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Since I'm single, I don't do a lot of advance menu planning, but here's what my Mom did when I was growing up.

She kept a spiral notebook that she used for all of her menu planning. So if she ever needed inspiration, she could look back at her notebook and get ideas.

She'd plan her menu a week in advance. There are several purposes for doing this:
1. You can plan meals that have ingredients in common (so nothing went to waste). For example, if we had roast chicken on Sunday, we might have chicken and rice soup on Tuesday using the leftover chicken meat.
2. You can shop in advance and cut down on unnecessary trips to the grocery store.
3. You can notice in advance if you come up with too many ideas that are too similar to one another. For example, you probably don't want to serve spagetti with tomato sauce on Monday and baked ziti on Tuesday. Or maybe you don't want to serve beef too many days in a row.

When planning the week's menu, why don't you let your family help you? Ask them what they want to eat, and see what they suggest. This is a great way to help kids learn about planning and cooking nutritionally balanced meals. And if you have picky eaters, maybe it'll help find some dishes that get them excited!

If all you need is a jumpstart, pick a meat/protein and plan around that. Or pick a cuisine and plan around that. If you're looking for fast-cooking things, stir-frying is a fast way to cook, but there's a bit of chopping ahead of time. And stir fry doesn't need to be oriental. Use southwestern/Mexican spices and flavors, and add some tortillas, and you've got tacos or fajitas.

Grilling can be quick if you're not trying to do a whole roast.

When I'm trying to think of what I want to make, I usually consider what I made the last few times, and go for something different. So, we had beef/pasta/Italian last, and we had pork/Mexican before that. Before that was fish/Oriental. Next is probably going to be lamb/Greek unless the roast isn't thawed, in which case I'll probably have chicken or fish or vegetarian something.

@Madelyn, you got any facts to back up this 24-hour rule, or is this just your personal belief?

How large and how old are the other members of your family--making everyone 'in charge' of a particular day, of choosing and preparing (or helping to prepare, for a small child) the meal is one solution. Of course, the people paying the bills may need to have some final say over some kid's more elaborate plans/desire for take-out, but this could take some pressure off of you and ensure that people eat more of the food and appreciate it more since they picked it and helped bring it to the table.

Also, just don't make yourself crazy--Mark Bittman had a great 101 easy summer meals article in the NY Times last year. Occasionally planning low-key tapas and such night to balance out more intensive days is important, too.

If people are getting bored, having a make your own sandwich or panini night, a baked potato bar can enable people to personalize their selections while still giving them healthy options.

@dbcurrie - the 24-hour rule was advice given to me originally by my natural doctor. I trust him, so I never doubted the information.

I have also read that according to ancient ajurvedic medicine foods are classified into Tamasic, Rajasic and Satvic. Tamasic is the type of food that makes you lethargic and is considered harmful to both mind and body. Rajasic is the food that provoke restlessness and Satvic foods are those that are calming and lead to clarity of the mind. To increase our health and well-being we must consume as much satvic foods as possible and minimize the tamasic and rajasic. Tamasic are meat products, alcohol, drugs, eggs, etc. Rajasic are spices, coffee, tea, chocolate, mushrooms, dairy products, processed foods, flours, etc. Satvic are all fruits and vegetables, legumes, water.

I learned at a seminar that food that is over-cooked and that was cooked 24 hrs prior of being consumed falls into the rajasic category - because it's not as fresh as when it was just cooked. Usually one's diet should consist of mostly satvic with very little rajasic in it. So for that, I adopted as a rule to not eat any leftovers that are over 24 hrs of being originally cooked. This has forced me to learn to cook less quantities to allow as little left over as possible and I try to then add something fresh to the left-overs in order to "revive" them.

this is just something I have learned, believe in and follow. I share it as my POV. Nobody else needs to subscribe to the same idea. I have been known to eat my share of frozen foods from time to time and do not critize anyone who does. But in an ideal world, one in which our food can be our medicine as well as our nourishment... it's something to maybe consider...

Madelyn
KarmaFreeCooking

@Madelyn, when you said, "loses most of its nutritional value," were you referring just to this change from satvic to rajasic properties which means the food would make you restless instead of calm -- or do you also mean that nutritional value as in calories, carbs, proteins, minerals, vitamins, fats, etc. also diminish to almost nothing 24 hours after being cooked?

You mentioned reheating...so if you cooked a food one day and didn't reheat it but ate it as-is the next day, is that still a problem? Is it the reheating or the ticking clock? Or both?

And when you talk about cooking, are you referring only to cooking as in heating the foods, or does cooking include marinating, macerating, grinding, mixing, etc. So, are lets say, pickled foods considered cooked? Is a salad considered "cooked" if it isn't heated? Not so much green salads, but say cole slaw or something like that?

How about freezing?

If you don't want to answer, that's fine. I'm just curious.

@dbcurrie - your questions are interesting... i just don't know if we're usign the best forum... but nonetheless I will try to answer you to the best of my ability.

In regards to the nutritional value... I am not certain. This was information given to me, and at the time my natural doctor explained it to me, it made sense, so I just integrated it into my life. But to be honest, I am not a nutritionist, so I have no hands-on knowledge on this data point.

the way I do it... I reheat something to eat it the next day. I try to avoid reheating in the microwave. But when I do reheat, I try to add something - more water to a soup, some extra veggies, a bit of milk to make a sauce creamy again, add spinach, etc. The rule of thumb... don't keep leftovers in the fridge for a 4-5 days and then just reheat it as is. I am trying to cook less to avoid having too much left.

never thought about the marinating... but that's pre-cooking, i guess. you're just preparing something to be cooked. I marinate tomatoes... but that only takes me about 1 hour and I eat them without cooking them. Coleslaw... you need to maybe make it the day before to have it wilt nicely in teh dressing. Eat it when it's ready... but I would not eat it after 2-3 days of being originally made...

I do freeze... I use frozen veggies and freeze berries to use them in smoothies, etc. What I do not do is, for example, make a lasagna and freeze it to eat 2 weeks from now when I am hungry but do not have the time to cook... but I have made tostones halfway, freeze them and then fry them finally right before eating...

I don;t know if this helps or leaves you with more questions... it's just something that I believe in and makes sense to me... don't know if it does to you too. I may be wrong, but when trying to live a natural-lifestyle as possible it works for me. If you still would like to discuss any further - email me at karmafreecooking{at}yahoo{dot}com.