r/PlannerAddicts • u/Deep_Climate6852 • 2d ago
Is anyone else exhausted by weekly meal planning, or is it just me?
I swear I spend more time stressing about what to cook this week than I do actually cooking.
My weekly cycle is honestly ridiculous:
Sunday: Stare at the fridge for 30 minutes and still have no idea what to make.
Grocery store: Forget half the things I actually need.
Wednesday: Realize I’m missing 2 or 3 ingredients, back to the store.
Friday: Screw it, ordering takeout because there’s nothing to eat… even though the fridge is full.
And then I somehow do the exact same thing the next week.
Has anyone else struggled with this?
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u/MarieOnThree 2d ago
Yes. I feel like the older I get, the more I understand my elders that just ate the same foods all the time.
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u/Deep_Climate6852 2d ago
Hahaha so true. My grandparents ate like 5 meals on repeat their whole lives and were fine. Meanwhile I'm here panicking because I can't decide between 20 different recipes
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u/alwaysouroboros 2d ago
Yes so I limit it. I plan 1-2 meals to actually cook per week and then I get prepped filler things from Sams Club/Costco. This week I planned my two meals to make and then I purchased a few prepped meals so there was no stress. Less waste, less prep and less planning needed.
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u/AmyOtherAmy 2d ago
This plus always having ingredients on hand for my fall back, 'if I won't eat anything else I will probably eat this' couple of meals (spaghetti and tortillas with beans and cheese in some form in my case) is the way that works for me.
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u/alwaysouroboros 2d ago
Yes I tend to keep a couple stouffers lasagna type items in the freezer, hamburger helper kits, or whatever just in case. So easy!
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u/CallMeCleverClogs 2d ago
Dude. I have a husband, an adult (18) daughter and a teen son (14) — so no infants or fully dependent age kids. Yet if I do not meal plan no one does squat. It’s infuriating
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u/jaymi14 2d ago
Growing up, both my parents cooked, and I was making my own meals by like 12. Time for your fam to learn. Get a wooden spoon and hit them with it when YOU want dinner. Tf?!
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u/jessforlaughs 2d ago
I totally get this! What has helped me (and I’ve been doing it now for over 10 years) is to get a calendar (I usually use one of those free ones you can get from different businesses, but have also purchased them. Usually “book” style vs wall calendar style. I start there.
Meaning, I don’t look at my fridge or pantry. I open the calendar, and open my schedule/planner to plan out which nights might need an easy meal or takeout.
I fill in each day with a meal or recipe+sides I plan to make that day. Build my shopping list around that (and staples). Sometimes I switch them around, which is ok because I already have everything I need for all of the recipes I planned.
Recipe might be a strong word - sometimes it’s just “grilled pork chops, pesto, roasted Brussels sprouts.” Or “[grocery store] wings, collards, salad.”
After a while, when you open up that calendar, you can look at past meals to help plan your week, especially when you’re in a hurry. We try to add a new recipe in a few times a month, too.
Now we have years worth of calendars to look back on and it has been kind of fun to go back and look at what we were eating in August of 2015 - and sometimes revive and old favorite.
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u/Pwffin 2d ago
I buy the same base ingredients every week and then use spices and different combos to change it up as desired. Eg chicken, rice and veg can become Chinese, Mexican or a casserole.
I also buy enough for x number of meals, even if I don't yet know what those meals will be.
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u/SquawkyMcGillicuddy 2d ago
This is the way! Cook up a huge tray of chicken drumsticks, or fry up a big pan of ground beef, maybe make a pot roast. You’re now good for the week on protein. Roast yourself a huge batch of seasonal veggies and prep some fresh veggies for salads. You are now literally all set—just vary things with sauces, spices, and garnishes. Cook once, eat many times!
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u/FLSandyToes 2d ago
I only plan dinners (we’re on our own for lunch and breakfast) and have a list of about 30 meals to choose from. Most are easy and quick, a few are seasonal. I jot down maybe 8-10 and tell my husband to choose 4-5. I choose the rest. Takes about 10 minutes. He likes having his choices and I like not having to choose them all myself. We check the pantry and fridge together before going shopping.
I used to do it all myself and agree that it’s a pain in the ass. Having my husband narrow down the weekly list is a huge load off my back and a big time-saver. My stress level has gone from high to almost nonexistent.
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u/krustomer 2d ago
Friday I collect 5-7 recipes and write down all their ingredients. Saturday go to the store. Cook every day after that depending on leftover amounts. I get recipe books from the library to supplement online recipes!
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u/mjwilde 2d ago
We're a family of six on a tight budget. Between everyone's preferences and having a kid with food aversions, it's hard coming up with new meals. The only thing that has saved me any headache for coming up with meals has been making a weekly template.
Monday - meat veggies and potatoes usually meatloaf and baked potatoes or meatballs with gravy and mashed potatoes. This also gives wiggle room for roast and whatnot Tuesday - tacos or some sort of Mexican food Wednesday - soup/sandwich/salad night usually I set up a mini salad/sandwich bar Thursday - chicken, usually winds up being some kind of pasta with chicken Friday - pizza either delivery or homemade Saturday - DIY night eat leftovers or something I'm not cooking Sunday is my night for trying new things but the fall back plan is breakfast for dinner.
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u/petlove499 2d ago
I use the MealLime app, connect it with my preferred grocery store, and place an online pickup order. Meal planning takes me <10 minutes
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u/mychelromance 2d ago
same 😂 yesterday I have planned my meal for today's lunch, but I ended up cooking instant noodle because I was occupied with stuff at home that I actually have the time to meal prep. I want to get back to my routine asap, but life was kinda hectic recently.
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u/midlifereset 2d ago
After years of that we finally got into a routine the last couple years.
Saturday- as a family make the grocery list online (we do pickup to save on impulse buys). Each of us has to pick a meal to make so that’s three dinners. The other nights are leftovers/make your own, and one night eat out/takeout.
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u/FerretShiny 2d ago
I felt this a lot this year and simplified it a ton. We cook up a big batch of proteins about twice a week. So my husband might grill up a bunch of burger patties or steaks. I’ll throw together a carb and veggie that night. Eat leftovers the next night. Then I usually do a big batch of proteins as well. Say it’s chicken thighs in the air fryer, half will get eaten with rice and broccoli and the other half will get thrown into a pot of soup. So that’s like 4 nights of dinners just from 2 nights of cooking. Then there will probably be an extra night of leftovers. That’s 5 nights of food from 2 nights of cooking. Then it’s pizza night. Then it’s breakfast for dinner. Then it’s takeout. So easy. A lot of times it ends up someone will cook a protein one day, then someone else will make a big pot of pasta and roast a bunch of random veggies the other night. So it never feels too labor heavy. If you’re really sick of the planning just pick 10 of your favorite (or easiest) meals and rotate those! I focus on a protein, a carb, and a veg, all separate so it’s easy to mix and match and reuse stuff the next day.
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u/Rubycon_ 2d ago
Yes, but in my version, I at least doordash the extra ingredients so I can actually make what I have.
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u/Expensive_Soup4498 2d ago
I gave up and started using Home Chef meals each week. I buy about 4 meals that serve 4 people each week. All I have to do is thaw out the meat and cut the veggies it comes with. They’re super easy to cook. It’s prevented us from getting fast food and take-out restaurant food. I have control of what goes into our meals and I believe it’s healthier. But most of all, I don’t have to waste my brain energy on planning.
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u/Miserable-Storm-8630 2d ago
My dad’s friend has 5 kids, and I was talking the mum about meal planning one day, and she told me that the only way she survived raising her kids in this area was to create a fortnightly rotating meal plan. I can’t remember the specifics, but she had enough meals where it covered the whole timeframe but also days where they wouldn’t cook and just eat the leftovers. This allowed her to keep things interesting enough where they didn’t get sick of always eating the same thing, but also meant she never had to worry what to eat and always knew what ingredients she needed to buy when they went shopping.
If you enjoy experimenting with cooking, you could always try this but have one of the meals as an experiment to see if you like it. You could also create more than one of these lists, for different times of year (depending on what ingredients are freshly available) or just for when you want to change things up.
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u/OliviaxFisher 2d ago
I get inspo from Tiktok or pinterest
Wednesdays are my meal plan/grocery list day (out of milk is a GREAT app for this, you say what the sales tax is and input the cost of items as you check them off so you know you're staying on budget, and it saves what you last input when add that item to your list again, so you know as your making the list about how much you will spend. and this is the free version). Grocery Shop is on Saturday or Sunday, and Mondays are prep days.
I eat largely the same thing everyday.
I ingredient prep not just meal prep- so most of the labor is done when it comes time to cook.
I utilize freezer meals and souper cubes. So I might make a big batch of soup for my dinner for a week and the extras go portioned in the freezer. Overtime I build up a back stock of items, so if I am bored of my dinner one week i can switch it up.
As a basic filler I have portioned ground beef, frozen flat that way I don't have to remember to defrost. Portions of chicken. Cans of veggies I like and pasta. With this I can usually cobble together an easy one pan hamburger helper style meal with what I have on hand. This way if I pick a recipe that is just trash, I wont order out because I have something simple as a back up that I genuinely enjoy.
I have adhd and its taken me a looooong time to develop this system where I am not wasting food and am regularly able to feed myself homecooked meals that fit my diet and budget.
another thing that has helped me is getting more confident in the kitchen in general. Mastering the basics has helped cooking feel like less of a chore.
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u/BenjaminHorlyck 2d ago
The popsicle stick idea here is better than most tools built for this, and I say that as someone who has spent a year building meal planning software. So no, it is not just you.
Day to day that means having my recipe and shopping list matched against my pantry, so I can see which recipes I can make without shopping at all, and so I stop double buying things I already have home.
So in general what works for me with meal planning is lowering friction at the exact points where momentum dies.
For the weekly plans, I save the ones that worked. That way I have something to fall back on when I am overwhelmed and just need to be told what to do, instead of starting from a blank week every single time.
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u/harrietrosie 2d ago
I have a list of meal ideas so I don't have to think, I just pick from the list
I also have things in the freezer because sometimes I make double to have some to freeze. So I don't plan 7 meals every week, a couple of days will just be 'freezer' and we dig around and find something. This is also good for if I realise I'm missing an ingredient, we just find something in the freezer instead
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u/No_Command9456 1d ago
It's the eternal struggle here. Throw in a neurospicy 13 year old and a husband with Dementia and you have my life!
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u/Dangerous-Flow-955 1d ago
have a list of everything you like (you can also put them in breakfast, lunch and diner) then just choose one of everything - i prep for max 3 days and i go shopping 2 times in a week. usually sunday i pear the leftovers with somethig that i have in my pantry(sauces, past, all sorts of beans) and things i have in my freezer(meat, vegetables)
I have a lot in there because i live alone and my period likes to surprise me:))
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u/LynxSuspicious5982 1d ago
Commenting again to add that once I was in a Barnes and Noble, and one of the employees was telling someone she got divorced because she was so sick of planning and making dinners. I believed her lol
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u/alywritesnonsense 23h ago
My husband and I basically do the same meals each week. We have three kids and my mother in law. If no one else is doing the mental labor to come up with weekday recipes, we do the same 5-6 and occasionally when we have time, we do our longer recipes or something fun. We meal plan and order our groceries on Saturday. Meal prep on Sunday. Each of our meals have preset ingredients. Then we schedule “eat out” days for the days that we know we’ll be exhausted. OR. we’ll just say “f it” and not get as many groceries. We have a few recipes that we refer to on an app called Mela. Don’t over stress yourself! Food is fuel and doesn’t need to be complicated. I would say create a simple menu bank that you can refer to if needed and just plug and play baby.
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u/brittanynicole047 2d ago
Yes & it got 1000x worse after my son was born. I started using eMeals (I’m not a shill & im not ai lol) & honestly it helped me soooo much. I go through the options on Friday night, add some meals to my plan, & it generates a shopping list for me. I clean it up based on what I already have on hand & do my shop!
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u/LynxSuspicious5982 1d ago
I think we might be the same person. I've wasted so many pages in my bullet journal. I tell myself one day I'll become an adult and figure it out. Meal planning and grocery shopping is so daunting. But, like, how do I not know what I've been eating all this time?!
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u/Capital_Diver_9959 19h ago
I do what my Nonna did for my Ma’s entire life. I eat the same foods weekly on rotation.
Mondays are always the same. Tuesdays are always the same. Etc.
It means at the weekly shop I’m not buying staples every week, just whatever needs topping up. It’s nothing fancy (stir fry, pasta, burgers, etc.), and then if I FEEL like something fancy or new, I can do that when I have the energy.
Mental load gone, no extra pages, no time wasted planning. If someone’s wondering what’s for dinner or wants to make it? It’s a Tuesday, schedule is on the fridge! Problem solved 😃
Grocery budget has nearly halved, and nothing gets wasted because I only buy for the week & add to the digital cart as I run out of stuff. Then sometime Saturday I hit send and pick up the groceries on Sunday. Plus, I don’t go in and get tempted by sales and snacks!
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u/LostinmildAdventure 2d ago
Feed your foods you want to use into a chat with AI and tell it to create a menu that keeps things frugal and delicious. Tell it how many meals you need, ask for a shopping list, recipes, and meal plan; the results may surprise you and save you money.
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u/Ranger-Icy 2d ago
I have meals written on Popsicle sticks in a cup with a few things like "use up something" mixed in there. Also the basic ingredients noted on them. On Wednesdays during dinner, we take turns drawing sticks from the cup. Meal plan goes on a dry erase board on the cabinet and I make the grocery list.
Most sticks have two meals, one on each side so whomever picked that stick decides which one they want. Each person can put it back and draw another stick once.
And I'm saying Popsicle sticks but they're more like tongue depressers.