What do you want to eat tomorrow, or the next day?

I'm asking because I never know. Every day I wake up, think about what I might want to eat that day, go to the grocery store, and buy the ingredients for that thing I want to eat.

I have no idea what I'll want to eat tomorrow, or the next day, or the day after that.

I recognize how inefficient that is. I also know that most people buy groceries once a week, or even less often than that. If you're one of those efficient people, could you please tell me how you know what you will want to eat 7 or more days in advance?

When I was in college I walked past a local grocery store on the way home. I never had food in the house because I purchased everything to be consumed immediately. I liked that.
Having many small children is what really made me step up my shopping game. It's much easier to make a list and only drag the little beasts out once or twice a week. Every now and again I screw up. I forgot to make pizza crust last night. Since the crust had to rise overnight that meant no pizza tonight so we moved tomorrow's dinner to tonight. It helps to have at least one backup meal. A box of pasta and a jar of sauce for instance.

I have ideas and recipes, but with my schedule, I'm pretty lazy on my free days. Otherwise it's not that hard. Moreso if you can grab 5 ingredients and make a random tasty dish.

Sushi. It's all I need.

Hmm thinking of some BBQ ribs. It's unseasonably warm momentarily and they always make it feel like summer. Thinking of some home made Gouda Mac n cheese but have to think of the right veggie to go with.

mazdeuce wrote: It's much easier to make a list

Right. That's what I'm after. How do you make a list of things you'll want to eat a week from now?

The key is to make stuff that uses ingredients that have enough of a shelf life that even if you don't get around to using it for a week it'll still be fine. Combine that with enough flexibility that you can use particular ingredients in a bunch of different possible things and it's pretty uncommon to get stuck with the "I need to go to the grocery store to buy X, Y, and Z right NOW" situation.

You do have to be willing to accept the occasional meal where the answer to "what's for dinner?" is "whatever I can make with these things that are going to expire tomorrow" :)

Being into fitness and nutrition, most of my meals are more for purpose than what I "want" to eat. I eat the same thing during the weekdays. I actually pre-make my breakfasts and lunches for the entire week on Sundays and we pre-cook our week of dinners too. So not much thought is required. Even on the weekends, it's a fairly similar concept. I eat a few different things on the weekends than I do on weekdays, but even that's pretty standard every weekend. One exception is Friday nights, when my wife and I have our cheat meal. Then it's whatever I feel like eating. In fact, we're about to order our dinner in a few minutes. Thinking of pizza and fries tonight.

Base ingredients that can be used for multiple purposes helps enormously.

I usually shop on a Monday for the week. I go to the butcher and buy meat that I can make into many things. So usually some chicken breasts or thighs, some steak, some pork fillet or cutlets, some bacon and some lamb. I almost always avoid anything pre-made, such as marinaded, crumbed or otherwise single purpose products. This also has the benefit of being cheaper.

Chicken can be used for pastas, curries, schnitzel, tenders, Kiev's, grilled fillets, kebabs and anything else I can come up with.

The pork makes schnitzels, pork mince, can be grilled, used for stirfry, meat and three veg, and more

The same applies for beef or lamb, depending on the cut, there are usually 3 or 4 options for whatever I buy.

Bacon is a multi purpose staple to me. Anything from pasta to breakfast to being cooked with brussel sprouts or sauteed with cabbage. It can be an enhancer to a number of dishes or a star in its own right.

When it comes to the rest of the shop, I try to make sure I keep a well stocked pantry full of dried staples such as rice's, pastas, beans, lentils, bulgar wheat, polenta, cous cous, split peas etc. Along with plenty of flour, bread crumbs, sugar and other baking accompaniments. Canned goods such as fish, tomato's, beans, coconut milk, fruit etc.

The freezer always has a few frozen things I've made, plus things like fries, vegetables, a couple of cuts of meat that I regularly cycle out and replace with others, and a few lazy desert options along with some crappy frozen food type things.

I keep potatoes and onions in the house at all times, and buy a fair amount of fresh fruit and vegetables that as with everything else I buy, have multiple uses. Lettuce, tomatoes, apples and bananas are pretty much in the house all year round, the rest of the fresh produce I try and buy whatever is in season or on special.

By shopping like this, I basically have a mini supermarket in my house, and I don't have to have a meal plan set out to far in advance.

Our weekday breakfasts are usually boring and predictable, usually cereal, toast and yoghurt Lunches are normally sandwiches, wraps or rolls with a generous amount of healthy fillings and accompanied by fresh fruit and a few little snack items.

My partner and i used to do the whole shop daily thing, it was the source of to many arguments to count, meant we ended up eating far more take out than we should and cost us a bucket load more. It takes a while to get used to, but the pay off has been totally worth it for us.

EvanR wrote:

mazdeuce wrote: It's much easier to make a list

Right. That's what I'm after. How do you make a list of things you'll want to eat a week from now?

I literally make a menu. Monday meatloaf. Tuesday tacos. On and on. I have a recipe book that I pull from. Sometimes I flip through recipes online. I ask Mrs. Deuce of the kids if there's something they want. Every now and again my list will say Wed - dinner+veggie and I have to figure something out at the store.
I don't try more than two new recipes a week so the other five days are a known quantity of 'keeper recipes' that have been decided upon by the family. All of this means that on any given day I have ingredients for one to four days of dinners. This gives me some leeway on what to cook. Menu says stir fry today but I don't feel like that much work so I throw the pork roast from Friday in the oven instead. Like anything else, you get better with time. The biggest help is to have a book of collected recipes that you know you like.

I'm okay with eating the same stuff multiple days in a row. I like to make lunch items for the week on Sunday and go through the work week eating pre-prepared meals. Breakfast I can eat at my desk during the week.

I grab a couple boxes of breakfast bars and some apples for breakfast. This Sunday I'm making sorta Al Pastor pulled pork to have with rice and beans along with a side of stir fried veggies. I'll get five servings of that together by Sunday evening in the fridge, ready for the week. Dinner's are salads that I prepare each day while an egg boils. My big thing is trying to be sort of smart about cholesterol so that egg is just the whites and the only meat I'll eat is during lunch.

Weekends are kind of random, whatever I've got around. Toast and an egg white or two, maybe some pasta thing, etc. I currently live alone so I have that flexibility. If I had a family or whatever I'd try to do something like what mazdeuce is doing with variety and planning a week out. A friend has given me both of the Thug Kitchen cookbooks with the 101: Fast as F looking really useful. Written with swear words and it's vegitarian so be warned if those are issues.

You know there are about a dozen common staples that you're going to eat every week, week in, week out. It's a matter of how and when. But unless you're into exotic game, you're pretty much going to have chicken, beef, pork, or fish. For vegetables you've got greens (lettuce, spinach), crudité (carrots, celery, broccoli, cauliflower), tomatoes and onions, and starches (corn, potatoes, yams). Ditto for fresh fruit.

You need bread and pasta and dairy and eggs.

You know that 90% of your meals are going to get made out of that short list. Each of those things can be prepared in a variety of ways, so you just inventory them and decide what you want to cook when it's time. I'll defrost a couple chicken breasts in the morning, and decide when I get home if I am grilling them with a baked potato, or sautéing them for on top of pasta. But it does not matter because I have all that stuff in stock without having to hit the store every day or two.

What you "want" to eat isn't important; just go with what you're "going" to eat. It's edible and tasty, once you've prepared it you'll enjoy it.

My wife has chrones disease and is picky so its easy too make a list, we eat almost the same thing every week. Probably not the answer you need but its how i got into shopping ahead. Always keep some hamburger and some sauce handy for nights she isnt home.

Tomorrow is Mexican Food day.

Cereal

Three kids, two adults, one income. We buy in bulk and plan out a month of meals. I have two refrigerators and a chest freezer. We aren't a picky at what meal is on what day, we just have the stuff to make a month's worth of food for the family.

But, I also was gifted with the shopping "knack" like my Mother has. I seem to waltz into Kroger just as they restock the clearance section with all the food we need or like. If I find a good deal on something, I'll grab it and that will be the next meal. Saves money and adds some variety.

When my wife met me I lived on string cheese sticks and canned tuna. I've come a long way in 10 years.

EastCoastMojo wrote: Sushi. It's all I need.

And now I need it too. Dammit.

Don't ask me.

My wife is out of town at the SCCA convention, so I walked into the grocery store last night for the first time in months. I walked out with one roast, half a dozen cans of peaches and pears, half a dozen tins of kippers and sardines, three bags of spicy saffron rice, two bags of barley, two tins of Vienna sausages, two bags of egg noodles, and two bottles of red wine.

Dinner was interesting to say the least.

For the same amount of money, my wife could have bought a week's worth of groceries.

I can't help. I prefer stopping at the store often.

I work for a restaurant supply. I an around food and chefs, all day long. I make E36 M3 up based in what's on sale. We keep beef, pork, and chicken on hand Occasionally I'll buy oddball stuff like shrimp or fish if it goes on sale. We have several pastas, rice, potatoes on hand. Last night it was pot roast with red wine vegetables. The gravy got ruined but the potatoes were bomb. Tonight it was pizza hut. Tomorrow depends on what my lazy ass decides to dig out of the fridge. I'm feeling Mac and cheese bake. Might grab some seafood and throw that in there. We did beans and rice the other night, corn chowder before that, fajitas, tater tot hotdish....and so on. I also have a habit of buying some E36 M3 and figuring it out after. See the rutabaga episode.

I've been strongly discouraged by SWMBO from having any part of the grocery shopping. Probably because I tend to shop like Toyman and it drives her nuts . She basically plans a week's worth of meals and shops for what we need, then we make whatever we're in the mood for that day. We tend to have similar pallettes so it works well for us.

I live across the street from a grocery store. I go in there ~4 times a week, usually spending <20 minutes and <$20. Unless I have a craving for something specific, meals get planned shortly before I make them.

My freezer contains ice cubes & peas. I keep a few things canned on hand as well as the usual dry staples (rice, lentils, couscous, noodles, etc.), loads of spices, and my vege drawer is constantly rotating. I don't usually make more than 1 night's leftovers if at all. I eat well, but very immediate. B)

Tonight: curried okra (bindi masala), rice, nan & probably an egg hard-boiled in the curry.

Usually it's sticky rice, (insert meat that was on sale), and (insert chopped vegetables). Serve with soy sauce and a glass of lemonade mixed up from frozen concentrate. It's cheap and nutritious.

dculberson wrote: What you "want" to eat isn't important.

That's what I tell my kids.

They have stopped saying they don't like things after hearing me say a million times "I didn't ask you to like it, I asked you to eat it."