Shopping like mom used to
June 15, 2010 11:11 AM Subscribe
I'm looking for something that may or may not exist: A website/program that can give me a food plan for a month or so, complete with recipes and shopping list. Is there anything like that out there?
I'm trying to eat healthier and save money, so of course I'm eating out less. Thing is, I am terrible at planning meals to coordinate with a shopping trip! I end up making shopping trips specifically to get ingredients for one or two meals, which leads to a whole bunch of shopping trips and a lot o wasted food. My mother used to be so good at this; she went to the store only once or twice per month and she cooked for four of us six nights a week. I guess that sort of skill comes with practice and time, but I want to do this now!
I got to thinking that this is the sort of thing that seems like it could be automated and optimized, so I thought there must be a program or web app out there that could calculate such a thing for you given a few parameters. Check 'vegetarian', 'low cost', click submit, and boom there you go. Heck, I'd even settle for a pre-made set of lists to choose from.
Has anyone found anything like that out there?
I'm trying to eat healthier and save money, so of course I'm eating out less. Thing is, I am terrible at planning meals to coordinate with a shopping trip! I end up making shopping trips specifically to get ingredients for one or two meals, which leads to a whole bunch of shopping trips and a lot o wasted food. My mother used to be so good at this; she went to the store only once or twice per month and she cooked for four of us six nights a week. I guess that sort of skill comes with practice and time, but I want to do this now!
I got to thinking that this is the sort of thing that seems like it could be automated and optimized, so I thought there must be a program or web app out there that could calculate such a thing for you given a few parameters. Check 'vegetarian', 'low cost', click submit, and boom there you go. Heck, I'd even settle for a pre-made set of lists to choose from.
Has anyone found anything like that out there?
Here's the sample: http://savingdinner.com/wp-content/uploads/tryit.pdf
She used to have vegetarian; drop a line and ask. Maybe it's still available.
posted by jgirl at 11:24 AM on June 15, 2010
She used to have vegetarian; drop a line and ask. Maybe it's still available.
posted by jgirl at 11:24 AM on June 15, 2010
I don't know of any automated tools, but this page has a lot of tips for menu planning, particularly for getting the most out of store sales.
I'm not sure if you just used "vegetarian" as a random example, but if you really are a vegetarian, check out the blog 30 Bucks a Week for cheap meal ideas.
posted by spinto at 11:25 AM on June 15, 2010
I'm not sure if you just used "vegetarian" as a random example, but if you really are a vegetarian, check out the blog 30 Bucks a Week for cheap meal ideas.
posted by spinto at 11:25 AM on June 15, 2010
Sparkpeople has this feature in their nutrition tracker. It is primarily a weightloss site so the meal plans will be based on a number of calories for your weight goals. In addition, you can select any/all of these options:
Vegetarian, No chicken/turkey, No tofu, No red meat, No fish, Low sodium, No pork, No eggs, Low cholesterol
After it generates the meal plan, you can select any item that it suggested for you and you can substitute from a list of about 50 choices that meet the same criteria (dairy for dairy, fruit for fruit, etc).
It then has a weekly grocery list to print out.
It is a free website, but you have to register to use all the features.
posted by CathyG at 12:00 PM on June 15, 2010 [2 favorites]
Vegetarian, No chicken/turkey, No tofu, No red meat, No fish, Low sodium, No pork, No eggs, Low cholesterol
After it generates the meal plan, you can select any item that it suggested for you and you can substitute from a list of about 50 choices that meet the same criteria (dairy for dairy, fruit for fruit, etc).
It then has a weekly grocery list to print out.
It is a free website, but you have to register to use all the features.
posted by CathyG at 12:00 PM on June 15, 2010 [2 favorites]
There are a bunch of these - look for meal plan subscription sites. I used to subscribe to thescramble.com years and years ago. After the birth of my daughter it helped to organize and motivate me to actually shop and cook. The recipes weren't anything spectacular but they were fast, non-offensive and pretty kid friendly for the most part. Other services focus on other things, so I'd look around to see which ones might best suit your needs. Most sites have free sample letters or trial subscriptions as well.
The nicest thing about these services I think, is that for me at least after about a year of using the service, I learned enough about planning for what I liked and was confident enough in my abilities to actually be able to meal plan, make shopping lists, and know how to cook everything on my own. Kind of a learn by doing thing.
posted by lilnublet at 12:08 PM on June 15, 2010
The nicest thing about these services I think, is that for me at least after about a year of using the service, I learned enough about planning for what I liked and was confident enough in my abilities to actually be able to meal plan, make shopping lists, and know how to cook everything on my own. Kind of a learn by doing thing.
posted by lilnublet at 12:08 PM on June 15, 2010
I subscribed to http://thescramble.com/ for 6 months and in addition to getting some new recipes, it really helped me get used to meal planning.
posted by thatone at 12:36 PM on June 15, 2010
posted by thatone at 12:36 PM on June 15, 2010
Response by poster: Thanks a lot guys, these are probably the closest to what I have in mind that actually exists.
Sadly, so far these are still kind of veering into what I'm trying to alleviate, which is shopping to cook specific foods. I can of course print out seven recipes I like and shop for what's on the ingredient lists. The problem is that I don't have access to a million recipes to optimize the use of ingredients to make sure I could buy in bulk and use them up over the course of a month/fortnight. I was more looking for something that would ask a few questions, spit out an appropriate shopping list avoiding recipe-specific ingredients, and then thirty or so recipes that would use up everything on the list as efficiently as possible (probably with the exception of a few staples).
Failing a system like that, does anyone know of a book that might fit the bill? Two vegetarians, 14 or 28 days, one shopping list.
posted by Willie0248 at 1:41 PM on June 15, 2010
Sadly, so far these are still kind of veering into what I'm trying to alleviate, which is shopping to cook specific foods. I can of course print out seven recipes I like and shop for what's on the ingredient lists. The problem is that I don't have access to a million recipes to optimize the use of ingredients to make sure I could buy in bulk and use them up over the course of a month/fortnight. I was more looking for something that would ask a few questions, spit out an appropriate shopping list avoiding recipe-specific ingredients, and then thirty or so recipes that would use up everything on the list as efficiently as possible (probably with the exception of a few staples).
Failing a system like that, does anyone know of a book that might fit the bill? Two vegetarians, 14 or 28 days, one shopping list.
posted by Willie0248 at 1:41 PM on June 15, 2010
Response by poster: @sio42
i would love to have a book or site like you are describing.
That's the same thing everyone I ask says. That's why I can't believe there's not a slew of these things already out there.
posted by Willie0248 at 2:15 PM on June 15, 2010
i would love to have a book or site like you are describing.
That's the same thing everyone I ask says. That's why I can't believe there's not a slew of these things already out there.
posted by Willie0248 at 2:15 PM on June 15, 2010
SOS Cuisine does weekly menu/shopping thing. It's been a while since I really looked at the menu it sends me each week... If I remember correctly, it lets you setup types and styles of food you like, options for local in-season produce, dietary restrictions and such.
posted by zengargoyle at 2:16 PM on June 15, 2010
posted by zengargoyle at 2:16 PM on June 15, 2010
I'll add that SOS Cuisine also gives you the breakdown/prep schedule for the menu. Like make this sunday, keep half for tuesday, use this monday and mix with sunday leftovers for thursday.
posted by zengargoyle at 2:21 PM on June 15, 2010
posted by zengargoyle at 2:21 PM on June 15, 2010
I'm in search of the same thing and am desperately close to brushing up on my programming skills just so I can build it myself. In the meantime, there are books like this and this that have you cook, say, roast chicken on the weekend, and then use the leftovers in new and exciting ways throughout the week.
posted by logic vs love at 6:34 PM on June 15, 2010
posted by logic vs love at 6:34 PM on June 15, 2010
Recently, a magazine one of my co-workers brought to work had an article/feature in which it showcased a number of ingredients (tomatoes, ...um, I forget the rest of the list!) and had five recipes that used those ingredients. It was great!
The magazine is Vegetarian Times...
I googled for it and VT is showcasing zucchini this month: one veg, five ways. I bought a subscription and am waiting for my first edition.
posted by LOLAttorney2009 at 6:40 PM on June 15, 2010
The magazine is Vegetarian Times...
I googled for it and VT is showcasing zucchini this month: one veg, five ways. I bought a subscription and am waiting for my first edition.
posted by LOLAttorney2009 at 6:40 PM on June 15, 2010
This is one of my favorites and it fits the bill for "food plan for a month or so, complete with recipes and shopping list": $70 menus/shopping list/recipes from The HillBilly Housewife l $45 Emergency Menu/shopping list/recipes for 4 to 6.
posted by nickyskye at 5:12 PM on June 16, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by nickyskye at 5:12 PM on June 16, 2010 [1 favorite]
Relish http://www.relishrelish.com/ does pretty much what you're looking for, I've used it and liked it
posted by birdbone at 7:08 PM on June 17, 2010
posted by birdbone at 7:08 PM on June 17, 2010
Recipes/shopping lists/menus for a month.
Healthy, Not too time consuming, suuuper cheap (under $1.50 per meal). The month long menu does cost $10 for the pdf, but I can vouch for the recipes being tasty and easy (you'll be baking bread, making pizza, fresh hummus etc.) It has a focus on making almost everything from scratch (since it is healthier and cheaper), but trying to do so in a time efficient way.
Cook For Good
posted by vegetableagony at 10:13 PM on June 19, 2010
Healthy, Not too time consuming, suuuper cheap (under $1.50 per meal). The month long menu does cost $10 for the pdf, but I can vouch for the recipes being tasty and easy (you'll be baking bread, making pizza, fresh hummus etc.) It has a focus on making almost everything from scratch (since it is healthier and cheaper), but trying to do so in a time efficient way.
Cook For Good
posted by vegetableagony at 10:13 PM on June 19, 2010
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posted by jgirl at 11:17 AM on June 15, 2010