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Post by roundtwo on Oct 17, 2019 22:03:22 GMT
I have been struggling with meal planning for dh and I. I use to do it well when the kids were around and I had a house full to feed but now that it is just the two of us, I find I end up throwing out ingredients far too often because they don't get used. We use Good Food on occassion and I like it for it's precise quantities (and we have had some really good meals) but it is a bit too expensive to use weekly.
I think what I need is some kind of app, system, whatever, that helps me plan using the same ingredients throughout the week. Cooking the whole package of chicken breasts or ground beef in one go is fine - I can freeze the extra. It's things like the half container of chicken broth or the fresh veggies that are too much for one meal but seem to get lost in the fridge and go bad before I use them for another meal.
Any suggestions on how to organize things better so I am not tossing so much food?
ETA: As I noted further down, I discovered the filter feature in my Recette Tek app and have been playing around with it for the past half hour or so. Oh my gosh, so great! I have used this app for meal planning for quite a while and found it to be really good (I can add my recipes to the calendar and make a shopping list and adjust the quantities based on number of servings) but the filter has just rocked my world.  |
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Post by elaine on Oct 17, 2019 22:09:44 GMT
There is a wide selection of pantry manager apps in the App Store, if you have Apple products. You can go take a look and see what fits your needs. There are quite a few that have the features you mention.
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AmandaA
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,502 
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Post by AmandaA on Oct 17, 2019 22:23:30 GMT
Before we had kids, and I only cooked for two, I tried really hard to control the waste you describe. My freezer was my best friend. Chicken broth- extra would get measured in a usable quantity for recipes, like a cup, and frozen in a zip lock bag (labeled of course 😉). For produce, if I could use it from frozen in a recipe (like peppers for Crock pot Asian steak or carrots & celery for a pot pie) I would go ahead and prep it then flash freeze and freeze in the quantity needed for a particular recipe. It helped reduce our waste and also served as some bonus meal prep. Or if it is an entree that freezes well, I would just cook it all and freeze half or whatever amount to serve another night. Other meals might get prepped and frozen without being cooked. It might be a little more work on the first night, but was very convenient to have in the freezer for the subsequent meal. I also made a habit of going through the freezer every few months to see what was there to use and help give me some ideas for meals when I just wasn’t in the mood to plan.
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caangel
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,025
Location: So Cal
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Post by caangel on Oct 17, 2019 22:23:36 GMT
You can freeze chicken broth too.
I've got nothing on the veggies.
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Post by Basket1lady on Oct 17, 2019 22:24:19 GMT
I freeze broth in an ice cube tray. A cube is approximately 1 tablespoon or 1 oz. as for veggies, I’ll make up more than we need and we will finish them in a day or two.
My problem is that our freezer fills with odds and ends that I’ve frozen and then don’t use. It’s so hard only cooking for 2 now!
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Post by Jockscrap on Oct 17, 2019 22:48:48 GMT
I use the iCal calendar on my iPad for meal planning, then once I’ve decided on the meals, I add the ingredients to a shopping list set up in the Reminders app on my phone. I created a separate calendar within iCal called Menu, and each meal is an all day event so it shows up clearly at the top of the day square and gives me a prompt at 9am by default. This is good to remind me to get something out of the freezer. On a Monday I plan for the week, and as I can see the whole month view at a time, I can see what I’ve had recently to give me ideas (or avoid having the same thing too often).
I take into account what ingredients I’ll have that will give me enough for another meal and generally I’ll make both dishes within a few days of each other, so an example is if I have mango chicken one day which uses half a tub of creme freche, I’ll make paprika pork a day or so later to use up the other half. If we have roast chicken on a Sunday with broccoli, I’ll make chicken soup from the bones and have chicken and broccoli bake on Monday to use up the leftover meat, I can see at a glance when I need veg and how many meals it will be good for. Works really well for me - I’ve used this system for years, starting off with a big desk diary pre Apple days.
An advantage of using the iPad calendar is that I can easily slide meals around and move them to different days if our plans change.
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peaname
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,390
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Post by peaname on Oct 17, 2019 22:51:42 GMT
If I were cooking for two I’d plan three meals that serve four and rotate leftovers. On the last night eat out, breakfast for dinner, entree salad or spend time making something labor intensive.
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Post by 950nancy on Oct 17, 2019 23:08:03 GMT
I used to cook for four and had leftovers for lunches. It was easy. Now that there are just two of us, I decided to try Hello Fresh for a few weeks. Not gunna lie, it is worth the extra money. Each meal is $14 for two people and so easy to create. I was throwing out quite a bit of food and I think the meals might actually be cheaper this way. The only thing I don't like is that it doesn't come when I want to. Not sure if I can change that.
But to answer your question, I got good, thick baggies and a bright purple Sharpie so I can easily label and date everything I freeze. I freeze a lot. One of my favorite things to freeze is the small round brownies from Safeway. I take out a few every couple of days and we have a dessert. I keep a small tub of homemade chocolate frosting in the fridge to put on them when I take them out.
Also. Freeze everything flat. Then when it freezes, you can stack standing up.
I also used to keep a list of what I had in the freezer for meals on a notepad and just crossed them off. Anything on a list got eaten. If it just sat in the fridge, it was 50/50.
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Post by roundtwo on Oct 18, 2019 0:13:59 GMT
Thanks to the peas who let me know that you can freeze broth - I had never thought to do that.  950nancy , Hello Fresh is like Good Food - I have used both and I really like them but they are, of course, more expensive up here - it comes to about $23 a night and Hello Fresh is about $27 so it isn't something I can really justify every week. I think the list is a good idea - the freezer seems to be easier to organize and like you, the fridge is often where things just get forgotten. elaine , I use Recette Tek for my recipes and shopping and I just took a look at more of the features. It has a filter so I can put in the ingredient I want to use and it will find recipes for me - as the guy on the Wayfair ad says "gamechanger". peaname , I should have mentioned that dh does not do leftovers so I have to be creative in how I use them - having the same thing twice in a week doesn't go over well in our house, unless it is turkey, which means this week is easy, lol. Jockscrap , I think my problem was not knowing what recipes I could make with ingredients on hand but now that I have this filter thing figured out, I think your plan will work well.
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Post by redshoes on Oct 18, 2019 1:07:12 GMT
Check out the book “Cook Once, eat all week”...she has weekly meal plans using the same few ingredients and recipes allow for family size I think. Or you can freeze or eat leftovers for lunch. May want to see if your library has it
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Post by roundtwo on Oct 18, 2019 1:13:32 GMT
Check out the book “Cook Once, eat all week”...she has weekly meal plans using the same few ingredients and recipes allow for family size I think. Or you can freeze or eat leftovers for lunch. May want to see if your library has it That looks like a good read - I put it on hold at my library. Thanks! |
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Post by ntsf on Oct 18, 2019 2:31:39 GMT
I would let your dh be responsible for meals for a month.. he may start to like leftovers..
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Post by roundtwo on Oct 18, 2019 3:06:06 GMT
I would let your dh be responsible for meals for a month.. he may start to like leftovers.. He doesn't mind cooking (he cooked for himself for a couple of years after his wife died) but in all fairness, I am probably pickier than dh so I suck up the no leftovers thing and cook what I like.  |
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Post by cindyupnorth on Oct 18, 2019 3:40:11 GMT
Yes! I have it somewhat planned for the week, but I still feel like I want to cook a full dinner, and we really don’t need all that much, especially as we have gotten older. We don’t need a meat, veggie and starch. Sunday’s I do a big meal, usually a roast (beef,pork, chicken) Monday’s is dinner made from the leftovers. Tues, Wednesday, Thursday are my hardest. Usually easy stuff like spaghetti, tacos, grilled cheese, etc. Friday is take home pizza. Saturday we go out
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Post by ntsf on Oct 18, 2019 4:01:44 GMT
budget bytes is my go to for something new
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Post by roundtwo on Oct 18, 2019 4:09:57 GMT
budget bytes is my go to for something new I just checked out the site and in less than three minutes I found two new dishes to try. Thanks! |
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Post by Linda on Oct 18, 2019 12:02:36 GMT
Yes! I have it somewhat planned for the week, but I still feel like I want to cook a full dinner, and we really don’t need all that much, especially as we have gotten older. We don’t need a meat, veggie and starch. Sunday’s I do a big meal, usually a roast (beef,pork, chicken) Monday’s is dinner made from the leftovers. Tues, Wednesday, Thursday are my hardest. Usually easy stuff like spaghetti, tacos, grilled cheese, etc. Friday is take home pizza. Saturday we go out we do a salad one night and bread/cheese/fruit another night |
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