I've come to the conclusion that I just eat out too much. I need to cut back, not only to save money, but to make sure I'm not eating too much junk.
The only problem with this is that I have no idea how to plan my meals for the week. How do I know what I'm going to be hungry for next week?? I have in the past, bought items, thinking they would be good to eat next week and then either didn't want it or didn't have time to cook it. I've lost count of how many bunches of broccoli or cauliflower that have gone bad languishing in my fridge.
Another problem as I see it, is that I don't really know how to cook for one. I end up with too many left overs that have to be eaten for both lunch and dinner sometimes 3 days in a row. That really puts me off cooking.
Last night I made shrimp scampi or something very similar to it. It tasted good, but I have enough for lunch/dinner today, lunch/dinner tomorrow. In the hopes of not OD'ing on the shrimp so quickly, I brought along a sandwich and veggies to eat for dinner tonight on the way to my quilt bee group.
Any ideas?? Either tips on learning how to plan my meals or on how to cook with less leftovers??
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3 comments:
I hear ya on the leftovers. I had the same dilemma before I got married and still do cos Nick won't go vegetarian. I recommend buying a supply of those flat, two-sided Tupperware containers. You can freeze the meals, and then have then a week later when you may be in the mood again. It's always cheaper to cook multiple servings!
As for how to know what to buy, write a shopping list with your recipe books. You'll get a rhythm going after a while!
Best of luck!!!! It's a really great thing you're doing for yourself!
I have to agree with Dr. aWoW. Menu-planning is pretty helpful, even if you switch the night you were going to cook "X" because you felt like it on Monday instead of later in the week. You just need to ensure the ingredients are on hand (and the freezer idea - great). When we moved to SB we made a concerted effort to do this, and it saved us money. For one, beforehand we were stuck with trying to decide what to eat, only to learn we were missing key ingredients from the dishes that crossed our minds, and we were so hungry that we just packed up and went to one of the many nearby eateries.
And I've learned from experience not to plan a dish for everyday - things come up, or we have more leftovers than we bargained for and I can't eat the same meal for lunches and dinners back to back.
Good luck! Let us know how it goes.
I plan my menus for most of the week, but allow for some "wiggle room." We have some favorite recipes that are quick and simple and we always try to have the ingredients for those on hand. And, I try to take into consideration the evenings we'll be more pressed for time -- obviously, no recipe experimenting for those nights!
I like Dr. aWoW's suggestion of freezing leftovers. I do that sometimes, but leftovers tend to get eaten really quickly in my house. But, it's an easy way to not get bored with your meals throughout the week AND have quick meals to grab later.
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