I keep an updated pantry and freezer list too. Every week when I plan my meals, I write out what I have fresh in the fridge that I need to be sure to use, and what’s in the freezer or pantry that could be used. I start by scribbling random meal ideas to use things up, then googling recipes when I’m running out of ideas. But by writing out all the fresh stuff, I can cross things off the available list, as I come up with recipes. Then I can’t let the kale go bad, or never use up the frozen peas, etc.
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It’s next weekend but fam was here from far, & we’re going camping Fri-Mon so we’ll miss the official holiday this year.
You meal-planners are so impressive. I just don’t have it in me.
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man, I really need to keep a list, too. Once upon a time I would have, but, sometimes things get in the way. 
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See, I don’t know how you can handle not planning. That means every night, you have to figure out something to make? Just look around, and decide what’s possible? That would stress me out so much, I wouldn’t be able to think about other things, until I knew I had that solved. So really, the list keeping/list making, is how I give myself the mental time to work on things I want to do, like crafting.
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Yep - all of this!
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The kids feed themselves & clean up before we get home at 5:30 so yes, we look at protein & veg options & go from there. It’s usually quick, 20-30 mins of prep & cooking. Fancy food upsets both our tummies, simple is usually easy.
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We have such a large store of canned and dry goods, plus six varieties of rice and two freezers of meat, stock, chicken and veggies. Plus, Publix grocery store is literally in our subdivision…when Jim goes for his big grocery run, he does have certain meals in mind for the week. We do sort of plan, but mostly, we wing it. We decide in the morning what we feel like having for dinner, and if we have all the ingredients or if a fast run to the store is necessary. We might also grill outside depending on the weather or go out to dinner if we want to meet up with friends or go out for the evening. It isn’t stressful for us because it is just the two of us and we can always just fend for ourselves if we don’t feel like cooking: soups, fried rice, leftovers, whatever…
Of course, neither one of us works full time and only have a few food limitations…whoever feels like cleaning up the kitchen does it…Jim likes to do the dishwasher while I do most of the stove or counter cleaning…we have an unspoken rule that the kitchen gets cleaned before we go to bed so we can have coffee in the morning without dealing with the mess.
Our list on the fridge is for anything we use up, even if we have it in the pantry…Jim likes to be one step ahead. We could probably eat for a year with what we have, needing only fresh veggies and fruits. We have insurance that covers any food spoiled or lost during disasters or power outages.
Variety is provided by ordering meals from mail order a few times a month. It works for us.
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Oh ya, I also work across the street from a huge grocery store & farmer’s market so can pick up whatever any day. And kids are assigned the cleaning, dishes, garbages, etc. I work, feed myself, run mom errands, take classes, & try to set aside time for crafting, that’s about all I can handle 
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Except for the fish market on my way back from my workout, I haven’t been in a grocery store in…months…cooking is just not my thing…I do like to make simple things and bake periodically or make desserts for company…I admire people who can get creative in the kitchen…lol…looking at my cookbook collection, you would think I loved cooking…I truly need to let those go
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Thanksgiving pie leftovers for lunch!
Crust made with almond flour, eggs, ghee & a tiny bit of xylitol (tastes like a shortbread cookie!)
Filling is pumpkin, eggs, heavy cream, soaked dates.
It’s very good, nutrient dense & satisfying. Needs vanilla & spices tho, Rob forgot those things.
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We do a mix of planning and winging it, leaning heavy into the winging it unless we have a meal box that week. My husband likes to plan out and buy what’s needed for whatever project, never mind if we had potatoes already 
I like the challenge of planning a meal from whatever needs to be used up. Unless I’m tired and hangry that is.
I’m pretty pleased by my weeknight dinner. I did the grocery run this weekend and grabbed a couple of easy protein options for when we got sick of eating chili. Isterband, a traditional swedish sausage was one of them. I just stab them with a fork a couple times and cook in a lightly greased pan in the oven.
- Roasted veggie side: sad, wrinkly beetroots and carrots cut in chunks. Tossed with canola oil, salt, pepper and roasted in the oven.
- Fluffy mashed potatoes
- boiled wax beans with some butter and parsley (beans from the garden, parsley from the fridge)
- Pan fried capers for some tang and crunch.
The isterband is quite coarsely ground, smoked, and often a bit tart in flavour. I’m not sure if it’s a bit fermented or if the flavour is added some other way. Apparently they used to hang to dry over the fireplace and dried slowly enough to get some lactic acid produced by bacteria.
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This is why I don’t ask him! He usually gets home a bit earlier than I do, and he’'ll text me at 4-ish, do we have a plan? Then I try to remember what we’ve got in the fridge and try to make up a recipe on the spot and text him what to make. He’s a good cook, but he can’t meal plan / invent recipes. I see veggies, a protein and I know we’ve got a can of tomatoes in the pantry and think ‘pasta dish’ or ‘chili’ , he needs instructions.
On days I’ve planned ahead it’s easy, I just put the dinner in our diary. When I haven’t planned anything and I don’t have time to come up with something ahead of time… those are the dangerous days. I would happily eat dried tortellini on all of those days but Mr Imma isn’t a huge pasta fan. Chili sin carne from pantry staples and fridge leftovers is another favourite for no-plan days.
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I don’t mean to make it sound like I never vary from my meal plan. Random days pop up when I just am tired, and don’t feel like cooking the complicated new recipe that sounded so great back on Saturday morning. Maybe I swap tonight’s planned meal with tomorrow night’s, or make something else entirely, like chicken tenders, and whatever cut up veggies we have on hand. Or maybe Jim comes downstairs and says he’s really craving Chinese, so I push a meal back.
Most weeks I plan 6 out of 7 meals, with a few random ideas for things I could make for the 7th day in case I need to come up with something. But often I’ll have leftovers from something I already made that I want to use up, or I plan all 7 nights, with one of them being something I froze a few weeks ago. Then it’s easy to take that off the list when Jim suddenly wants pizza. But having the plan gives me peace of mind, that I have everything on hand to make something healthy and delicious.
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I wish I was this organized. It could save me from myself some nights.
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I just think you really make exciting and tasty things! Plus, your canning and freezing foods in advance is like watching a field commander take charge! I’ve learned a lot about spices and baking as well…I have no idea how you do it with a toddler in tow…your meals might be planned, but you also are a whiz at putting things together that would take me forever to figure out…you make it look easy…ha ha ha!
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Pizza night!
Plain for the kids, sausage for Mr. Road, and eggplant for me.
I plan about 4 meals/week. We do leftovers one night and usually do takeout one night (usually also leads to a leftover night). We also frequently have to restock some things once a week so sometimes I grab something for a quick dinner or two while I’m at it. Cheerleading is about to start which means quick dinners and fend for yourself nights!
I try to use ingredients in more than one meal/week. The sausage and eggplant in tonight’s pizza were leftover from pasta with vodka sauce night earlier this week!
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My lunch today is the same as last nights dinner, only with soy nuggets instead of the sausage.
I have a few emergency meals that I can make from items we usually have in the pantry and/or freezer. Soy nuggets with pasta is one of them.
Other easy pantry/freezer options!
- Fish fingers or other fried breaded fish with mushy peas(from frozen) and rice or boiled potatoes.
- Easy lentil curry/daal. Dried lentils, garlic and leek or some kind of onion, coconut milk, frozen spinach or whatever veggies I have on hand.
- Wafu pasta Quarantine style wafu pasta with prawns I’ve made it with all kinds of veggies.
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This is how we usually swing it too. Planned but flexible.
It allows for a bag day at work when one of us just texts the other. “wings and beer”?
Except April to November when I microwave a pogo at 130am and swill down a pbr before crawling into bed after work.
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