To the cooks out there...help me!

[Grace]

If you have a 'game plan', shopping comes so much easier.

We sit down on the weekend and try to figure out what we would like to eat for the coming week. There are always one or two meals that produce left-overs, thus relieving you from cooking every single night.

Once the menus are determined, you can make out your list for the week - then you know you'll have what you need on hand.

We also have an on-your-own night every couple of weeks. He can have soup or a frozen dinner. I usually do a salad for myself.

[carole]

well not sure i would class myself as a cook, but i have always cooked meals for my family, we hardly ever dine out, or get take out, i love nothing better than eating a home cooked meal, although i do wish someone else would cook it for a change. lol.

I am no gourmet cook, a very plain fish,chicken ,meat and three or four vege type person,. i don't like fancy food at all. I basically have the same thing most weeks, changing the menu a bit sometimes as to save bordem.

Sundays we nearly always have a Roast chicken, i do let the supermarket cook that for me, and do the roast veges myself, in a low fat cooking spray , as to make them not fatty or unhealthy, with greens as well. I never deep fry anything, always use low fat options and eat nothing over 3grms saturated fat

Twice a week in the winter we have homemade vegetable soup, and rolls for dinner, i sometimes make a fruit salad or apple crumble, a weightwatcher one which is much lower in sugars and fats.

I have fillet steak and salad and a few and i mean a few oven fries, about ten for me and 20 for hubby.

I make up a mince recipe , i think you call it hamburger over there, and have them in either burgers or tortillas with lots of yummy salad and a dash of cheese. When i make hamburgers, i just finely chop up some onion, add some paprika and rubbed parsley,grated carrot and roll them with wet hands into balls and flatten, then i either grill them on my george foreman grill or in the low fat spray.

I sometimes make a fritatta a WWatcher one of course.

Hubby has chicken and pasta once a week,and oven baked fish with salad and veges. I have chicken and salad ,or veges. I steam all my veges in my steamer,as to keep the goodness in them.

As you can see nothing fancy here, but all quite good wholesome down to earth healthy meals.

Anyhow good luck, it is easy once you get started and besides when Clara become older you will need to make her some healthy options,so get cooking Kari.

[kitten645]

It really is best to plan a weeks worth (at least) of meals and work backwards toward the ingredients. You'll always have to shop for fresh ingredients anyway and along the way you will build up a pantry and your shopping will turn into just fresh ingredients. Everything else will be there. Keep in mind what you already have when planning the next meal so you don't end up throwing away past date goods. I have found it VERY helpful to list EVERYTHING I've got in my pantry, fridge and freezer. It keeps it fresh in my mind and I don't end up with four jars of mayo in the fridge cause I didn't remember I already had some! Good luck!

[Nomilynn]

Check out SOS Cuisine. It's a Canadian site, but the recipes are awesome and they post a weekly action plan, grocery list and budget for you right as part of the website. They also have a large variety of recipe selections, like Budget, Easy, Quick, Gourmet, etc, but once you sign up you can see all the menu's and modify your weekly menu. When you modify your menu, it automatically changes your action plan and shopping list.

I love the site; I've got a personal recipe cookbook going as well so when they give me a recipe I don't like I can replace it with something from my cookbook. Please let me know how you like it!!

http://www.soscuisine.com/?sos_l=en