I am a planner and a list maker. With this in mind, one would assume that I could tackle the chore of menu planning...but I can't!! I don't know why, but I struggle with menu planning. For some reason it is so overwhelming and I almost always give up promptly after I begin to try.
I have typed up lists of meals that I make so I can refer to the list on days when I can't think of anything to prepare for dinner. I have typed up a rotating 3-week menu that I have never used. I have printed menu planners from different websites and blogs, but nothing seems to help.
One day a week I go into the office and on that day I sometimes throw something into the crockpot so that dinner is ready when we get home (usually around 6:30 pm). Check out this blog for some amazing crockpot recipes...this lady has tried cooking almost everything in her crockpot. This blog is also helpful if you want to take a regular recipe and cook it in a crockpot rather than a stovetop or oven.
I would appreciate any tips or tricks you have for menu planning. How do you plan? When do you plan? Do you plan all three meals or just dinner?
2011 is right around the corner...maybe I will have to make a New Year's resolution to menu plan!!
I only plan one week at at time. I sit down for a short time Sunday night and plan all of our dinners. I make extra so we can eat the leftovers for lunch. Breakfasts are very simple around here, it's usually toast, fruit, or toast and fruit. Also my menu plan and my grocery list are the same thing. I just try and keep it as uncomplicated as I can. I have also tried to print off menu planning sheets from blogs, but bottom line you just have to do what works for you. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteI plan one week at a time like Jeni. That's how my mom did it, so that's how I do it! That way I make one grocery store run each week. I plan dinners, and figure we have leftovers/salads for lunch, and breakfast is cereal or oatmeal. I do have a list on my fridge of my "go-to" meals that Eli and I both like, but I also love to just grab a cookbook and pull out a new dinner or two! It works most of the time!
ReplyDeleteI think part of my problem is that I don't go to the grocery store on a regular basis. I might only hit Aldi once or twice a month and I buy milk whenever we need it.
ReplyDelete