Welcome to Sunday Sobremesa, a bimonthly thread to discuss food and culture while sipping on an iced oat milk latte (or tinto de verano,1 if that’s more your style!).
In Wednesday’s post I talked a bit about how meals work in our combined Spanish-American household. One thing I didn’t mention (or at least not directly) is that all of those meals get decided through the process of meal planning.
I know meal planning isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but it makes sense for us. Over the years I’ve grown to loathe food waste, and planning ahead definitely cuts down on things expiring or getting lost in the back of the fridge. Meal planning also makes me feel like I’m properly “adulting” (no spring mix tossed in the trash for me!). And, maybe most importantly, I genuinely enjoy doing it. There’s nothing like sitting down at the dining room table with a pile of cookbooks, approximately 79 open Safari tabs with recipes I want to try, and our shared calendar to plan out the week’s meals (or at least the meals for the next few days).
Of course, last minute things always come up and plans change. We try to leave room for flexibility, and we also usually pencil in one night a week to order in just to give ourselves a bit of a break.
How about you? Do you meal plan or prefer to play things by ear? If you do plan, do you have a certain system that you use (an app, calendar, notebook, etc)?
Just a reminder to feel free to respond to each other and even get a little tangential. The last Sunday Sobremesa started with counting cookbooks and ended up with a conversation about Cancale oysters, so by all means branch out from the topic question!
So I loosely meal plan now, but I used to do it properly. When I did plan every meal I actually found we wasted a bit because of the rigidity (because I had to do recipes for work of course there was little flexibility in areas) and I also felt after a year or two it stifled my creativity a bit.
So now instead I plan recipes I'm going to make from every time I do a big food order (about every 2-3 weeks we get our groceries delivered, the rest of the time I pick things up out and about - though it needs to be noted the amount of food in the house already, I have two fridge freezers and bulk buy overflow into the garage) and that both I and my parents who live close enough for glut deliveries grow a lot of fruit and veg in the summer!
I make a list of recipes I need to test of shoot for work, plus at least one recipe I've bookmarked in a food magazine (I've promised to cook from a load of them so they can be thrown away to J as they're somewhat taking over the dining room!), in a cookbook and from a food blog, and I get everything for those and then just cross off the list with what I need to do that day either for deadlines or if food will go bad, or just cook what I fancy each day. For example the only dinner left today is a recipe for Greek-style pork fillet with thyme and fenugreek, but I've got to clean the house before guests today and bake a bread recipe for work so I won't fancy making the flatbreads to go with it, so I'll just consult the freezer list and look in the veg drawer / garden for dinner inspiration for something easy instead!
Wow, thanks for sharing all that, Rachel! I’m sure meal planning is very different for someone like yourself who is constantly testing recipes and making things for work. You’ll have to explain more about that whole process sometime (or if you’ve already explained in your newsletter/elsewhere, please feel free to point me in the right direction)!
In the end I think we end up doing a bit like you in that sometimes parts of recipes get scrapped or changed because we’re busy or because we need to use up something in the fridge. Also some planned meals end up being entirely “use up what’s in the fridge” meals, just planned ahead by scanning what we have and picking up any small additions we need to complete the meal. That’s why I like vegetable bowls, soups, and salads so much; I feel like once you have an idea of what flavors go well together it’s easy to riff on basic recipes.
I’m a bit envious that your parents live close enough to share their fruits and vegetables! My dad has a garden at his house and he’s always sending me pictures of what he’s grown. Last year he had an abundance of butternut squash and I was so sad he couldn’t just fly it over to me!
Do you know what, I do have a post describing my process but it is 7 years old and I think my writing has improved by now, so I think it might be time for a re-write!
And yes, I'm very lucky as their produce is quite consistent - they have proper greenhouses, watering systems, netted beds etc. and my setup is a bit more hit and miss!
It’s always fun to look back and see how your writing has changed over the years (I did this recently with an old blog I wrote just for family). Looking forward to reading your new-and-improved post whenever it’s published!
We have but do better when your here! I just do it on a whim most of the time . Probably could save a lot more money and deciding what to fix then realize I don’t have one ingredient!
I hate it when I want to make something and then realize I’m missing an ingredient! I usually try to do a scan of the fridge and pantry before going grocery shopping to make sure I have everything I need, but it still happens sometimes.
I think meal planning helps us more in that we don’t waste as much food. In that scan before shopping, I can see that we have, let’s say, some leftover hummus from a takeout order (this actually happened last week). Then I know I can pick up some carrots and we can use the hummus as dip for the carrots as a side for let’s say, a turkey sandwich for lunch. Or the hummus can be used as part of a veggie bowl, or even used as a base for a salad dressing. I think there’s this idea that meal planning needs to be sitting down and choosing elaborate recipes, but it also can be just thinking of different ways to reuse what you already have.
Meal prep never worked for me as a full-time student, but now that I'm starting my first job post-grad I've been leaning into my meal-prepping tendencies!! So I love this topic. And would appreciate if anyone has tips for prepping meals for one!!
Meal planning for one person can be tricky! I have to admit that I didn’t do a great job of planning ahead when I lived on my own in Chicago. My strategy was usually stopping by Trader Joe’s and grabbing some salad kits, one or two frozen vegetable mixes, and a couple of different proteins and then combining them in different ways throughout the week. I also ordered in way more, just out of convenience!
But I do think meal planning for one can be done! Cristina below has some great tips, and things like reusing leftovers in creative ways can also be helpful (I wrote an example with hummus in another comment). Liz Moody used to have a series on her blog called 4 Meals 1 Prep that takes advantage of using some base ingredients in different ways. Here’s one post where you roast a bunch of vegetables and then create different meals with them: https://www.lizmoody.com/4-meals-1-prep-vegan-sheet-pan/
Trying to size meals for one may not be efficient. All about the same work and clean up for one little meal. Instead, think about enjoying a couple of days of leftovers or freezing extra. You can cook or buy larger amounts then divide and freeze in Ziplock bags, Pyrex storage containers, or other brands such as Glasslock. A 3 1/2 cup Pyrex storage container for me is a good size for freezing soup. Any larger, and I will probably be tired of the soup before it is finished. A friend of mine buys large amounts of meat, divides then freezes in plastic bags. Use masking take and markers to label your frozen foods. If you like to bake, there are some cookbooks on Amazon that have smaller size cakes but I have not tried them. You can divide recipes and bake in smaller size pans. Pyrex has a "meal prep set" which is 5 containers (3 cup size) which can stack in your freezer. You can pack them with meals. For my appetite size I got at least a couple of dinners out of one container. The cook book I used to make the dinners is "Cook When You Can, Eat When You Want. Prep Once for Delicious Meals all Week." by Caroline Pessin. Nice book and I ended up with nice dinners, but the first week I tried seemed to have a lot of confusing problems in the recipes. Meal size is 5 dinners for four people, so in theory you are getting 20 dinners for 1 person. You can probably find some books with similar ideas but fewer recipe problems on Amazon, or just create your own dinner recipes. The book "Fridge Love" by Kristen Hong might be helpful to you. Has info about food storage and getting the most out of your refrigerator. Find Kristen on You Tube and at hellonutritarian.com
There are a lot of great tips here, Cristina! Making a batch of soup and freezing individual portion sizes is one of my favorite strategies. There are two of us, but this saves us from having to eat the same soup all week and it’s also so nice to have something in the freezer that you can just pull out and reheat quickly on a busy night. I’ve also seen some books for small batch baking but have never tried them; I’d be interested to hear from someone who has!
Also I took a peek at Fridge Love and it looks like a good resource. I wish my fridge looked so organized!
Haha it definitely takes some getting used to, and it’s not for everyone! I’d been thinking about writing a future newsletter explaining more how I do it, but wasn’t sure if anyone would be interested!
Since you don’t really meal plan, do you just pop in to pick up things for meals every couple of days? What does deciding what to eat look like for you?
So I loosely meal plan now, but I used to do it properly. When I did plan every meal I actually found we wasted a bit because of the rigidity (because I had to do recipes for work of course there was little flexibility in areas) and I also felt after a year or two it stifled my creativity a bit.
So now instead I plan recipes I'm going to make from every time I do a big food order (about every 2-3 weeks we get our groceries delivered, the rest of the time I pick things up out and about - though it needs to be noted the amount of food in the house already, I have two fridge freezers and bulk buy overflow into the garage) and that both I and my parents who live close enough for glut deliveries grow a lot of fruit and veg in the summer!
I make a list of recipes I need to test of shoot for work, plus at least one recipe I've bookmarked in a food magazine (I've promised to cook from a load of them so they can be thrown away to J as they're somewhat taking over the dining room!), in a cookbook and from a food blog, and I get everything for those and then just cross off the list with what I need to do that day either for deadlines or if food will go bad, or just cook what I fancy each day. For example the only dinner left today is a recipe for Greek-style pork fillet with thyme and fenugreek, but I've got to clean the house before guests today and bake a bread recipe for work so I won't fancy making the flatbreads to go with it, so I'll just consult the freezer list and look in the veg drawer / garden for dinner inspiration for something easy instead!
Wow, thanks for sharing all that, Rachel! I’m sure meal planning is very different for someone like yourself who is constantly testing recipes and making things for work. You’ll have to explain more about that whole process sometime (or if you’ve already explained in your newsletter/elsewhere, please feel free to point me in the right direction)!
In the end I think we end up doing a bit like you in that sometimes parts of recipes get scrapped or changed because we’re busy or because we need to use up something in the fridge. Also some planned meals end up being entirely “use up what’s in the fridge” meals, just planned ahead by scanning what we have and picking up any small additions we need to complete the meal. That’s why I like vegetable bowls, soups, and salads so much; I feel like once you have an idea of what flavors go well together it’s easy to riff on basic recipes.
I’m a bit envious that your parents live close enough to share their fruits and vegetables! My dad has a garden at his house and he’s always sending me pictures of what he’s grown. Last year he had an abundance of butternut squash and I was so sad he couldn’t just fly it over to me!
Do you know what, I do have a post describing my process but it is 7 years old and I think my writing has improved by now, so I think it might be time for a re-write!
And yes, I'm very lucky as their produce is quite consistent - they have proper greenhouses, watering systems, netted beds etc. and my setup is a bit more hit and miss!
It’s always fun to look back and see how your writing has changed over the years (I did this recently with an old blog I wrote just for family). Looking forward to reading your new-and-improved post whenever it’s published!
We have but do better when your here! I just do it on a whim most of the time . Probably could save a lot more money and deciding what to fix then realize I don’t have one ingredient!
I hate it when I want to make something and then realize I’m missing an ingredient! I usually try to do a scan of the fridge and pantry before going grocery shopping to make sure I have everything I need, but it still happens sometimes.
I think meal planning helps us more in that we don’t waste as much food. In that scan before shopping, I can see that we have, let’s say, some leftover hummus from a takeout order (this actually happened last week). Then I know I can pick up some carrots and we can use the hummus as dip for the carrots as a side for let’s say, a turkey sandwich for lunch. Or the hummus can be used as part of a veggie bowl, or even used as a base for a salad dressing. I think there’s this idea that meal planning needs to be sitting down and choosing elaborate recipes, but it also can be just thinking of different ways to reuse what you already have.
Meal prep never worked for me as a full-time student, but now that I'm starting my first job post-grad I've been leaning into my meal-prepping tendencies!! So I love this topic. And would appreciate if anyone has tips for prepping meals for one!!
Meal planning for one person can be tricky! I have to admit that I didn’t do a great job of planning ahead when I lived on my own in Chicago. My strategy was usually stopping by Trader Joe’s and grabbing some salad kits, one or two frozen vegetable mixes, and a couple of different proteins and then combining them in different ways throughout the week. I also ordered in way more, just out of convenience!
But I do think meal planning for one can be done! Cristina below has some great tips, and things like reusing leftovers in creative ways can also be helpful (I wrote an example with hummus in another comment). Liz Moody used to have a series on her blog called 4 Meals 1 Prep that takes advantage of using some base ingredients in different ways. Here’s one post where you roast a bunch of vegetables and then create different meals with them: https://www.lizmoody.com/4-meals-1-prep-vegan-sheet-pan/
Thank you both for this knowledge!!
You’ll have to keep us updated on how meal planning goes! And any tips of your own that you pick up along the way! :)
Trying to size meals for one may not be efficient. All about the same work and clean up for one little meal. Instead, think about enjoying a couple of days of leftovers or freezing extra. You can cook or buy larger amounts then divide and freeze in Ziplock bags, Pyrex storage containers, or other brands such as Glasslock. A 3 1/2 cup Pyrex storage container for me is a good size for freezing soup. Any larger, and I will probably be tired of the soup before it is finished. A friend of mine buys large amounts of meat, divides then freezes in plastic bags. Use masking take and markers to label your frozen foods. If you like to bake, there are some cookbooks on Amazon that have smaller size cakes but I have not tried them. You can divide recipes and bake in smaller size pans. Pyrex has a "meal prep set" which is 5 containers (3 cup size) which can stack in your freezer. You can pack them with meals. For my appetite size I got at least a couple of dinners out of one container. The cook book I used to make the dinners is "Cook When You Can, Eat When You Want. Prep Once for Delicious Meals all Week." by Caroline Pessin. Nice book and I ended up with nice dinners, but the first week I tried seemed to have a lot of confusing problems in the recipes. Meal size is 5 dinners for four people, so in theory you are getting 20 dinners for 1 person. You can probably find some books with similar ideas but fewer recipe problems on Amazon, or just create your own dinner recipes. The book "Fridge Love" by Kristen Hong might be helpful to you. Has info about food storage and getting the most out of your refrigerator. Find Kristen on You Tube and at hellonutritarian.com
There are a lot of great tips here, Cristina! Making a batch of soup and freezing individual portion sizes is one of my favorite strategies. There are two of us, but this saves us from having to eat the same soup all week and it’s also so nice to have something in the freezer that you can just pull out and reheat quickly on a busy night. I’ve also seen some books for small batch baking but have never tried them; I’d be interested to hear from someone who has!
Also I took a peek at Fridge Love and it looks like a good resource. I wish my fridge looked so organized!
I always wanted to give meal planning a try but... well, failed miserably. Would love to know more about how you do it!
Haha it definitely takes some getting used to, and it’s not for everyone! I’d been thinking about writing a future newsletter explaining more how I do it, but wasn’t sure if anyone would be interested!
Since you don’t really meal plan, do you just pop in to pick up things for meals every couple of days? What does deciding what to eat look like for you?
Do I meal plan?? Sometimes I feel like that's all I do!😂