Hellobee Boards

What worked for me was to plan around the big protein or main course as well as introducing a specific style of food that was eaten per night. The themes were vegetarian, pizza/pasta, one pot, oven roasted, grilled, crockpot, etc.

Then I look at my mom, who cooked every meal at home for over 40 years and she never did any kind of meal planning, and am amazed at how she did/does it, lol.

@nana87: I don't get fancy, I'll be honest. I get analysis paralysis and overwhelmed easily if the method takes longer than the actual cooking. I do a lot of prep for the freezer, but I am not really sure that actually works with vegetarian cuisine, you know? For example, I will buy two filets of fish, one for dinner on Sunday. I'll prep both at the same time, but one is prepped in a container I can freeze, so all I have to do is defrost it and cook it, rather than assemble it. That's where I can not devote time during the week.

I cook the same few things over and over again and am satisfied with that. We eat out of the home 2 weeknights, do takeout on Fridays, so I am really only cooking twice during the week, plus weekends.

@nana87: look into CookSmarts. It's a menu plan and shopping list service that costs pennies vs. Blue Apron.

@looch: my mom was/is the same way. She's grocery shop every two weeks without planning and somehow make a balanced full meal every night. It blows my mind now because I plan and meticulously list and still always manage to forget some crucial ingredient.

I find it easier to plan a few bigger meals (meant to have leftovers) and one smaller meal (meant to only be one night) and have a bit of overlap in the ingredients. For example, this week I am making Butternut Squash coconut chili, but it doesn't use up a whole squash. So I am also making a winter veggie salad with the rest of the squash (which we'll eat for one night and then DH will take for lunches). I got also got sweet potatoes. We'll have sweet potatoes skins one night and roast the rest to eat with eggs for breakfast. I plan around what vegetables are on sale for the week, using pinterest to find recipes that look good. I get bored making the same thing too often.