How meany of us use a menue

**oct2667us** · 12-04-2006, 11:53 AM

If you use a menue do you have it out like a clander and eat what is on that day? I am having trouble with my DH not wanting to eat what is on the menue and he help make it . And if you go by a clander menue how do you stock up? Last mounth i only got what was on my list for my menue nothing elase( which liked to killed DH) and it took all well more than what i wanted to spend for the mounth. Al so I am having trouble with weekend lunch. Now in dec menue my kids will be home from 22 on. So that mean br,lunch.and dinner,pluse they will want a snack.

**oct2667us** · 12-04-2006, 01:37 PM

ok I

need some in put lol

**monkeywrangler71** · 12-04-2006, 01:55 PM

I use a menu and usually stick to it. Sometimes I'll change it, if I'm tired and I've got something difficult on the menu. I have stuff stocked in my freezer already, so I can usually find something else.

My menu is weekly, which I found a lot easier to stick to than a monthly one. This way I see what is on sale for the week before I decide what we are having, if there are no good sales, I eat something out of the freezer.

I do all the cooking and the menu is in my palm pilot, so no one really sees it. They just sit down, and supper is on the table, I don't give them a chance to complain in advance that they don't want what's on the menu.

I buy large quantities of sale items, and then just what we need to fill out the menu for the rest of the week. So if hamburger is on sale, I will buy 3 or 4 value packs, have a huge cooking session on Sunday, eat some that week and put the rest in the freezer. Then if chicken is on sale the next week, I will package a bunch for the freezer and plan a couple of chicken dishes for the week, but I will also have hamburger dishes that week because I have some in the freezer from the week before. I find that meat sales go in a rather predictable cycle, so I typically at least a bit of everything in the freezer.

I tried the monthly thing and it totally did not work for me - I spent a fortune and I didn't want to eat anything on the menu. Plus it was way too much work all at once. I find with the weekly menu, I spent more the first couple of months, and now I seem to spend less. Some weeks I only spend $30 on groceries, when before I was spending $300.

**danni** · 12-04-2006, 02:11 PM

My menu is written on my calendar for the whole month. I make the menu based on what I already have in the house, that way all I need to buy through the month is fresh fruit and veggies and milk. Any other grocery money I budget is for stocking up.

If I have spaghetti down for one day and hubby wants meatloaf I just switch the 2 days. I freeze all leftovers in single serve containers and once a month we all choose a container and nuke it.

**Ani** · 12-04-2006, 04:02 PM

I only do menus a week at a time too, after I see what we have on hand, what's on sale and in season, and what we feel like that week. That way I can also plan easier meals for nights when I know we'll be at work later, or more elaborate meals when I know family may be stopping by. I'm sure it costs me more than it would to do one menu for the whole month, but for my lifestyle, weekly menus work better.

As for hubby protesting about the menu, he's so wonderful and he actually never complains if he doesn't specifically feel like what's on the menu. He just tells me over and over how grateful he is to have a wife the keeps a clean house and homecooked meals on the table, even though she works more than full time. It's very nice to be appreciated.

**starsapphire** · 12-04-2006, 04:05 PM

My system is very similar to Monkeywrangler's. I shop weekly and have somewhat of a weekly menu in my head but I don't assign a meal to a particular day, that way I can switch if necessary except maybe on weekends because I can cook something that takes longer to cook/prep on a weekend since I work. I keep it flexible that way if I have a particularly grueling day at work I can fix something thats easy. Or not at all, and just have sandwiches, soup or a frozen pizza. I don't stockpile very much since its just me and DH but I do keep some items on hand for quick emergency meals.

Luckily my DH is not picky and will eat whatever I cook.

**oct2667us** · 12-04-2006, 05:28 PM

thanks lol

**YankeeMom** · 12-04-2006, 05:33 PM

I also use a menu. But it's quite loose.
I make a list of 25-30 meals (including a few days for leftovers). Then each morning (or night before) we choose something from the list that sounds good.

Putting the menu on the calendar did not work for us. Nine times out of ten, we didn't feel like what was "scheduled" for that day. So picking from the list allows us to pick something we are in the mood for and also allows for unscheduled events that would interfere with dinner time. I also plan a few "quickie" meals for those days when stuff happens and I don't get to the dinner I had planned. These quickie meals keep us from stopping at McDs or ordering pizza.

**Katybird** · 12-04-2006, 05:54 PM

Originally Posted by YankeeMom

I also use a menu. But it's quite loose.
I make a list of 25-30 meals (including a few days for leftovers). Then each morning (or night before) we choose something from the list that sounds good.

Putting the menu on the calendar did not work for us. Nine times out of ten, we didn't feel like what was "scheduled" for that day. So picking from the list allows us to pick something we are in the mood for and also allows for unscheduled events that would interfere with dinner time. I also plan a few "quickie" meals for those days when stuff happens and I don't get to the dinner I had planned. These quickie meals keep us from stopping at McDs or ordering pizza.

I do mine exactly the same as Heather.

**mnmarty03** · 12-04-2006, 07:45 PM

I plan out my meals about a week or so in advance. I write down all three of my meals - breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I just jot the menu down on notebook paper by day. If I have something written down that I don't feel like, I just switch it with another day. Like on Saturday I didn't feel like Spaghetti so I made a cold pasta salad instead and made the spaghetti on sunday instead. I also write in specific left overs. There's only me, so when I cook a meal it usually is good for two meals, at least. Here's an example:

Monday:
Breakfast - cereal
Lunch - sandwhich and orange
Dinner - spaghetti and toast
Tuesday:
Breakfast - muffins
Lunch - left over spaghetti
Dinner - soup and salad

And so on and so forth. It's pretty loose, but it's just me and I can be loose. I also shop more or less weekly, depending on what sales there are. I only do "big" shopping trips once or twice a month, and just buy little things like cereal, bread, and milk more often if needed.

**dmvezina** · 12-04-2006, 08:12 PM

Amen Monkeywrangler!!! LOL
That is exactly how I do it. I make up mine weekly, it goes in my pda and they don't know til dinnertimeish. I also make up a lunch menu for when they'll be home, so I have options to look at & see what I have. I sort of have one for breakfast too. I just have certain foods on certains days, so it's just a matter of what kind of pancakes, etc and what should I put with it. I shop the sales & make my menu from there. I found it more costly to make a menu and then go shopping from the menu.

**emily_hope** · 12-04-2006, 08:34 PM

I make out a weekly menu. I try to get input from my family. I'll ask if there is anything special they want. Most of the time I get, "It doesn't matter to me." I usually don't get any complaints. I jot down the meals and then I decide the night before which one I am in the mood for or which one I willl have the time to prepare. I mostly have stuff that is pretty quick during the week and do more time consuming meals on the weekend. Wednesday is my late night to work, so that is always a crockpot meal. I tease my DH because he says "Dinner was good" every night. No matter what I feed him.

**lottaLove** · 12-05-2006, 01:30 PM

I used to do a 2 week menu, then shop for the ingredients on my menu. Now, I try to shop and plan à la TWG, keeping my pantry and freezer stocked with things that I bought at rock bottom prices, and planning meals around what I already have. Occasionally I'll have to make a trip to the bulk store for a spice or ingredient I don't have, but I work right next door to a mall, so I don't waste any gas doing this.
Now, when we create the menu, I get DH to approve a list of possible meals that we could eat (which eliminates the "I don't like this" from my picky DH), and I decide the night before what we will be having the next day based on whether our fridge is crammed with leftovers, or we need somthing that can stretch into lunch the next day, etc. We've been doing this for 3 weeks now, and so far its working out well!

**crazyBMB** · 12-05-2006, 02:10 PM

Well, I have a weekly list w/ my grocery list that includes what we will be having for the week. I do keep easy stuff and left overs handy for the times when I don't feel that cooking.

**tigo** · 12-05-2006, 03:52 PM

I do my menu a month at a time. Since we are cutting down on eating out but still have a little room in the budget for fun, we each get to plan one meal a month. The rest are the same old meals we have been eating for years. By keeping the menu the basically the same every month it is easier for me to budget for.