In honor of Menu Plan Monday, I have a question for everyone: to menu plan or not to menu plan?
Lots of people swear by it and you'd think, with my overly organized self, I'd be all about menu planning. However, I have not managed to pull it off more than a couple days in advance. I'm in awe of those people who think to have roast chicken on Monday and then, two days later, use the leftover chicken to make chicken tacos or something. If I manage to do that, it's completely on accident and more like, "oh gosh, I have to use that chicken up before it rots" than a plan.
You see, I'm more of a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants, I-have-to-quickly-defrost-meat-for-dinner-in-a-bowl-of-water kind of girl. Hmm...maybe that's why the guys at the local pizza place know our order by heart....
So, do you menu plan or not? If so, why? If not, why not?
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Definitely a planner. First of all, I eat much heathier if I plan out the whole week. I plan for all 3 meals and a snack. I make my lunch up for the whole week and take it to work on Monday so I don't forget or get lazy about it as the week goes on. Also, it's less stressful to know, "what's for dinner," before I get home and know I have everything I need. I save a lot of money and calories by not eating out during the week. I don't plan for the weekends...that's when I,"fly by the seat of my pants!" I say try for a few weeks and see if it helps reduce dinner time stress and cost. Bonus; you get to make a list and cross things off :)
ReplyDeleteI too am a HUGE menu planner. I think it actually helps save money too -- if you can plan to make recipes with sale items for the week it definitely helps out your pocket book. Plus I agree -- I eat WAY better when plan out a veggie, fruit and meat for each meal. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks guys! I'll probably try menu planning - I think it will help out :)
ReplyDeleteAnd, like you said, bonus - checking things off a list!!
I menu plan. Mainly because I hate making a ton of trips to the store- I'd rather go once a week and get everything I need. I'm working on planning out a few weeks ahead of time, so that I only need to make 1 big trip a month, and then maybe a weekly milk/bread/produce trip. Can you tell how much I hate grocery shopping????
ReplyDeleteWith my husband working out of town, I also started cooking for the whole week on the weekend. At first I thought it was a hassle, but it really saves money. He doesn't have to eat out or buy food, and all I have to do is heat up dinner everyday! With 3 kids with different schedules, it saves time and it's less likely that I will decide to get pizza or take out because I don't have time or am too tired to cook.
I also use my grill as often as possible during warm months- less clean up and not much prep.