[Canadian_Mickey]

I have so much trouble planning meals. And usually I get so frustrated with it that I end up just tossing it all out and leaving the grocery store with nothing. I write lists and pick recipies, but it's such a headache! It's gotta be easier then this! How do you plan your meals and do your shopping....

[phantastica]

I go back and forth on this one, too. When I don't feel like preparing recipes, I just buy 3 basics for dinner - meat, grain, and vegetables. I buy 2-3 kinds of vegetables, 2-3 kinds of meat (chicken breasts, steak, fish, etc.), and 2-3 kinds of grain (brown rice, potato, bread). I get out the George Foreman grill and use it every night, usually making enough stuff to bring leftovers to lunch the next day.

When I DO feel like cooking, I usually make 1-2 recipes in a weekend and freeze individual portions, reheating them for lunch at work (lasagna, chili, etc.).

[Canadian_Mickey]

Oh I like the way you cook!!!! Why didn't I think of that! LOL! I am not a cook by any stretch of the imagination... have so many cookbooks, that just sit on the shelf collecting dust....

[the slim me]

It helps to have a few good recipes that you can go to when you don't feel like making anything (or the time). Good for you for makeing a weekly menu. Just keep it simple and realistic. there are sites that will help you plan a menu and shopping list. Sparks people is a good one and it's free. I find that recipe books usually have recipes that are too much for every day. Save then for when you want to venture out a little

[sotypical]

I dont use recipes... I just cook...

take some chicken and veggies and then ad some pre packages side dish like side kicks... as long as you dont eat much of that side crap its pretty low.

I make a list or basics and buy it, and the night before I think about a few different thinks I could eat the next day, plan it out and work out the calories.... I dont really cook huge complicated meals - if it takes less then 10 min to prepare, its right for me

[rabidstoat]

I absolutely loathe cooking.

What I do, having a reasonable amount of free time and a reasonably high food budget, is three things:

1. I go to the grocery store every day, and I only buy 1-2 days of food, at most. Two reasons. First, I do a lot of last minute business trips, and if I buy a week's worth of food it could spoil. Second, I am picky and never know what I want more than a day ahead of time.

2. I keep frozen veggies in the freezer, and some other frozen stuff I can fix fast if need be, with no planning. Especially frozen meals I actually enjoy eating, for those days when I have nothing and can't cook.

3. I go out a lot. More than I should, probably. I'm learning to eat healthier when I go out, though.