Meal plans with more diverse recipes
December 8, 2017 10:50 PM Subscribe
Seeking meal plan sites that will help with the whole "here's your recipes for the week plus a shopping list" thing - but with options that's more than just Northern Hemisphere White People Food.
I'm trying to get back into cooking for myself (I live alone) and feel like meal plans would be helpful as they help take some of the analysis paralysis out of shopping. I'm going to be test-driving some sites out (after reading some AskMefi threads) but what I've noticed is that they mostly seem to have very White-Western-centric recipes, such as a good amount of roast-meat-and-three-veg.
I'm Asian (raised in multiple Asian cultures' worth of cuisine), and also a foodie in general, which means I tend to go for stuff that many consider "exotic" just because they have a flavour. I do like stereotypically Western food on occasion, I'll just go a little mad if that's the only stuff I eat for some time. Also, living in Australia, it's not really the season for fall or winter food right now - not that I particularly care about matching food to the season (for example I prefer hot drinks no matter the temperature) but it could make some difference with ingredient availability.
I'm well aware that there are a thousand and one recipe blogs for food from around the world; I just need some help figuring out ways to consolidate those recipes into a workable shopping list without wasting too much food. So whether it's a site like Fresh20 that has a more diverse range of recipes, or a blogger from Country X that's worked out how to do this - anything goes!
(Bonus points if they have recipes catered to the solo person who doesn't necessarily have a ton of fancy equipment)
I'm trying to get back into cooking for myself (I live alone) and feel like meal plans would be helpful as they help take some of the analysis paralysis out of shopping. I'm going to be test-driving some sites out (after reading some AskMefi threads) but what I've noticed is that they mostly seem to have very White-Western-centric recipes, such as a good amount of roast-meat-and-three-veg.
I'm Asian (raised in multiple Asian cultures' worth of cuisine), and also a foodie in general, which means I tend to go for stuff that many consider "exotic" just because they have a flavour. I do like stereotypically Western food on occasion, I'll just go a little mad if that's the only stuff I eat for some time. Also, living in Australia, it's not really the season for fall or winter food right now - not that I particularly care about matching food to the season (for example I prefer hot drinks no matter the temperature) but it could make some difference with ingredient availability.
I'm well aware that there are a thousand and one recipe blogs for food from around the world; I just need some help figuring out ways to consolidate those recipes into a workable shopping list without wasting too much food. So whether it's a site like Fresh20 that has a more diverse range of recipes, or a blogger from Country X that's worked out how to do this - anything goes!
(Bonus points if they have recipes catered to the solo person who doesn't necessarily have a ton of fancy equipment)
Clean Food Dirty Girl has a nicely-structured meal plan service. It's about a 6 out of 10 on the diversity of foods, is vegan, and $20 USD/ mo. It does not require any special equipment.
posted by Fig at 5:35 AM on December 9, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Fig at 5:35 AM on December 9, 2017 [1 favorite]
Skinnytaste has a meal plans feature.
Her recipes can be diverse but usually in a Latin American direction.
posted by slipthought at 5:52 AM on December 9, 2017
Her recipes can be diverse but usually in a Latin American direction.
posted by slipthought at 5:52 AM on December 9, 2017
Plan to Eat is a meal planning site into which you import whatever recipes you want. Find recipes you like on any website (or type in recipes from family or cookbooks) and it lets you schedule them on a calendar and generate grocery lists based on what you've scheduled. It takes a bit of setup but is super helpful. I've been using it for a few years now, and it totally transformed me into a Person Who Does Meal Planning.
posted by TrixieRamble at 7:48 AM on December 9, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by TrixieRamble at 7:48 AM on December 9, 2017 [6 favorites]
Poor Girl Eats Well has really flavorful food that doesn't shy away from international options.
posted by CatastropheWaitress at 12:05 PM on December 9, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by CatastropheWaitress at 12:05 PM on December 9, 2017 [1 favorite]
I use CookSmarts. I would say it’s about 50% white American-style recipes, and 50% heavily influenced by non-American flavor profiles (Chinese, Thai, Italian, Mexican, etc). The founder is Asian if that is any indicator.
posted by samthemander at 6:10 PM on December 9, 2017
posted by samthemander at 6:10 PM on December 9, 2017
I have definitely noticed this too. Nom Nom paleo and skinny taste are my go-to.
posted by pintapicasso at 7:10 PM on December 9, 2017
posted by pintapicasso at 7:10 PM on December 9, 2017
Response by poster: TrixieRamble: How do you figure out the best way to organise your recipes on Plan to Eat so that you're not wasting anything? At least with a pre-established meal plan site they've figured out that part for you.
Also I don't have any major dietary restrictions, but I do need some meat in my diet (I've tried going vegetarian and just got sick) so will need omnivore options.
posted by divabat at 9:17 PM on December 11, 2017
Also I don't have any major dietary restrictions, but I do need some meat in my diet (I've tried going vegetarian and just got sick) so will need omnivore options.
posted by divabat at 9:17 PM on December 11, 2017
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posted by sockkitude at 12:15 AM on December 9, 2017 [1 favorite]