This question is Not a judgmental one- what do you consider the most in meal planning ? Cost, variety, healthy, quick and easy- I don' care gimme something ? For me a bit of all of them.
I think that all of these comes into play for us, too, @Hedi Mitchell . Cost is , of course, always a factor in any food we eat; but other than that, it kind of depends on how hungry we are, and if we feel like cooking or not. We do try to choose healthy foods when shopping, but still add in some treats that we enjoy and that keep meals from just being boring or not very tasty. Neither Bobby or I am very picky and will find something to eat from whatever there is around the house , whether it is a whole meal or just a snack.
It depends, for my weekly shopping I look for what meat is on sale (beef, chicken, pork), then plan the sides and seasoning to go as with it. If I don't have the side or seasoning at home, I'll pick it up while shopping. What I try to do, is make sure I have everything to make the meal once I select the meat. On occasion if I have a large quanity of a side, let's say rice or noodles, I'll look for a meat on sale to go with it. If we should find a recipe we want to try, I'll shop for those ingredients.
I have always loved to cook and being in the kitchen. The thing I hate is trying to decide WHAT to cook every day. I get into ruts where I seem to rotate the same stuff week after week.
I agree, The question every morning is what are we making tonight. The problem with this is we should be thinking about it the day before, so we can defrost something. Fortunately the microwave has the defrost settings, but it's not good for all meats. Repetitive Meals can get boring, That's what happens when we make too much and we have a lot of left over. Not to waste it we'll use it for lunch, maybe a second dinner. We could freeze it but it doesn’t always taste the same.
I used to have Washington Post home delivery. Wednesdays had The Food Section. The weekly foods ads were in it (Wednesday thru Tuesday sale cycle) as were recipes. At least once a month I made it a point to try one of the recipes that I would never think of making, just to mix things up and expand my repertoire. Some of the stuff I've only made a couple of times (like roasted chicken thighs with mango, papaya and rum), while others were long-term additions (stir fried beef & asparagus in a black bean sauce.) I think if you read some of your supper & food posts, you'll see that you try different things way more often that the average person (like who in the heck makes crumpets???) But I encounter the same thing that you do. I just made my nth batch of Hungarian goulash (adult Beefaroni) because it tastes good and it freezes well for a quick meal. But our limited go-to meal lists beat living in a rural Asian country where our only choice is which bowl we're gonna serve tonight's rice in (at least, I think it does.)
read a story as young girl about a man whose wife fixed the same things on the same day every week. Not going to happen with me. I try to plan out 7 days worth. I try and not eat red meat everyday.Rotating with chicken,pork fish and meats. Here lately, I am eating differently than what I always make him. We do not eat healthy enough but I find it ridiculous and time consuming to fret over every meals' quality. Was just wondering how y'all all go about meals. Tnx
Today we're having leftover red beans with smoked sausage from the freezer, rice, cole slaw and jalapeno corn muffins. I'm thinking I need to make a cake or some brownies or something.
Ham, scalloped potatoes, and green beans. Also, maybe I will make a cake, after I rummage through the kitchen to see if I have all the ingredients for the makings of a cake....or pie.