kipper

Knowing that my week will be really crazy, I'm trying to plan my meals well in advance. Does anyone else plan their meals for the week in advance?

I'm doing pretty well, other than I need something for Thursday night. I have all of my meals, except for Thursday and Friday night, planned out already. Friday night, I'll have to play by ear, since Mr. Kipper comes home that night.

Thursday night, well, I could use suggestions. Geno has his surgery on Thursday, so I won't feel like cooking anything, and I probably want something I can either pick up on the way to/from the vet to pick him up to come home. So, I'm looking at fast food or pizza, probably. Neither of which is great, or appealing. Suggestions?

It'sHip2B^2

I plan my meals out a week in advance every week.

The secret is to plan for extra. Since it's only the two of us I will use recipes that serve multiples of 2. For instance, tonight my husband made turkey tetrazinni which serves 8. Tomorrow for lunch we will have tetrazinni. The other four servings are sitting in the freezer right now for later this week. Since I'm upstate Wednesdays-Fridays I'll pack two of the frozen tetrazinnis for Wednesday and Friday lunch. Tomorrow night we are making the Firecracker Chili (on eTools) which serves 6, I think. Between the tetrazinni and chili my husband will be set while I'm gone. Friday night, when I get home, we'll have a simple chicken salad sandwich and some veg.

If you are worried about becoming bored with the menu (since Mr. K's away for long periods of time), you can work in 2 week freezer cycles. Last week we made lasagna that my husband may eat later this week. You can freeze half for the next week and eat half this week. We freeze each serving in a plastic container (gladware or the like, all ours came with lunch meat). We just nuke it for 2-5 minutes.

annerj

I also plan a week in advance (how else would I know what to buy at the store when I go on Sunday night?).

Things do change but for the most part I know what nights (now that I'm off the road) that I'm going to be home vs out late doing something like playing poker or headed out for a weekend trip.

During the perfect week I make something big on Monday night that I can eat a few more times during the week for lunches (Soup/stew is good this time of year to do).

kipper

When Mr. Kipper is gone, I tend to rely a lot on those skillet meals, from Bertolli or Bird's Eye. They're reasonable in regards to points, and require very little effort.

I'm glad to know that I'm not the only one trying to plan in advance. I do have to tweak my menu a bit, as the Bertolli skillet meal last night smelled lousy. It's now sitting in the freezer and will be lunch for Mr. Kipper on Monday. He'll eat it and either won't complain, or if it was really lousy, will mention that and I'll know not to buy it again.

I try to make things on Mondays and Tuesdays that can be used for lunches for the rest of the week. Some days, it works better than others.

Firecracker chili? I may have to try that one. It sounds yummy!

Speaking of this, I guess I need to figure out about next week, so I know what to buy over the weekend.

During the week, I'm big into crock pot meals or things that are very simple, as I usually don't want to do much to cook after work.

It'sHip2B^2

Well you are in luck then. Firecracker chili is a crock pot recipe.

kipper

Sounds yummy. I will have to try it next week! Thanks!

anonplz

When I am being 'good', lol, I try to plan meals within certain guidelines - i.e., low carbs, dukan, veggie, etc.

I try to keep in the freezer some kind of filling but healthy stuff that I can heat and serve within minutes - currently, I am liking Costco's frozen won tons - makes a terrific soup, and the ingredients are all natural. Also, the frozen French onion soups - light but delicious and filling.

In general, I'll aim for some kind of soup for lunch and a piece of fruit. If I'm really hungry, I'll go get something at the deli, like salad with roast beef slices, stuff like that.

If I do go to the trouble of cooking, I do try to cook for several meals, so as to make it easy to just pop something in the microwave in case it's late and I'm tired, or if I want a midnight snack - adding a dash of wine or some chopped parsley to freshen it up.

kipper

I cooked tonight too, rather than eating leftovers, so I have lunch and dinner for tomorrow, rather than being tempted to just pick something up on the way home from the vet.

Mr. Kipper comes home on Friday, so on Saturday, we'll figure out meals for the week, and then I'll get to work on cooking next week.

It'sHip2B^2

Great job! So what did you make???

kipper

I opted for a Bird's Eye Viola cheesy chicken skillet on Tuesday, and a Bertolli chicken and red-skinned potatoes skillet yesterday.

I did not do a good job this morning. I left without bringing leftovers (had to get Geno to the vet), and on the way to work after the vet, I stopped and picked up not only oatmeal, but a steak, egg, and cheese english muffin. I feel rather sick to my tummy right now, so lunch is probably way out there.