I was recently asked about how I plan meals, but after thinking about it for a bit I realised that I don't have one set way of doing things.
How do you usually go about deciding what you will eat and when you will eat it?
Do you make lists of what's in the fridge and freezer?
Do you have a general idea of what you will make or do you decide as you are cooking?
Do you buy ingredients especially so you can make a certain dish?
Do you try to come up with recipes using what's in the fridge and cupboards?
Do you write out meal plans and then stick to them?
As for me, well I think I do everything that I just wrote.lol
I like writing lists, I like trying to be creative with using what stuff I have lying around, I like using new recipes, and while it might sound a bit contradictive, I also like having things planned out and being organised, especially on the days that I have something on. Like when I was going to the dentist I would get an order delivered that day and have my meals planned out so I didn't have to think or go shopping on the way home.
I do write out meal plans (usually for 3 days at a time, coinciding with when I have a delivery order), but I don't do it for meals every single day.
How do you go about deciding your meals?
As I only shop once a week I plan 7 main meals and buy the ingredients accordingly. I always cook those meals that include fish or tofu first so I don't waste them and then curries or stews get left until the end of the week. Somtimes I need to buy something extra but generally I don't go back to the supermarket.
返信削除Side dishes are sometimes planned and sometimes not depending on whether I need something unusual. My meals are usually themed eg Chinese (meat dish, chinese style soup, gyoza/dim sim etc), Japanese, Aussie or the like to add variety but mostly Japanese.
I buy 7&i Holdings おかずラックラク and cook almost everything in that as the food is YUM.It also uses seasonal ingredients so it is economical.
I also ask hubby if he has a request for the week!! I usually fill that first then finish planning. I have a huge list of mains in my cupboard which I perodically look at to see if there is something we haven't eaten in ages. I also do one fish/beef/chicken/mince and 2 pork each week (gee my prevoius life as a cook is haunting me!!!)
I meal plan. I never used to really when I was working full-time but have done since we have been back in Japan and have tried to also include more of a mix of Japanese and mix of Western whereas previously I pretty much only cooked western and Chinese food.
返信削除I write lists of what I need from the supermarket and I try to achieve a balance of things with each meal to make sure we are getting enough veggies mainly. I also make a bento for Shun each day which is usually just leftovers but it means I have to buy accordingly and put meals that are easy to make leftovers out of on the Sun-Thur night- since I don`t make THAT much Japanese food Shun might buy his lunch once a week as a treat in which case I will eat the leftovers for my lunch.
Some weeks I go through recipe books to look for new things and new ideas then I write down the ingreidents I will need.
I also try to include one new recipe each week. Last week it was sweet and sour pork which I had never made before. Last nights side dish was a new one I have never done before either (stuffed capsicums)...
I really need to get a noteboard to stick to the fridge though with one of those magnetic pens that erase easy so that I can write down when I run out or are running low on one of the staples like soy sauce or goma abura or sake because when I sit down to write my lists I almost always forget.
I try to have 2 meals a week without rice (for my sake) - so usually we would have pasta or potato or cous cous with the meal instead of rice. And like A-chan I try to have fish once or twice a week, chicken twice a week, meatless one night (usually a pasta or risotto), pork and beef at least once each.
I usually do menu plans for about 4-5 days- i write it on a post-it and stick it in my notebook near my computer- if a recipe is needed (ie, I don`t know it off the top of my head) I write the book and page number or name it is under in my internet favourites. I write the supermarket list at the same time and put it in my bag otherwise I am prone to forget it! Oh and I rarely buy things that ARN`T on the list unless beef or some kind of meat is cheap the day I go in which case I might buy something and put it in the freezer.
I have said it before but I really need to look into a delivery service as well I think- at least for some staples.
Oh and you inspired me to try saving money by cooking more Japanese food so I bought a 100yen okazu book and the ohayou okuusan magazine (which I will very slowly read over the next month) - I have already made one thing from it!
achan:
返信削除Wow! That's really impressive. To be honest, I wish we had a big enough fridge to stock up for more than 3 days at a time. A bigger fridge is on my to buy list so hopefully in the not too distant future I will be in fridge heaven.lol
I'm going to check out the magazine you mentioned too. Thanks for the tip! And I know nutrition is your thing but it never occurred to me that you were a cook too!lol Of course it makes perfect sense, I just didn't see the connection til you mentioned it.lol
And the list of mains you have, I think I might copy that idea if you don't mind!!
lulu:
Thanks for dropping by. Good luck with your new recipes and reading the magazine. I'm sure you'll soon see that there are lots more people out there who are way more inspiring than me with their budgets.lol
Btw, I can't count the amount of times I've forgotten to bookmark good recipes.lol That's another reason why I want to make a recipe book actually.
And I hope you find a good delivery company soon. It will make things a lot easier for you, I'm sure.