Common Meal Planning Mistakes

The wise learn from the mistakes of fools.  The following meal planning faux pas area all-too-common and should serve as warning signs for beginners at meal planning. 

The meal plan is too rigid.

The meal plan is only a tool and not a dictator.  Veteran meal planners rarely list down specific dishes under specific days.  Rather, they simply write down a list of dishes, look up the list, find out what the family feels like eating, and just cross off the list one dish at a time.  This allows flexibility and gives enough room for cravings.

The meal plan is too elaborate.

Most meal plans never get followed for the simple reason that it is overly ambitious—either made up of multiple courses, too difficult procedures and too many ingredients.  The ideal meal plan is, in fact, one which is built around dinners only, as breakfasts and lunches can be covered by dinner leftovers.

The meal plan is not frugal.

When the meal plan is based solely on what the family wants to eat, it becomes a money waster.  The frugal meal plan is one which also takes into consideration the remaining ref and pantry supplies, the current weekly ads and coupons, and the most abundant or seasonal produce. 

The meal plan is way too unhealthy.

Traditional meal plans are based on meats so that days of the week are labeled as either beef, pork, poultry and seafood days.  This makes the meal plan high in cholesterol and less in fiber and nutrients.  The latest Food Pyramid, however, advises that menus should be built around produce and that meats should be used only as condiments. 

The recipes chosen are too time- and labor-intensive.

A common mistake novice meal planners make is planning on recipes which are too difficult to make, too time-consuming and just made up of too many steps.  The practical meal planner chooses dishes which are quick, easy and require minimal supervision.  The ergonomic meal planner makes use of make-ahead, freeze-and-reheat, marinate-and-bake, bulk-cooking and slow-cooker recipes.

The recipes are too different from each other.

When recipes are too different from each other, they share fewer ingredients in common.  Conversely, when the dishes are somewhat similar, they require basically the same ingredients, herbs and condiments.  The wise meal planner groups together similar dishes for days in a row so that ref items are used up before their prime and pantry items do not have to expire.