planning meals

There still isn't.

The phrase "cook from scratch" makes me smile. Until fairly recently there was no other kind of cooking.

Gma29

I know exactly what you mean by meals for one.
I had to overcome my snacking and sandwhich habit after children left home and divorce.
This morning I had plain full fat Greek yogurt topped with Lizi's treacle granola, sliced banana and blueberries topped with a teaspoon drizzle of honey.
That's my lot food-wise until about 5.30 when I might have chilli eggs ( 2 eggs and chilli flakes on toasted muffin (or toasted sourdough) with some grapes and a pear afterwards.
I'll have a mixture of almonds and halved shelled walnuts to munch in mid morning.
Having eggs in and a bought quiche with salad stuff solves quick nutritious meal 'worries'.
I'm a vegetarian so I don't need the meat element of a dish, neither do I want to spend an hour in the kitchen making a meal which is devoured in 10 minutes...especially in good weather.
Happy eating ??

I don’t have close access to shops or a market at all. Most things are within half an hours drive though, so I have to make some sort of plan, so I’m not forever driving somewhere for a couple of things.

I find shopping twice a week is more economical nowadays, as it makes the planning a bit more flexible. I always used to do one big shop when I was working, for quickness, but find if I do that now, things get thrown away, which I hate doing.

I’m not great at planning, but now it’s just me to cook for, it should be easier, once I overcome my apathy, and move away from the baked potatoes!

We plan at least half the meals in advance, Mostly I make dishes that improve by being left in the oven and we share the cooking and DH really does plan. He likes time to get his ingredients together.

MOnica DH did take over the cooking in December and January when I was unable to walk but we mainly ate pizzas , lasagne, egg and chips or bacon and egg despite there being plenty of meat and vegetables in the house.
Planning would have been pointless today as we ended up stopping at a restaurant that we have passed many times but never visited before. What a lovely surprise it was. So supper was egg mayonnaise and sliced tomato in a pitta bread. We were too full up from lunch to eat any more than that.

You are lucky GabriellaG54 you've got a shoppers paradise and beautiful countryside

gaps baps (buns)

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M0nica
All my daily shopping can be done within a 5 min max walk from these photos. Huge Sainsbury's, Waitrose (with outdoor seating), Homebase and daily markets of fish, fresh from Billingsgate (London) and fruit and veg plus bakeries.
Library, stationery, fabric shops...you name it, it's here.
Buses every 2 minutes and trains to London and Portsmouth under 1-5 mins away.
In warm weather, there's a converted vintage VW camper van which serves fresh coffee, ice-cream and grilled patties in home-made gaps with different accompaniments.
I often run along the tow path beside the River Wey in photo.
Sainsbury's and Waitrose open at 07.30 and fruit veg market at 8am so no problem to shop after morning run, grab a free coffee and paper from Waitrose and chat to the people on narrrowboats along the river.
Yes...I consider myself lucky to live here.

I find it odd that retired posters say they don't need to plan any more. I certainly do or we'd starve - we are really busy!

Cabbie 21 so good to know that's not just DH and I that like mushy veg. I suppose it's what we were brought up with. Crunchy Brussels sprouts..No thank you!!

DH and I plan a menu each week and then make up the shopping list. Freezer contents are taken into consideration when planning and older items used up in order not to store too long. We each choose when we want to cook and then decide what to cook, makes for a good variety.
We like to plan and cook on Tuesday/Wednesday, usually in one go at the supermarket.
Often double up recipes, especially when using the slow cooker, and freeze batches for future use which makes it very easy on freezer days and cook from scratch on other days.
We find we waste very little food as we only buy what is needed for the menu (plus a little treat or two ?). We can be very flexible with the menu and swap and change if needed knowing we will have all the ingredients we need.
We started to plan this way a few years ago when we got fed up trying to think what to have each day and it has proved successful for us.

I like to plan meals even though I'm retired. I make a lot of casseroles, double up and freeze it. I freeze gravy from the Sunday roast and use it in the week with chops, sausages from the local butcher or make a cottage pie. I make a lot of homemade stock for soup, though often forget to defrost it and then use Marigold veg stock powder.
We do a main shop once a week and pick up any extras in town. We do the 5.2 fast diet on Mondays and Thursdays mainly for health reasons. DH usually has herrings in a pot from Sainsburys with watercress, I have fish and salad or veg, something from the M&S Count on Me range, tinned tomatoes on toast. So it is 5 days to plan and shop for. Typically -
Sunday - a roast with plenty of veg
Tuesday - chicken kievs with cauliflower cheese or baked potato.
Wednesday - salmon, new pots and green beans.
Friday - pasta with either homemade tomato sauce or supermarket own, add mushrooms and chorizo or chopped sausage.
Sat - usually a curry in local pub.
Really quick option for us would be a mushroom omelette.
I've always have cheese, eggs, and mushrooms in the fridge, they can make a meal in minutes and transform most dishes. Dil doesn't eat meat and doesn't like mushrooms, so I aubergine as substitute in recipes for her - or dice the mushrooms so small she doesn't notice ?

Ever since I’ve done 3 lines on a savoury pastry lid and a X on a sweet one so even if a label drops off it won’t be the end of the world!
I'm stealing that. I do label but they can fall off.

I’m so enjoying this thread and Craftycat made me laugh with mislabelled stuff in the freezer!

I used to make savoury pies and fruit ones using foil dishes when I bought my first freezer and didn’t bother labelling them as I thought I’d remember......until the time I served beef & onion with veg and roasties as a main and chicken pie for pudding!

Ever since I’ve done 3 lines on a savoury pastry lid and a X on a sweet one so even if a label drops off it won’t be the end of the world!

MawBroon, you brought back very happy memories of living in a student house in the late 70s & learning to cook with The Pauper's Cookbook my constant companion. I still have it, though it's very greasy & battered and some of the recipes have remained staples in our diet - remember the bacon, potato & onion hot pot? Yummy! As for planning meals, I have a few days sorted most weeks then a couple of forays into the freezer where I usually find something I've forgotten about. I always used to plan every evening's menu to the finest degree when I was working but I'm much more haphazard now and I certainly enjoy having the time to be more creative in the kitchen.

I don’t plan I just look in the fridge or freezer and decide there and then what I will cook. My h and I are retired so forward planning doesn’t matter. Tonight it’s sausage and mash with beans.

I sort of plan but am open to any special offers or reduced stuff!
Main meals are -
Sunday - roast
Monday - leftover roast (any more is for lunches or frozen)
Tuesday Fish
Wed - often a casserole or a new recipe
Thur,- Pasta
Fri - chippy
Sat - husband cooks so he decides.

Weekday lunches is just me so any leftovers or home made soup.

We have a weekly veg box (from a local supplier) so DH tries to ensure that all of these veg are used up in our meals. (He's the cook.) Planing of meals is usually just a day or two ahead - and although we're not vegetarian, we don't eat much meat.

I've never planned weekly menus although when family was at home it was always roast on Sunday. Now I'm on my own I tend to think about what I'm going to have that day unless I've made enough day before for a repeat meal, I also freeze home made meals.

Little food waste as I will improvise, lots of soups/stews/casseroles in winter. Today I have a chicken to cook, this will be with cauliflower cheese tonight, roast tomorrow, salads or I will strip chicken & freeze or make a curry later in the week. Stock will be made & soup from whatever veg I have.

I use a lot of fresh veg, love stir fry. I'm another "hunter" in the short life. As a widow I can please myself

Since packing up work, I usually try to plan 2-3 days ahead. I rarely do a big shop any more - will just buy enough for the next couple of days.
Lucky to have v good public transport so I usually walk to the supermarket (20 mins) so some exercise thrown in - and get the bus back. Usually laden with rather more than I went out for!

When I worked full time I used to have an Ocado delivery every Friday. I kept a little notebook and wrote meals up for the week, in detail. So for example if we were having lamb chops I’d write mint sauce, new potatoes and cauliflower next to it so every meal was complete. Nothing got missed and nothing got wasted.

That was 12 years ago. We have since moved to a small apartment above commercial and retired so Sainsbury’s is just down 2 floors in the lift! I call it my larder. We decide on the day what we like to eat now.

Pretty much everything BL72 has said except that I'm able to shop independently so far.

Hi Fennel. Me and my OH always do a weeks menu at a time and do the shopping for that week. It's so much easier than going from day to day and you can always swap the meals round if you don't feel like eating what you were originally deciding to have. We find it so much easier. Works for us anyway.

Thanks Tabbycat .