Food Storage, Meal Planning, and Quick/Easy Dinners--how do you cope?

[ORChick]

I look forward to reading the responses here. I am very bad at planning out meals in advance, and have vowed to do better this year. Currently I have a weekly calendar that I try to fill with planned meals. I mark on it special events that would affect the days meals (like a meeting or such that one of us might have), and also a list of things in the fridge that need to be used up. With that information I can arrange a few meals in advance, in theory. But often, in practice, I still end up wondering what's for dinner . I am trying to empty the freezer now, as we have a half pig ordered, arriving sometime next month.

 

[moolie]

This is all great, seems to be a timely topic for everyone plus I'm gleaning lots of tips from everyone as well--thanks!

On the meal planning side of things, I just do it on a Word document "calendar". I look at what I've got in the pantry/freezer and pick meals that work with what's available, buying whatever extra I might need to make it all work. Then I try to plot it all out so there's not too much repetition otherwise my peeps get bored. I try to plan a month at a time, but sometimes I only go two weeks.

Here's a sample of one week from my meal plan calendar:

We rotate a set of standard breakfasts, and other than on the weekend everyone just fends for themselves based on the listed choices or whatever else they can find--they don't have to eat what is actually listed that day.

Lunches I have to plan on the calendar because I don't make them and my kids need to know what they should/are allowed to take to school--so they just check the calendar and take what's listed. That way, if they are taking something leftover, they know it is meant for lunch and not for another dinner down the road.

 

[ORChick]

That is a great idea with your kids' lunches, moolie! Avoids confusion all 'round.
Your plan is like I want mine to be, though it never is . Although I don't bother with breakfast and lunch. It is just us two, and we tend to be, for the most part, 2 meal a day people. And I figure we are both adults, and should be able to figure out breakfast/lunch for ourselves. Dinner is the main meal here, so I really try to have something planned, if only so that I remember to defrost things, or soak the beans I am determined to get this sorted out this year.

 

[Marianne]

Wow Moolie, that's pretty impressive!

 

[hqueen13]

Awesome, Moolie, I wish I was that organized, too!
We are doing WAY better than we used to! Usually Friday or Saturday the other half sits down and looks through the cookbooks and binders we have and picks out the meals, and then writes the grocery list based on that with what we have. Then during the week E and I will work on cooking since we are home more than the other half is. I am looking forward to doing more seasonal cooking when we move somewhere that we'll have our own garden space.
We do need to work better to use what's in the freezer, as well. I've found REALLY old stuff in there, sometimes so freezer burned I can barely tell what's there! I got whiteboards that are supposed to keep track of what's in the freezer, but they haven't worked as well as I would like... operator error, er, laziness...