I need help meal planning....

Thanks everyone for sharing ideas. I've done similar things to what I've read in this thread, especially the categories of food (Taco Tuesday is a longtime favorite in my house, not limited to Tuesday) and "deconstructed" meals. My middle child has multiple food allergies so I had to learn to improvise for that. And all my kids have non-adventurous tastes. I thrive on routine so I got into a habit of buying pretty much the same things and making the same dinners every week. In the last 6 months, however, I've gotten bored with the same dinners. But it was discouraging the reactions I'd get from my kids when I tried new foods. But I've decided I'm just going to make the things I want to make. They are all capable (ages 15, 13, and 10) of fixing something else if they prefer. I'll still be making a lot of favorites -- I do love the ease of repetition -- but I'm needing some variety.

I wish I had not simplified our meals to just the kids' favorites and had been more creative all along. Maybe they would be more adventurous in eating now if I had.

 

I didn't start meal planning until about 2 years ago, when I saw this really cute Meal Planner from a digi planner that I had bought. LOL Before that, I would just make the same stuff over and over again.

Anyway, I, too, am getting sick of meal planning. Actually, I'm sick of grocery shopping. My DH can't help because he has a debilitating back problem and can't stand or walk for long periods of time. I've subscribed to Kraft Recipes for years and finally started looking at them. This past year, I tried numerous new recipes! I'm so proud of myself, because I would just laze out and make the same old things.

It's hard when you have picky eaters. Thankfully, my son, age 17, is not really a picky eater. He just says he doesn't like stuff when he gets tired of it. LOL Here are some recipes that I've tried; maybe one or more will appeal to you:

http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/easy-pot-pie-recipe-171673.aspx (I don't use the cheese, and I use 16 oz of veggies instead of 2 cups; I also add salt, pepper, poultry seasoning and celery salt to the chicken as I'm cooking it to give it more flavor - if you don't have/want poultry seasoning and celery salt, salt and pepper is just fine, too.)

http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/tuscan-chicken-simmer-111677.aspx (I don't add the tomatoes. Although we like tomatoes, we just didn't care for them in this recipe) - this is a favorite!

http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/easy-crispy-baked-chicken-60741.aspx - so easy, and it's a favorite, too!

http://www.thecookierookie.com/baked-spicy-chicken-tacos/ - so easy and delicious!

http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/speedy-chicken-stir-fry-107263.aspx - I'm making this tonight. I'm cutting the chicken into bite-size pieces and doubling the sauce, because the first time I made it, there didn't seem to be enough sauce. I'm also using frozen broccoli florets.

Lasagna (http://www.food.com/recipe/virginias-easy-lasagne-229072 - you don't have to precook the lasagna noodles!)?

What about beef tacos?

We also have fajitas - I buy ready-made fajita meat, flour tortillas, guacamole, shredded cheese, salsa.

I also buy a cooked spiral sliced ham. I divide it up into several packages and freeze it. We love that ham.

Hope this helps!

 

Oh, for my picky eater, when she was about 4-5ish, we made her wear a blind fold. We were getting a lot of looking at it and saying "I don't like it" without trying it. I made a deal with her that if I was making something she'd never seen, she had to try it without seeing it first by wearing the blindfold. If she liked it blindfolded, she had to eat it no matter what. If she didn't like it with the blindfold on, she could have cereal or a sandwich- basically things she could make herself. At no time would I cook her something different if she didn't like what I made. It worked beautifully! And, one day, I went to get the blindfold and she said, "I don't need that anymore, Mom. I will just try it even if it looks funny." That was the end of that phase! It worked like a charm for my little picky eater who didn't like how anything looked!!

Huggles!!
~Sarah~

 

This is me. For me, it's a texture. I don't like cooked carrots because they are usually cooked to the point of mushy, and then taste waterlogged. But I love raw carrots and the crisp of them. And broccoli I won't eat raw, but will eat roasted in the oven. Again, it's a texture thing. I also will add celery if it'll be cooked. I won't eat it raw.

And I've never thought of myself as picky, but I'm wondering if those things would classify me as such in a mom's eye.

 

I love Cook Smarts meal plans (http://www.cooksmarts.com/), but with picky eaters you probably can't get away with using it. They have recipes for a LOT of international, especially Asian, dishes that D and I love, but little kids may not like so much. I thought I'd link it up in case it helps anyone else, though. They are a little pricey, but have a great sale every Black Friday. They also have options for every recipe to make it Gluten Free or Vegetarian, and once you've selected the meals you want to cook for the week the site will generate a shopping list for you.

Skinny Taste (http://www.skinnytaste.com/) is free and has more traditional fare, and she posts her menu plan along with links to the recipes each week.

 

YES! That was the recipe that started this whole obsession... Mini Monte Cristos. The recipe I used was a little different, but basically the same... http://www.lecremedelacrumb.com/monte-cristo-party-sliders/

Who would have thought that raspberry jam would be so good on a sandwich!

I happened to turn on Food Network the other day and catch an episode of The Pioneer Woman where she was making these make ahead roast beef sandwiches. My plan is to try them out in the next couple of days and see if we like them. I think they'll make good crazy night dinners when dinner needs to be on the table fast or everyone is needing to be fed at different times...

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ree-drummond/hot-roast-beef-sandwiches

 

I know this thread is about meal planning, but I made this last night: Maryland Crab Soup. I was searching my poor feeble brain on what I could fix that I could eat as well as feed the rest of the family, and this popped into my head. The best part about it is that I had almost everything in the pantry or in the freezer (minus the lima beans - ewww!). I just stopped by Trader Joe's for their frozen crab meat, and it was dinner! The only other change I made was using veggie stock rather than water. Add either hush puppies or cornbread as a side and you've got a meal. It was yummy!

 

My hubby is a very picky eater (corn, canned peas, potatoes, raw onion, raw carrot and lettuce are the only veggies he will eat) and one of my daughters is autistic (so her foods cannot touch and only certain things go with other things like chicken can not be served with anything gravy related and gravy of any sort cannot be brown, it is not an acceptable gravy color lol) and right now I am gone until late 3 nights a week. All of that makes meal planning more of a challenge, but I do 1 week at a time, but we usually don't stick to the exact days I have something planned.

There are a couple of time saving thing that I have been doing for years. When I make chili, meat sauce, etc, I make extra and make frozen simmer bags. Most (but not all) vacuum seal bags can be simmered in water so I vacuum seal (I usually double seal) my chili, etc and then just place the frozen bag in a pot of simmering water until it is defrosted and heated through. Works great for when I have forgotten to take something out. We shop a lot at Sam's and we keep a large quantity of certain staples on hand. I also pre-brown hamburger and portion it out and freeze it, so if I am in a hurry I already have some browned.