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Savoring life in the Berkshires

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Menu Planning

Published on November 18, 2010 By Emily. Updated on April 9, 2015

Sometimes I have to stop and remind myself that not everyone lives (or cooks, or eats) like I do. Last week, I went out to lunch with Cynthia.  During the course of our conversation, she mentioned to me that she wished she was as good at menu planning as I am.  The comment surprised me, because I don’t think of my menu planning as that great or a big deal, but the more I’ve thought about it the more I’ve realized that not everyone plans their dinners a week in advance like I do.

I realize this bit-by-bit menu planning process may not work for everyone, but this is how I do it.  I like taking care of things (supermarket flyers, coupons, etc) as soon as they arrive.  Here’s a snapshot of what my menu planning process looks like.  Sometimes the days get shifted a little, depending on my schedule, but this is generally how it works.  Of course, I’m always sort of thinking about what I might like to cook next

Everyday: Collect Recipes

As I (slowly, but surely) work my way through my Google reader, food magazines and other random sources, I copy and paste, highlight and bookmark recipes I want to keep.  I may use the recipes this week, or next summer, but I save them nevertheless.

Tuesday: Read the CSA Email

Now that our winter CSA season has officially started, we get a list of available produce each pick up week.  Since we’ve already paid for the food, it makes sense to start thinking about meal ideas in terms of what’s available at the farm.

Wednesday: Read Supermarket Fliers and Start Shopping List

Every week we receive circulars from 3 local grocery stores.  We have savings cards at all of them.  I look through the fliers and list the items I might be interested in getting on my shopping list. I don’t buy everything I list, but this helps me get a good picture of what’s available at a good price.

My shopping list is divided into 3 columns.  The 2 side columns are for sale items at specific stores (2 stores share a column).  The center column is for other items I need that aren’t store specific.  This helps me keep track of what I’m buying where.

Friday/Saturday: Choose Recipes and Finish Shopping List

By this point, I’ve got a good idea of what ingredients I’ll have available this week.  I know what’s available at our CSA and I know what’s on sale at the supermarket.  A quick look through my coupons and pantry further clarifies my list. I go back to my collections of recipes and decide what I feel like making and/or what recipes will use the ingredients I have or can get at a reasonable price.  I write my list of what dishes I plan to make on the back of my shopping list.

Friday and Saturday are also our CSA pick up days.

Saturday/Sunday: Buy Food

I don’t go to all 3 stores each week.  Usually one of the stores doesn’t have much of interest on sale, though which store that is changes weekly.  Lately I’ve been doing most of the food shopping alone, but Brian usually comes along if we go right from church.

Sunday: Clip Coupons

I am not one of those crazy coupon people, but I do look forward to clipping coupons from the Sunday papers.  I clip, then add to my coupon organizer.  The coupons will come in handy on Friday or Saturday.

Mapping it all out like this makes my menu planning look like a lot of work.  It’s really not bad though and I can’t imagine not knowing what I was going to have for dinner on a given night.

Do you plan your meals in advance?  What strategies do you use?

Related Posts

Sunday at the Holiday Farmers’ Market
Kicking Off The Year: January 3-16 Menu Plan
Starting the Countdown (CSA Menu Plan #66)
I Love Brassicas (CSA Menu Plan #70)
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Filed Under: life, menu plans Tagged With: menu, shopping, supermarket

« Highlights: Thanksgiving (Part 1)
CSA Pick Up, etc »

Comments

  1. Cynthia (It All Changes) says

    November 18, 2010 at 9:14 pm

    I’ve been better at planning meals since our conversation. We haven’t eaten out all week!!

  2. Emily says

    November 20, 2010 at 9:15 am

    I’m so terrible at planning meals in advance. I will be good about it one week, and then the next week come home and look at my cabinets with no clue what to make. If I was cooking for just me, I think it would be easier sometimes… but having to take other people’s interests in food into account doesn’t make planning menus easy! I agree that reading fliers to see what sales are going on can definitely help :)

Trackbacks

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  2. Relishments » Highlights: Time Management says:
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  3. EIM Eats & Menu Planning Ideas says:
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    […] Emily at Relishments posted her tips on menu planning […]

  4. » Trying out the Grocery IQ Smartphone App » Relishments says:
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    […] Trying out the Grocery IQ Smartphone App  Posted by Emily at 8:34 pm Mar 232012   I am a list maker.  I make lists all the time: at work, at home, on paper and on my computer.  One of my favorite lists to make is my weekly grocery list, which I outlined in too much detail in an earlier post. […]

  5. » Introducing Menu Plans (8/31-9/6) says:
    August 31, 2013 at 8:32 pm

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  6. » Making My Menu Plans More Efficient says:
    April 22, 2014 at 9:22 pm

    […] no secret that I’m a big fan of menu planning.  I wrote about it here and I post my dinner plans every couple weeks.  Menu plans help keep me sane: I know what to […]

  7. Tips and Tools for Meal Planning–2015 Edition says:
    April 15, 2015 at 8:19 pm

    […] back in 2011, I wrote my first post about my meal planning process.  Since then, I’ve planned a lot of meals, tried a lot of new recipes and grown up a little […]

  8. MEnu Planning is Like Lesson Planning + Free Printable (CSA Menu Plan #38) | Relishments says:
    September 26, 2015 at 8:12 pm

    […] to help you with brainstorming your own menu planning.  I wrote a post years ago about the way I plan my menus, by considering what I’ve picked up at the farm as well as what’s on sale at the supermarket […]

  9. Get Started Menu Planning -- with a Printable! | Relishments says:
    October 7, 2015 at 8:18 pm

    […] method of menu planning hasn’t changed much since I first wrote about it in 2010, though now I typically do all my planning in an afternoon instead of throughout the week.  In […]

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photo of EmilyWelcome to Relishments! Follow along with my adventures in cooking and eating in the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts.

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Emily
Last week Brian and I finally got around to hiring Last week Brian and I finally got around to hiring a sitter for a rare night out. We went to dinner at @publicna and took advantage of the opportunity with drinks, appetizers and dessert.

Pictured:
- Citrus Braised Beef Tacos
- "Chicken and Waffles"
- House Fries with Garlic Aioli
- Fried Chickpeas
- Blood Orange Cheesecake
It was no surprise that Public was close to full on a Wednesday night - everything was so good. 

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#igers413_food #igers413 #BerkshireFoodies #InTheBerkshires #EatLocal #WesternMA #WesternMass #Berkshires  #VisitTheBerkshires #NorthAdams #NAmazing #PublicEatAndDrink
New year, new theme word! This year's word is "enr New year, new theme word!
This year's word is "enrich" and I'm really excited about it.

I've written more about this year's theme on the blog. Click in the link in my profile or follow the link below to read the post.
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https://www.relishments.com/blog/my-2023-theme-word-enrich/
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#YearlyTheme #MyOneWord #2023 #enrich2023 #NewYearsResolution
It's not New Year's Eve without a Top 9 post. It's It's not New Year's Eve without a Top 9 post.
It's almost all #Berkshires content this year, which is great.
1. A pasta salad reel that took longer to create than the recipe took to make.
2. A reel from North Carolina where I could have watched birds all day.
3. The @thelazygenius book giveaway.
4.@plantconnector 
5. @berkshiremuseum 
6.@sculpture.now at @themountlenox 
7. @massmoca 
8. @mountainviewfarm413 
9. The #AshuwillticookRailTrail
New on the blog: My 2022 reflections on last year' New on the blog: My 2022 reflections on last year's theme word - resume. 

I was able to get back to many activities that were meaningful to me this year and I'm calling this theme a success. Follow the link below or click the link in my profile to read more.
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https://www.relishments.com/blog/reflections-on-resuming-in-2022/
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#resume2022 #newyearsresolution #myoneword #yearlytheme
New on the blog: My Favorite Recipes of 2022. For New on the blog: My Favorite Recipes of 2022.

For the fourth year, I've recapped the best new (to me) recipes I made this year in the hope that they'll give you some new dishes to try. This year's list is short, but delicious. It includes @budgetbytes My Favorite Recipes of 2022
Published on December 30, 2022 By Emily. Updated on December 30, 2022

It’s hard to believe that 2022 is basically behind us. Though overall this year found me getting back to the person I want to be (post-babies and “post”-pandemic), I did not try nearly as many new recipes this year as I used to. In fact, I was pleasantly surprised to see that I’d made note of any new-to-me recipes I wanted to share in this post. This year’s list is short, but delicious. It includes recipes from @budgetbytes, @smittenkitchen and @howsweeteats.
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Read the post by visiting the link in my profile or 
https://www.relishments.com/blog/my-favorite-recipes-of-2022/
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#RecipeRoundUp #BestRecipes2022 #FavoriteRecipes
@coastalmainebotanicalgardens continues to be one @coastalmainebotanicalgardens continues to be one of the highlights of all my return trips to Boothbay and their annual Gardens Aglow event continues to impress. It was great to be back to walking the gardens instead of the pandemic drive through and there seemed to be more lights than ever.  I'm already looking forward to next year.
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#Boothbay #BoothbayMaine #CoastalMaineBotanicalGardens #GardensAglow #BotanicalGarden #MidcoastMaine
It has been a while, but there is finally a new CS It has been a while, but there is finally a new CSA menu plan on the blog! Visit the link below or in my profile to see how I plan to make use of some of the @mightyfoodfarm produce seen here.
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https://www.relishments.com/blog/welcome-to-winter-farm-share-csa-menu-plan-148/
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#MightyFoodFarm #EatLocal #EatSeasonal #VermontGrown #CSApickup #CSAshare #KnowYourFarmerKnowYourFood #MenuPlanning #MealPlanning #igers413 #igers413_food #BerkshireFoodies
Fall in the Berkshires is always incredible, but t Fall in the Berkshires is always incredible, but this year we've had weather that has also been outstanding. The past 2 weekends have included time at Jaeschke Orchards, the Greylock Glen, and the Ashuwillticook Rail Trail as well as stopping to photograph any random foliage I see. 
Check out the last slide for video of some feathered friends we saw on a walk.
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#igers413 #InTheBerkshires #EatLocal #WesternMA #WesternMass #Berkshires  #VisitTheBerkshires #FallFoliage #FallColors #autumn #AshuwillticookRailTrail #JaeschkeOrchards #GreylockGlen
@freshgrassfestival continues to be one of my favo @freshgrassfestival continues to be one of my favorite events each year, and it doesn't hurt that it's just minutes away from home. Enjoying the festival with my kids is definitely a different experience than without, but it's still a good time. The weather was especially cooperative today which was great for all the laps I did around the @massmoca campus pushing a stroller. I'm already looking forward to next year.
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#igers413 #InTheBerkshires #WesternMA #WesternMass #Berkshires  #VisitTheBerkshires #NorthAdams #NAmazing #FreshGrass #FreshGrassFestival #MassMoCA #MusicFestival
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