S14 E21: Why Meal Planning Doesn't Work for You (and what to do instead!)
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- Опубліковано 26 тра 2024
- I love to cook... I love to plan... but I've never been able to stick with a consistent meal planning system.
And it bugged me for YEARS.
However, when I realized our unconventional life requires an unconventional meal plan, everything changed.
In today's episode, I'm sharing my best tips for getting from-scratch food on the table without rigid recipes or confining plans. If you prefer a more laid-back approach to meal planning, listen in!
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I make sheet pan pancakes and basically just pour my pancake batter onto parchment paper to make one giant pancake in the oven then I cut it into square pieces. I can’t be bothered to work on pancakes for an hour lol
Great idea!
Thank you for sharing. I could never get into the "meal planning". As a young mother, I did as you, made sure a meat was defrosting. We never suffered and never went hungry 😊
I have done conventional meal planning for 30 years and I am a planner. When I started homesteading, I struggled with brain programming vs. cook what you have, etc. Now on Sundays, when I do my overall plan, I take a sheet tray, go to my freezer and take out about four pieces of protein. As I'm looking at the meat, I am thinking of a couple of things I could make with it. Then I go back to my planner and do my meal plan(ish) for the week.
Yes! I don't mind shopping(my "me" time)but I learned by example from my mom who learned from her mother. Old fashioned, from scratch cooking without stressing with meal plans! I have made a list of family favorites to remind me but making sure I have ingredients and if not, make do, get creative with what you have!
Awesome advice! You've hit on things that my brain has been dealing with for years. It's taken me 60 years to develop my own loose, non-purist meal planning style. Your 4 point framework advice is spot on and reinforces what i attempt to do in my life.
Being on the ketogenic diet has helped me also to keep that staple pantry, and just mostly eating a simple protein and water soluble veggie has made my one or two-day meal planning sooooo much easier.
Keeping nuts and healthy snacks to eat as my "drsserts" has helped too.
Your greenhouse lettuce sounds fantastic! I'd like to have my own greenhouse to grow romaine and other greens throughout the year!
Thank you for making this video!
I don’t meal plan and thank you for your honesty and explanation why you don’t either.. thank you for the non meal planning strategies to follow!
I rarely meal plan. I also keep a very large amount of all the foundation ingredients on hand at all times. I buy almost everything in bulk, I home can fruits, pickles, vegetables, meats, soups, stews, chilis, bone broth, etc. Keep five gallon buckets of wheat berries, flour, oats, sugar, pastas, rices, etc. filled always. Several freezers filled constantly. I can put together real food meals at any given moment and it is amazing!
I can't do the hardcore meal planning. I decide what kind of meals I want for the week, make a list of what I need to buy, go to the store and get it . I try to get things I can make homemade like mashed potatoes instead of instant, mac and cheese I don't buy the boxes I buy a block of cheese, milk, butter and flour if I don't already have it on hand and noodles. I don't assign a particular meal to a specific day of the week . I give myself grace for days that are busy. Yes!!! My slow cooker is used a lot
My fav of instant pot is cooking meat from frozen. Chicken to the point of shredding with hand mixer, ground beef to the point of cooking on saute so it's still fried.
I have an easy routine! I let the oatmeal cook itself! I put the morning kettle on to boil, dump some oatmeal and a pinch of salt in a bowl sitting on a potholder, pour in enough boiling H2O to cover the oatmeal then set another potholder on top - and forget about it until I'm ready to eat it topped with some brown raw sugar or sliced banana. Set the kettle of boiling water off the burner for a few seconds to cool it a wee bit, then pour it into fresh ground organic coffee beans in a French Press wrapped in pot holders and a towel so the coffee stays warm! I have it all down to auto-pilot, as the hot burner then receives an egg in a small pot to soft boil. Topped with homegrown thyme Yum! Mindless yummy balanced breakfast! Lunch is leftovers, dinner make a roux for gravy over protein (yes, always something thawing) , a starch on the stove (God bless the timer!) Or I divide the veg steamer sorta in half: sliced potatoes and frozen brocoli take about the same time in one pot. Easy. If I'm in the mood for fancy I'll create chicken parmesan, or other baked dish. Dessert? A handfull of roasted almonds + a few dark chocolate chips! Thank you Jesus and bless this food! Hope this helps someone😁💕🐕🦺🙏✝️
Love listening to your podcast. I have seriously a cookbook addiction but I never follow a recipe completely. My mother loves this about me because I got it from her mother. I learned to cook by example from my grandmothers who grew up in the depression. This brought back so many wonderful memories of cooking with them.
Some day I want to try sourdough but the problem is I have celiac disease and now diabetes so I will be studying this and over thinking for a while.
This encouraged me so much! Thank you! 😊🩷
Love this, thanks for sharing because I just can't get into meal planning, or even all the freezer meals, you make me feel normal. Like you said having meat thawed is so helpful. I have also found making an extra meat to freeze then pull out for a quicker cooked meal or to turn into something else. Example: a beef or pork roast can be frozen then turned in to BBQ sandwiches or tacos by just adding different spices. Or I'll cook double the ground beef for spaghetti or tacos freeze half so that's one less step for the next time. And I cook like my grandma not from recipes but just adding what I feel like at the moment and not measuring anything. ❤❤❤❤
Dutch tradition, either lunch or supper is hot. Not both. Cold meal is typically sandwiches.
The only meal planning that do is at the grocery store. What can I afford? Meat is the biggie.
Meals are generally chili, pasta, chicken, or Spanish rice.
Good morning 🙏😊
Thank you for sharing. I’ve never been a “meal planner” just cooked as my grandmother did and had supper/dinner ready in the roaster or on the stove shortly after breakfast. lol and I just keep stocked up. It’s so much easier to know you have lots of ingredients to whip something up than to stress over planning for a week.
I too do not like to grocery shop. So I buy in bulk and only shop when necessary and then in bulk.
Have a blessed week and thank you again!
Don't know if You've heard of sheet pan pancakes they would be much easier to make and less hands on. One can make a big batch and you can freeze them, very handy. Nancy from Nebraska
insta-pot! If you live at high altitude (and have hard water) and can never get your brown rice (and beans) perfect, insta-pot is your friend! (equal parts water and rice---hard water, add t baking soda---20 mins on high, cool down natural). As usual, your ideas are so practical, doable, sensible!
We keep a huge box of frozen burger patties...whenever we need a quick lunch or dinner, 10 minutes in the air fryer and a fried egg on top.
Love your videos. So much info. Thank you!
I have used recipes as more of a springboard for what i can do with what i have since im kind of the 1st generation ingredient house in my family. My husband wants consistency in our meals, but i hate all the food waste that comes with meal planning. After watching this video i definitely have a better idea to make much easier on me with the homecooking.
I also rarely cook breakfast and lunch, it usually is leftovers from dinner the night before. My goal is to eliminate food waste, however possible.
Had been working on this exact thing. What do I have, then what do I need.
We call meals that are just what ever I can find goes in with spices a PUNT! Sometimes these are the best meal of the week.
There used to be a cooking magazine that did something kind of like this where you could substitute things and it gave you ideas on that. My husband talks about it all the time and how much he liked that because it was open ended but also gave you ideas. I think this is a great idea!
Love “ always have something defrosting - we’ll figure out what we’re going to do with it later”❤
On the being freed up to to not stick to or need a recipe, substitutions, etc. ( I never had an issue w it, although not having the energy, time or $ for things to not turn out decent enough for me, or good enough for a potluck, makes risk-taking a problem) : Watching professional chefs and getting the hints of what they know, when watching my fave shows like Masterchef junior (& adult), makes me REALLY want to know this stuff, and see it taught to kids/YAs. Knowing that butter burns easily, but if u still want or need it in there, start w an oil and add butter towards end ! Knowing all the chemistry -reactions of acids & etc. in various foods & liquids w each other or various metals, etc. ( I was extremely unschooled by my teens, long, unusual-ish story, so I didn't even get the school stuff on that and wouldn't have had the brain type or health/memory for it at time anyway). Basic sauces. How cornstarch, gelatin, flour etc. each operate ( & I need to look into : Is it necessary to "bloom" gelatin ?? ( I have a grass fed bone gelatin I was able to afford via sale & order discount at Vitacost & use it for nutrition, adding to my "coffee" etc. ... don't usually let it bloom 1st, but should I for digestion or ?? Or is this just necessary for making jello turn out well ?). Things along these lines, classic, "basic" ( foundational) knowledge and refined wisdom in the "food world" , would REALLY help the most ppl, the most ( of all types, the ultra-recipe & opposites, & whatever else). IMO.
( Not knocking anything u said ;) ! )
Thank you!
Very solid advice as always 🙏🏼
Thank you for your inspirations
We make a big breakfast on Sundays, like waffles or pancakes, freeze the extras and then pop them in the toaster. I love it. We rotate what we make and make extra so they should last 2 weeks.
It is interesting you are bringing this to the table.
I am no longer raising a large family. I am single and therefore singleton has its own unique challenges with meal planning ans prepping after feeding a semi-large crew for many years. I made my own meal plan in the same way you are describing while raising kids.
I live very rural and tike to go to town does not serve any purpose except to buy more gas and waste time. Azure standard and other bulk buying is top priority.
Being single: has its own challenges and living on a budget. Thank goodness the same mind set is required.
I now still build my pantry the same way and do a lot of meal prep with canning with many pints for some things. Often I do have other foods in quarts for quick ready prepared foods in canned-quart jars make for pulling together a meal with the same ideas for situations of a guest or a potluck dish, or even meals in a freezer situation.
So, the idea of meal-mind-craft fits all different size families and conditions.
I am a empty nester cattle ranchers wife of 28 years and mother of 3. When my kids were young, breakfast and lunch were uniform and routine. Supper was "planned" so that i could shop accordingly at the nearest Costco Walmart and grocery store 70 miles away. But it was flexible. Beef on Tuesday, chicken on Thursday type thing. As i write my shopping list i would decide how i was making the meal. Chicken turned to chicken alfredo. Now it's 2 of us. Kind of still do that but cook still like i feed an army. Now i freeze leftovers.
I think that's a fantastic idea! Probably 20yrs ago, on the inside label of the cream of soups, was a chart of the same concept. It started with what meat you had, then which cream of, then rice or broccoli or whatever. And then you had your recipe. It was great for weeknights where you had no time or plan.
Hello from Montana!❤
I love this idea!
Have you read “How to Cook without a Book”? It sets up a lot of frameworks and then you adjust as needed. I read it/used it as a teenager and it definitely set me up for success in cooking what I have on hand.
MAKE A LIST OF WHAT YOU KNOW!!! Write the names of a bunch of meals you family likes so when you are stuck, you can look at that list to choose what you want to make
I always tell my family that i love being the one to do the cooking for our family - because we always eat what i feel like eating😂😂😂 When i have too detailed of a meal plan, i lose that. Whatever is on the calender is not what i feel like eating right now - so im out.😂
We've been buying in bulk for years, but just started ordering from Azure Standard last year and we love it! I only have to go to the store like once or twice a month now for the same things as you, it's so great! We raise our own beef and chickens and we have a really good local source for pork. We have a couple pretty big gardens and we do a lot of canning. Looking forward to getting your meal craft system 😊
at your 18:06. An ELECTRIC Instant Pot high pressure cooker is the way to go. It doesn't vent or lose steam and shuts off when done; You don't have to babysit it. A MUST for soups, beans, pasta sauces, and processing tomatoes.
My Asian coworker told me he uses a rice cooker. They eat rice like we eat bread. It's just easy. Push the button and forget.
My other favorite appliances are:
-Battery powered handheld can opener. Crimps the lid on top off.
-Food processor for dice onions. And having jarred garlic.
-Air fryer
Don't ignore the easy go to food.
I LOVE the idea of cooking off the cuff. Use what I have - and be creative.
I mean, to some degree you have to learn to cook and move around a kitchen, techniques, etc. Not culinary school, of course, but a little foundational. Wedge goes a long way. I’m lucky my mom taught me how to braise, roast, make a sauce/gravy, etc. This is a great idea to teach some skills :)
I'm on the struggle bus! 😂 Love this. I seriously felt like you've been spying on my life! This is exactly how I seem to function.
I used to make a monthly grid in my notebook and schedule a month of dinners (I usually have a few standard things for lunch and rarely want to eat breakfast, so I don't usually plan those) in advance. That worked fine but I got tired of making the grid. Now, I have a calendar nearby, to see if there are any special days I may want a special meal for. But otherwise, I just pick out what meals I want to make for the month. I don't follow any guides (didn't know there were any), I just either put things I've been craving or find recipes that I want to make, whether it's something I haven't had in a while or brand new. I'm not strict about following recipes, but I do love cookbooks and recipes, because they seem old-fashioned to me, lol. I grew up eating fast food and convenience foods (boxed mac and cheese, spaghetti that involved heating noodles and a can of sauce, tv dinners, etc.). So browsing through old cookbooks or even online (most of what I actually follow comes from websites, but I am fonder of my vintage cookbooks) is my idea of old-fashioned. I make a list of a handful of meals for the month, plus a few meals that I can pull together "as needed" from things I keep on hand (homemade pizza, canned soup, etc.). I do this so that I have an easy "backup plan" if I need it. I always fear running out of food, not being able to stomach a new recipe after I've made it, or, if it's winter, being unable to get to the store due to the weather or an illness; these backups help that. And that's my plan. Some months I pick meals I don't need to buy much for, other times I am in the mood to try new things and buy things I don't normally have. It's helpful to have a list so that I remember what I wanted to make and what I'd made sure I had the ingredients for but since I don't schedule everything to a specific day, it is pretty flexible. I do try to eat whatever is more likely to perish first, though.
I usually have salad for lunch, and leave the leftovers for dinners. I make a meal one day, and either eat it the next, too, or make a different meal and then just alternate between the two. When one meal is gone, I make another from my list. I usually don't mind eating leftovers like this, but if I do tire of something I'll freeze it to eat another time and fix a "back up".
I'm not a homesteader, though, so have to buy most everything I eat. But maybe the idea of making a list of meals you have ingredients for (or what's available in the garden, etc) and keeping it on the fridge would be helpful. Then when you're trying to figure out what to make, you have this list of doable suggestions.
This is exactly what i do and exactly why. I never put thought into why i do it but you hit this one spot on. It's mental exhaustion, we eat based on abundance and that could be because of a great sale i find, we also don't necessarily eat "breakfast" for breakfast. My children have grown up to know that food is food despite the time of day. I'm also making double so half of our meals are left overs. We do lots of flexible meals for instance chicken salad can be made with various different fruits(grapes, raisins, cranberries, apple...) or no fruit. Chicken soup can be made with rice or noodles. If i don't have enough rice, then i add quinoa. Meal planning also increases our food expenses because you're not buying what's on sale.
I struggle w this big time, for all the reasons u have ( although I usually haven't lived that far from town, for various reasons it was still a big-ish deal to go shop) and more, harder (to me) ones. With health & histamine disorder issues I've been battling, acruing & gradually figuring out my whole life, now I'm sposed to not eat leftovers, slow cooked or any other high-histamine foods 🙄. I farmed w my Dad/parents on our dairy farm til my 30s, lived there and worked all hours until married at age 27, situation ( & a parent) was/is abusive-ish filled ( incl. spiritual and I'm a Christian anyway btw ), extremely high stress and etc. etc. , and tho I cooked some as a kid and helped w canning ( we just did waterbath tho) & garden & housework, I wasn't taught a lot & def. not the more "professional" approaches or details, such as even cast-iron or knives or any pan/utensil or even garden/farm tool care. So, here I am at 44, married nearly 17 yrs ( time flies !!) and feel embarrassed that I'm basically always somewhat lost on average, when it comes to staying on top of meals and much to do w housekeeping. Now that I have decent internet and more time and brain energy again, I need to just make myself look up stuff like " how to clean an oven, low to no harsh chemicals", whether I'm in the mood or not... . Anyway, I feel like you'd "get me" & I super appreciate this video !
I make German pancakes instead of traditional pancakes. I think it is easier higher in protein and the kids love how it puffs up. But otherwise breakfast is almost the same here
It’s what to cook. I like to cook but need ideas to cook:) I’d like to be on wait list.
Doesn't the pressure feature of an instapot also break down the phytic acid and other antinutrients
Since you have a garden and you eat "seasonally". I'm sure you eat from your pantry. Don't know if you watch or have heard of both suttons days , or the seasonal homesteader. They kind of give you both issues that you are talking about. I understand what you are struggling through. I had wanted to meal prep but my husband doesn't like a lot of the same things I do which makes it more difficult. We can do main protein that we like but veggies can be different. Nancy from Nebraska
There is a process that dry beans have to go through in order to be healthy to eat, that they don't get to go through in the instant pot. Beans need to be slow cooked. Doctors have warned against the dangers of making beans in the slow cooker. Please look that up!!!
Well, I guess you can cook beans in the instant pot or go through a fast food drive thru. Which do you think is healthier? Don’t believe all things doctors say. Just think the vaccine…