My life is planned, so meal planning fits into it pretty well. One night is basketball, one night is a cheer meeting, one night is NCIS night (thankfully it doesn't overlap too often) and another night is something else. I had to fit food in before, so now it is pretty similar but I am making different food choices. Last night was "grab bag" because a) it was thursday and nearing the end of the week so we had leftovers and things to eat b) it was DD's basketball practice night (cancelled, but you get the idea).
I think it's important to use this time to find foods you like. Along the lines of the tastebud thread, really taste the healthy foods and discover all of the flavor that commercial, prepared foods can't offer. If you are choosing between going to the wings place and getting wings and nachos and staying home with an iceberg lettuce salad and dry carrots, you are setting yourself up to fail (Been there, done that!). Enjoy this time to discover the things you will actually get excited about. They are out there!
I typically start with a vegetable and build the meal around that. For example, I thought some winter squash would be yummy. How can I use that? I could add some sweet onion, canned tomato, garlic, oregano and basil. Okay, now I need protein. How about a lean pork chop. Okay, so saute the onions and garlic in a large skillet, when "see through" add the tomato and squash and seasonings. While sauteeing, get out the lean pork and either bake or (my favorite) put on the Foreman Grill. Spray well to keep it moist and feel free to add seasonings to it. About half an hour later, voila' healthy, yummy dinner.
Just wanted to add - Think about the money here also. I dont know about you, but if my family of 4 goes to a wing place for dinner and has a minimal amount of alcohol the bill, with tip, is usually about $60. The squash was $3, the tomatoes $0.75, garlic - $2/week, seasonings - $6/month, pork chops - $8. I have now fed my family on about $13. We are saving money BIG time!
Last edited by BeachBreeze2010; 01-08-2010 at 09:56 AM.
Reason: Adding money estimate
Planning has gotten much easier for me. I used to write down everything I was going to eat in advance. Now i just plan out dinners and I actually just plan that those are the dinners I'm going to eat sometime this week. The only reason I don't plan every bite anymore is because my breakfast, snacks and lunch stay pretty consistent throughout the week so I don't feel like i need to map them out. however I guess I do plan for them in a sense, since I buy the same foods week after week and I always pack my lunch the night before and take extra food if I think I might be out late. It's really second nature now...so yes it becomes easier :-)
This was also very hard for me at first. What has helped me was boiling a whole bunch of eggs for the week, I know Ill eat them either alone, with tuna or egg salad. I also buy campbells handheld soups they are low in cals and they actually taste good. I also shop at BJ's wholesale and buy all my fruits, pepperoni, string cheese, yougurt and things like that because I eat them almost daily. I only really cook one meal per day which is dinner and its easy.
I'm a freak who actually enjoys planning meals. Which is weird, because I'm such a fly by the seat of my pants kind of person naturally. I think I like the sense of control it gives me to know when mealtime comes, the pressure will be off.
We have a crazy schedule...my boyfriend is up at 1 am for work, and I have a regular 8-5 job. Because of that, we have very limited time to eat dinner together in the evenings, so whatever we do has to be quick. (We've tried eating separately, and missed just sitting down, catching up and having our meal together.)
I try to prepare a lot of stuff in advance on the weekends, so dinner can be heat, make a quick salad or whatever, and serve. I'm also having a blast finding new recipes -- we do our nightly taste evaluation and if a meal was good we put it in the "do over" pile and I add it to my arsenal of things to make again.
Ugh I hate meal planning too. DF and I are big into chicken, but having it every day can be tiring. So not only do I plan nutrition wise, but I also try to rotate between meats.
I think the biggest struggle, for me at least, is finding a chunk of meals that you like and don't mind cooking all the time. I'm new to cooking (just started when DF was diagnosed with diabetes), so I don't understand a lot of ingredients and methods of cooking. Plus we're both picky eaters so I have to figure out what ingredients can be knixed or subsituted without changing the flavor of the dish.
It definitely helps to have some quick, easy, and HEALTHY alternatives to fall back on if/when the meal you wanted to have isn't the meal you want.
