananas) are the ONLY healthy items they have! Once in a while I'll have a banana. That's it! LOL
 
I'd love to hear more details about your planning. I've just recently started planning more and doing some of the cooking for the week on sundays. I like to be sure that I have some protein ready for my brown bag lunches. And I often cook a bunch of sweet potatoes for my weekday breakfasts. I think it is helping me with calories as well as being more frugal!

I'll have to check out flylady again...I remember going to her website years ago!
thanks
liz
 
It's nice to hear that other people are planning in advance also. I really feel it is helpful with calorie comsumption, saving time, and just being well organized. I actually post everything, pre make alot of the food on Sundys. Always prepare my snacks. The only things I do not pre make are salads, just because they are better fresh. But, salads don't take much time preparing.

It also saves alot of money!!!!:)
 
We frequently batch cook and freeze. Also I like to cook enough for leftovers. When fruit is bought I clean right away so it's easy to grab and go. I make 4 servings of oatmeal at a time so it's easy to have quickly in the mornings. And I frequently boil a dozen eggs to be able to grab and go for my snacks at work.
I think any prep work in advance is a must in order to eat healthy.
 
What I do, most of the time, is plan out meals for at least 4 days. Then I'll have that list in my kitchen or the recipes set out so when it's time to prepare dinner, I can choose one from off of my list. I've found it doesn't work to plan out meals for every single day because inevitably there are leftovers from a meal, which we eat the next day, so then my whole "plan" goes out the window. I don't like food to go to waste. So I might make tacos for Monday. Then on Tuesday if there is leftovers, we'll have that. On Wednesday, I might make spaghetti. And so forth. I know there are ways to freeze leftovers, but I haven't made the jump to do that.

One of the things that makes me most happy is perusing my recipe books and picking out new meals to make for my family. :D I would say I also love to do the same for sweets and treats, too .... but since this is a ultimately a fitness forum I won't say that too loudly. Ha!
 
missyt said:
Natasha---People say I am to organized!!! My husband, loves it! Because he always knows what I am cooking that evening!!!

Most of the people I know are not into the healthly lifestyle/exercising.
But, I don't let it stop me. If people really sat down and looked at america today, and saw what they actually looked like and took into consideration there health. I think more people would be like us. But, its sad to say that most people don't care!!!:)
Click to expand...

I couldn't agree more with what you are saying! And no, you are not too organized or even a little crazy. I shop once a week to have some fresh meat and veggies on hand, kind of have an idea of what I'll make, but have the right to change my mind :) I do like to try new slow cooker recipes - there's nothing better than coming home after a crappy day at work and knowing that dinner is done..
 
Missyt, another meal planner here. Being forever time crunched with toddler, job, life, etc, it really helps me stay on track w/healthy eating and saving money at the grocery store. I subscribe to a couple of healthy eating cooking magazines, so I usually will try one or two new recipes from there, then go with a couple of "favorites". I try to choose quicker recipes, or if I choose one that uses green onions and red peppers, I will try to choose another that uses those so I can chop once for two recipes. I will usually cook something in the slow cooker on Saturday and again on Sunday that we can eat during the week, and then prep the rest. Leftovers are always my lunch, so that does make things a bit easier.
 
I generally do well with cooking but not with advance planning. I pretty much go to the grocery store for that particular day's meals, which means I go frequently. This would get annoying except with DH's and my schedule, there are at least a couple nights a week he eats at work and/or we just fend for ourselves. I have two days that I literally am gone working nearly all day and I'm definitely not cooking those days...not unless my husband wants to eat at midnight.

I sometimes manage to plan a couple meals at a time. I'd like to do that more. I think it's great to plan and be organized...less likely you'll end up ordering pizza like we did last night!
 
I've been consistently planning a week of dinners for a long time. I get on line Sunday to look at our grocery store's ads, then sit down with my recipes/magazines and go to it. A month ago I started eating Paleo, so to help me stay on track with that I now plan breakfast, lunch and dinner. And make my grocery list. And figure out my weights for STS for the week :) It takes a bit of time but with 3 kids my week runs so much more smoothly. I do get teased a bit by some friends, but come dinner when they're figuring out what to eat and running to the store we're sitting down to our meal!!

Jen
 
Jen---sounds like me!! Don't let anyone change what you do. Just because you have it together and they don't. Thats the only reason others make fun of us!!! :)
 
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