Do you plan what to eat?

[joasia]

Does anybody plan their menu. Have you found that if you know up front what the next day will entail regarding food, you will have a more successful day?

[kccc]

I plan menus by the week - sort of. I usually plan 5 entrees, plus I have a selection of "pantry meals" that I can always fill in with as needed (weekends, etc.). And it has some flex - I may switch Monday and Tuesday's meal or something like that.

Lunches are generally leftovers, plus I keep some stuff on hand if we don't happen to have leftovers.

It does help, b/c...
1) I always have enough fresh/frozen veggies on hand. It's amazing how much you use if you're really eating as many as you should, and I used to run short.
2) If something needs to be thawed, I remember to do it in time to ccook it.
3) I don't waste time deciding as I walk in the door.
4) I don't give up and eat junk b/c I'm too tired/frazzled to make decisions.

Kind of like Reinhard's "Chain of command" system - if I've already made the decisions, all I have to do is follow the plan. Yes, it's easier.

[thtrchic]

I've found that it helps a lot to plan my meals the day before. Or at least in the morning for the day. I always do this for breakfast and lunch since I need to prepare them and take them. Even if I decide it will involve eating out, though, I've been deciding in the morning what that will be. By doing it at that time when I'm not hungry I'm much more able to make good choices.

I don't always plan dinner much in advance and find that the days where it's unplanned are not nearly as healthy as the other ones.

Julie

[florafloraflora]

I don't plan so much as I keep track of what I have in the pantry and fridge: do I have milk on hand? Fruit, and is it "breakfast fruit" (grapefruit) or "lunch/dinner fruit" (apples, pears)? What are my protein options? Based on these things I make a rough plan for the day either the night before or in the morning. The biggest challenge for me is to shop and have good food on hand, so that's what I concentrate on.

Sometimes the plan for lunch is just "eat out somewhere", and given that I have a wide range of good options I don't worry so much about where it will be as about choosing an appropriate portion once I get there.

[wosnes]

I plan -- some. When I go to the grocery, I've already planned to cook certain main dishes and what to have with them and buy accordingly. I don't plan exactly when to have them, though. When I do, it almost never works out. You know, the thing that takes the longest ends up being scheduled for a day when circumstances give me the least time to cook it -- or I just don't feel like cooking it. I have options, but they're limited.

My breakfasts and lunches are usually much the same -- at least they follow a pattern. Supper is the most variable, and I usually decide in the morning what I'll have that night. It's not writ in stone, though.

[reinhard]

I don't plan much. If I do, it's based on practical considerations like the fact that my toddler will explode if she doesn't have dinner in front of her by 6:15. And I have good healthy default foods on stock, especially for breakfast (black bread, fresh fruit) and lunch (oatmeal, nuts, seeds, dried fruit). I don't always resort to these healthy defaults, but having them conveniently available means I'll do so more often and big picture eat less completely crappy food.

[Jammin' Jan]

I have a customized pre-printed grocery list on the fridge and I check off each thing I need to buy as supplies are depleted. We shop once a week, so I plan what I need for the coming week. Breakfasts are a constant, but I plan carefully for lunches and dinners.

[NoelFigart]

I make a weekly menu for dinners, so I know what to shop for. (My lunches are usually leftovers).

Even so, if I get a wild hare across my butt to make something different, I go with it.

[mschalock]

I plan like Noel. I usually look through recipes and pick for the week and then go shopping. I like recipes I can freeze too so that I don't have to cook all the time. Planning the night before saves me a lot of time and relieves me of the "What should we have for dinner?" dilemma when I'm tired and just want to eat.
-Monica-

[Crystal Fantasy]

I just like sticking to basics as bread, milk, love fresh fruits, protein for breakfast and dinner
At lunch time I eat in the canteen at work and take the least fat food I can get as they cook very fatty and I am not so found of that.
I usual end up having a large helping of rice and protein, sometimes salad if I feel like
That's the beauty of the Nos Diet no planning required.
But as the time progresses, I will now and then plan "small" changes to be able to eat healthier....what ever that may be in the future
Regards and thank to Reinhard
TeresaSA

[Kevin]

I don't plan at all. Breakfast is usually a bagel and some fruit, lunch is whatever sandwich I can scrape up, and apple, and a small bag of chips, dinner is whatever the family is having.

Sometimes I eat lunch out. Sometimes even fastfood. Usually I try to get to Subway or somewhere like that.

[czechens]

I eat the same thing every day for breakfast and lunch with very few exceptions, so the only meal I really have to think about is the evening meal. For that I generally just think in terms of types of meals during the week (one chicken, one meatless, two fish, one pork or beef, one tomatoey, one soup) rather than an actual menu. I keep a pretty well-stocked basic pantry, so I can usually throw together whatever sounds good to us--sometimes with a bit of creative subbing.

[JustAnnie]

Before I go to bed I usually have a good idea of what I'm having for lunch and dinner the next day. This is more because I have to thaw something for dinner and often eat dinner leftovers for lunch. Breakfast is what I feel like when I get up in the morning.