If it’s Wednesday it’s steak and kidney pie.

I do try to plan meals for each week but they are often changed around according to what crops up . . I do enjoy trying new recipes when I have time .

No, definitely not. I'm not well organised enough for that, and wouldn't like that routine anyway.
I just eat whatever is available in my cupboard, fridge or freezer. And whatever I suddenly fancy.
Except for Sundays when my son comes for dinner. I do plan for that and shop accordingly.

I would just add to my post upthread that my generation’s mothers shopped every day because few had fridges to keep food cold, so I suppose it was easier to shop for the same meals on a daily basis than to plan and shop for a whole week or more. Considering what else their domestic day entailed with few domestic appliances, it was easier to have at least one fixed point in the day.

Well my maiden name was Cook , and yes it was Cook by name and cook by nature, so have always liked cooking, but it would range from what fitted in with life, what we could afford, and these days I have to cook when my back is less painful and then freeze some things to use on days I am struggling.

Over the years I would have to cook in different ways, from when I was working shifts in Overseas Telegrams, which like the Windmill theatre never closed, so meals had to fit in with that and other family members.Then living abroad, meals were determined by what was available, what sort of cooking facilities I had, and what ingredients were available. Living in earthquake zones meant no piped gas. Camping and sailing our old boat meant the great use of the old pressure cooker bought for £5 , which was wonderful to save fuel and safe because if it fell off the cooker no spillage.

However I have always been amazed by people who can write out a weeks menu and buy accordingly. I have a friend who is a vegetarian and she used to know exactly what she was having, but part of that was that some things needed soaking etc. I was used to having the rugby team descending on me unannounced etc, so I always had a good few possible meals in my cupboards and freezer, but it was never a rigid amount. I would have an idea of what I wanted from the market, but costs, something looking lovely and fresh or a bargain would make me change my mind and I liked inventing recipes to make the most of something new.

However these days living alone it is a different way again. I will note on my shopping list basics that I need but then my dinner is often decided by what is looking good in the reduced basket, what I already have in that can be mixed with something appealing, so no I rarely am certain what I will be eating until I make it, and of course, depending on whether I am off to play whist or go and sing somewhere, (no garlic to breathe out over an audience) One of my difficult things is that something like Kippers, I can really fancy when I am out shopping, but then dont fancy them when at home. Often the other way about , looking in the fridge and thinking how much I would enjoy a kipper but not got one!! Ah well with champagne taste and beer money, I hover around hoping that the lamb will be coming down in price. Huh fat chance and we are surrounded by sheep here, yet our local farmers dont seem to get a good price for them either. My latest bargain was some lovely jumbo size prawns, still in date that I brought home and put with rice and soy and chilli sauce and a very delicious treat it was. I do watch out for my favourite minced steak, when it is on offer for a large amount and my usual thing is to split it into three, so that I get a curry, a bolognaise and a mince with lots of onions and mushrooms added. Split up and frozen I then have potatoes and rice and pasta always available and there we are.

My father was quite a good cook and often it was that saturday lunch when we had different things happening in the afternoon, so he would have to concoct something quite quickly . If we asked what was for dinner his reply was always
"its a concoction of fantatalum" , and nearly always it was something very tasty , but we rarely managed to repeat the same menu twice. But I used to tell son the same thing. Goodness I am hungry now and must go off and cococt something! Hmm talking of kippers ,,,

My passion is using up leftovers and oddments and I hardly ever serve the same meal twice. Also, we've both been vegetarians for 40+ years so a meat-&-two-veg approach is long gone. My mum stuck to a pattern at weekends: fish on Friday, chop on Saturday, roast on Sunday, shepherd's pie on Monday, whatever was cheap from Tuesday to Thursday. I remember some really awful dinners - she was a good plain cook, it was just the content that made me heave (sheeps' stomach, pigs' feet, liver/hearts/kidneys out of god knows what animals - bleugh, do not turn me about, my stomach is not constant...).

kitty im saying "blow it" more and more these days

I try to plan 2-3 days ahead, not that it always happens. Tonight we’ll be having home made burgers, jacket potatoes, salad - there’s a lot to use up.

I usually have plenty of different veg in so now and then it’s an ‘unplanned’ dustbin soup (my mother’s name for a whatever-you’ve-got.) More often in colder weather, obviously - I usually add pearl barley, red lentils, orzo pasta, etc., all of which I keep in. Luckily my dh is always appreciative of whatever he’s given. I don’t think I could cope with a fussy-eater bloke!

Looking forward to more wintry dishes - I’ve got a lamb stew with pearl barley and turnips in mind - and lots of seasonal, UK grown veg.
One dish I make in advance - at least the base - is a mega shepherd's pie to take to a dd - it’s a favourite of the Gdcs.

teabagwoman

Notgran I’ve always liked the idea of being organised too. I was very organised at work but it’s never translated into home life because life never seems to cooperate!

Exactly

No meals "routine" here. It's a question of what we have in, or feel like cooking. (We do have a weekly veg box, so there's usually a "leftover veg" soup, at some point.). That's one of the joys of retirement, IMO.

Whitewavemark2 you’ve hit the nail on the head. Age and disability are taking their toll and I need to simplify things. Reading all your interesting replies has made me realise that I’m also bored with what I’m eating. The constant struggle not to gain weight, find meals that won’t set off reflux and will help reduce my cholesterol has meant that many meals I would previously have cooked are off the menu or can only be a very occasional treat. I’m also trying to incorporate vegetarian meals but, to be honest, I’m not enjoying them.

I meant to add that your answers are inspiring me to try harder.

Your poor .other hope your kids think the sa.e as you did

We have a four week grid that we started when I realised how much food we were throwing away through shopping without a plan. We sat down and wrote all our favourite meals on 28 pieces of paper (some are repeated if we like them a lot) and we arranged them into four weekly meal plans. The planner is on a whiteboard on the wall.
It revolutionised my food shopping and cut the food waste dramatically!
We included one takeaway on the grid to give us a night off cooking!
We change them around a bit to suit the seasons e.g. we don't tend to have our favourite homemade soup in summer.
My son does the lion's share of the cooking but there are a couple that I cook most weeks and if we fancy something different now and then, we go for it. I'm sometimes invited out for an evening meal so my son caters for himself on those occasions.
This has been working well for about twenty years!

We don't really have routine meals but we do have a number of dishes that get batch cooked so they are always in the freezer for days when we are busy or just can't be bothered - curries, pasta sauces, chilli, stews, steak and mushrooms.

We plan a few days ahead so we know we have meals ready but then cook whatever we feel like that day from whatever is available. We're planning kedgeree today, but there is also a chilli and a pasta defrosting in the fridge so we may change our minds yet.

Would never plan meals for the week ahead. I eat what I feel like on the day. If it's a warm day I may want something light, if I've been doing a lot in the garden or feeling fed up then I may want something more substantial, if I've got up late then maybe missed b'fast so had lunch instead then I might not want much to eat at supper time. What I feel like eating depends on so many things that planning ahead just wouldn't work for me. Ok I might not always have in what I fancy so I just pick something else.

I have a friend who has a husband and adult son (still at home) both on the autistic spectrum. If she varies the meals it really upsets them so yes, her meals, all very basic and boring, are the same, week in, week out. On the occasional meal out her husband will only eat a burger.
It would drive me round the bend, I love trying new recipes, my poor husband has been known to ask for “ that dish we had last week” and of course that recipe has long gone, never to be found again.

kittylester

I do a weekly plan that gets changed as the week progresses.

We are very lucky though to live in a village with a variety of pubs/restaurants and accessories to a couple of really good take aways so I can say 'Oh,blow it! Let's have a Turkish (or a curry or fish and chips) tonight'. Our parent's didn't really have that luxury.

Turkish sounds yummy. What do you have?
There is a good Turkish restaurant on Lark lane in Liverpool I believe, so may try it next time I visit.

Unfortunately my diet is somewhat restricted due to health reasons so it is a bit samey. Most recipes that I haven't tried tend to contain, onions, chillies, lots of spices, all that I can't eat. So meat of some sort and veg most days for me. I'd love a good Turkish meal every now and again but no takeaways near me and eating out is restricted to my village as I can't drive at night. AS Bette DAvis said 'Old age ain't no place for cissies!'.

missdeke

Unfortunately my diet is somewhat restricted due to health reasons so it is a bit samey. Most recipes that I haven't tried tend to contain, onions, chillies, lots of spices, all that I can't eat. So meat of some sort and veg most days for me. I'd love a good Turkish meal every now and again but no takeaways near me and eating out is restricted to my village as I can't drive at night. AS Bette DAvis said 'Old age ain't no place for cissies!'.

It definitely isn’t Missdeke. My dd suggested that I try asking Google to come up with recipes that don’t include the things I can’t eat. I tried it today and it worked quite well. I did ask it for a simple recipe. Might be worth a try.

teabagwoman

missdeke

Unfortunately my diet is somewhat restricted due to health reasons so it is a bit samey. Most recipes that I haven't tried tend to contain, onions, chillies, lots of spices, all that I can't eat. So meat of some sort and veg most days for me. I'd love a good Turkish meal every now and again but no takeaways near me and eating out is restricted to my village as I can't drive at night. AS Bette DAvis said 'Old age ain't no place for cissies!'.

It definitely isn’t Missdeke. My dd suggested that I try asking Google to come up with recipes that don’t include the things I can’t eat. I tried it today and it worked quite well. I did ask it for a simple recipe. Might be worth a try.

I think Id be better off asking it to include things I can eat, there's less of them.

My Mum usually made the same things on the same day. She always did a pudding though & these weren't on a weekly rota.

I only repeat meals about once a month but I would happily eat a good steak & kidney pie every wednesday (yum)

The upside as I see it of cooking a limited repertoire is that it's so much quicker & easier to shop for & cook something familiar that you can do more complicated recipes even when you're busy or fed-up of cooking.

Basgetti

Oreo

No, to the OP as I like spontaneously chosen meals😄 sometimes it may just be a… shock horror, bought pizza.

Had a Dr. Oetker suprema recently. Really, really good.

The Dr Oetker pizzas are good, and I like the thin crispy bases.

Barack Obama had nothing but grey suits so he did not have to time, precious seconds, in deciding what to wear.

On that principle - and because variety causes expense in buying a range of ingredients - I stick loosely to a weekly menu. Fish on Monday, curry on Tuesday for the DH and soup for me on Tuesday and so on. But I always ask the OH if he's happy to do that as I can change if he isn't and I also ring the changes when we feel like it. On Fridays and Sundays I have a rotation of meals (Sunday is salmon in a mix-up of recipes) and Saturday's dinner is built around something top-end and delicious in the knock-downs at a supermarket.

We like top bang for bottom buck. And we like to eat well and have no waste.

missdeke you could drive to a takeaway when it opens at 5/6 when it’s light, or lunchtime and freeze a couple of meals perhaps?