Monday, November 29, 2010

calling all meal planners

This Saturday I will be teaching a workshop on Meal Planning for a group of women at my church. Needless to say, I will highlight my crazy tech tools for meal planning. But I'm sure that won't be helpful for everyone, so I'll also cover alternative tips, tricks and tools for planning meals, shopping for groceries, and building a short-term supply of everyday foods.

So I'm on the hunt for such tips, tricks and tools. Any suggestions from your own experience on effective ways to do meal planning, shopping, and short-term food storage?

Here's a brainstorming list. Add to it!

- Keep grocery lists on your phone or on a Google doc so it's accessible from anyway
- Use Tasty Planner to store recipes and create shopping lists
- Start by making a list of everything you know how to make and love to eat
- Keep an ongoing list on the fridge of the foods you're running out of
- Pick 1 or 2 meals to always make on a certain night "Taco Tuesdays!"
- On a free evening, sit down and write out a meal plan and shopping list for an entire month (separate into 1-week shopping trips)
- Start a recipe blog with family or friends to share/store recipes
- Use delicious.com to bookmark and tag recipes you love

2 comments:

Sherry said...

I usually only make a list of like three meals per week. The other nights we sub in with things like grilled cheese sandwiches or bean burritos. It would be great to cook more often, but it's just not happening right now, and I'm not going to beat myself up over it. Nor am I continuing to make great plans that never happen, which results in food going bad.

Also, when I do break down and cook, I like to go ahead and make a whole lot knowing good and well that we will be eating the exact same thing for lunch and dinner the next day.

Megan said...

I wish I could go to your class because I seem to struggle with this topic. One thing on your list that I like is the recipe blog idea.
My mom and aunt and cousins have a family recipe blog, which I find really useful. It is much easier to look on the blog for a recipe rather than call my mom for a recipe she has given me a few times.