How do I even begin to tackle meal planning? What sort of stuff does Veeky Forums eat on a regular basis...

How do I even begin to tackle meal planning? What sort of stuff does Veeky Forums eat on a regular basis? Anyone have any good, simple recipes?

Literally wraps. Just add your veggies of choice and whatever else you might like.

Pasta with pesto
Rice with curry sauce
Sandwiches
Fruits
Rice with vegetables

The problem a lot of people have is that they are only cooking for one (especially 4chinners) So a lot of food goes bad because it's cheaper to buy in bulk but you will probably never get through it before it goes bad. Best thing to do is to visit your grocery store very often and not buy large amounts of groceries at once.

You mean just how do you make sure you've got the ingredients for sensible meals every day?

Red beans, rice, and sausage. Pancakes. Eggs of all varieties (got a hard dick in particular for poached). Stir-fry (basically just mix what the fuck ever is handy/leftover from other shit). Chili. I'm a very simple person with very simple needs.

What I do is stock up on things that last for a long while (usually carbs: potatoes, rice, spaghetti but also beans), stock up on meat and freeze it (mostly chicken, also canned tuna), and buy fresh produce semi-daily (carrots, onions, garlic, zucchini, bell peppers mostly). Then you can just pick one protein, one carb and one veggie at random and whip something up from that. That way you can sort of "plan" your meals but not end up being too repetitive.
Don't think in recipes, just learn how to cook individual ingredients and make something up.

I don't plan much, maybe up to two days in advance unless I'm making a big batch of some protein I know I'll be able to use throughout the week and just make new sides for. Lunch is usually leftovers, something from the freezer (currently pea soup and lasagna, I might freeze a bunch of chili when I'm out of pea soup) or if I'm home I'll just cook something.

You should try to keep a well stocked pantry and buy things that lasts for a while so you can get the few things you are missing in a few minutes on your way home. And honestly, the freezer is your friend, get some meats during sales and keep in the freezer until you want to make a big batch of something.

I think a nice vegetable dish & jasmine rice is a good enough meal. I'd eat meat more often if i could afford it though. My favourite is korean style spinach. It doesn't have that slimy or metallic taste of regular spinach, but a nice crunch and freshness.

>cut ends off, wash spinach
>blanch in boiling water for 30s
>rinse under cool tap until not hot
>squeeze water out hard with your hands
>cut ball of spinach into 1.5 inch pieces
>in a bowl mix 1/2 tsp rice wine (or other) vinegar, 1/2 tsp sesame oil, a few pinches of salt, a few pinches of sugar & 1 clove minced garlic (some soy sauce is good too). Use more stuff if you have more spinach.
>mix spinach in dressing in bowl, add toasted sesame seeds

Another one is pickles
>bring 1 cup water & 1 cup vinegar to the boil with salt & sugar (maybe 2 tsp of each but you can change it a lot)
>mandolin or slice thinly carrot, or cucumber or radish
>add boiling water to jars to sterilise, it doesn't matter a lot, just eat pickles within a week or so
>place sliced vegetable in jar
>add maybe a chilli sliced in half or a bayleaf or whatever, lots of ways to change it
>pour over liquid so all vegetables are covered
>can eat within an hour but overnight is best

Or steamed brocolli
>get a bamboo steamer
>cut & wash brocolli
>steam over water until bright green
>toss with few drops sesame oil & toasted sesame seeds

Or stirfry gai lan/ choi sum/ bok choi
>heat oil in wok / pan
>fry garlic/ chilli/ ginger, don't burn
>add washed vegetable, high heat, toss constantly
>if it has thick stalks, add them first and cook for longer
>add a little mirin & little salt
>soy sauce and or lao gan ma if you want
ends up with nice juice to flavour rice

If you have meat with bones, make a broth from them and drink that alongside vege/pickles/rice for a more complete meal. Make fried rice with eggs & frozen peas & carrots with leftover rice

I cook western food too, but this is the healthiest/ cheapest/ easiest way to eat

Monitoring this thread. I'd like to do more with beans

Also monitoring.

Buy whole cuts of meat in bulk; beef, chicken, pork. On Sunday cook them in the crock pot with spices, shred. Eat throughout the week with rice, beans, fresh vegetables, etc.

I tackle meal planning via my wallet and prices as the grocery store. I march up and down every aisle and I bargain hunt and piece it together. It becomes pretty obvious what I'm going to have at home when I find beef at $2.49 a lb.

I freeze what I won't eat in time and I eat what I got.

Whatever starches you buy must have broad use. Rice, potatos, etc are good. When you buy noodles, make sure they work with a variety of dishes. Then from there you just tackle it day by day

>Ground beef is on sale
>Get it, make some spaghetti the first night with half (maybe meatballs, etc)
>Next night make mexican burritos with it
Things like onions, garlic last awhile so you won't be hurting on those.

Here's a couple of good, somewhat healthy recipes I use on the reg.

>steamed cauliflower and broccoli
>toss in hot chili sauce (sambal or sriracha), soy sauce and sesame oil
>steam in covered colander over a large pot if you don't have one with an inserted basket

>thin chicken breasts dredged in a little flour, seasoned with chili powder, black pepper and salt, pan fried in olive oil

>fresh string beans, the ends snapped off
>toss in olive oil and italian seasoning
>roast in 400 degree oven for 20 minutes, tossing occasionally, add sea salt at the end

shes hot op
im about to fap

bumping for sauce on the gif and also interested in becoming a functioning adult, too

>meal planning
You going to make this thread everyday you stupid fucking cunt?

I check local stores and make a list of what is on sale. Then I make a list of what to buy and I shop 2-3 times a month. My favorite store has two "customer appreciation" days a month so I try to shop on those days. You should try going to the store less often because you'll save money.

I eat this every meal and just vary the ingredients.

get a big freezer and vacuum sealer, then you can think about what you wanna make and have whatever you need readily available

chiken breast and rice
sometimes swai fish

>Check local ads
>Plan x days in advance and make a menu for each day
>Add in a few "easy meals" just in case
>Make sure you use your ingredients before they go bad

Not super complicated if you cook for multiple people. 75% of my meals include boneless chicken breast (Chicken parm, chicken and dumplings, Hawaiian chicken, chicken fajitas, etc), boneless pork (Parmesan pork chops, grilled chops, schnitzel, etc) or ground hamburger (Tacos, spaghetti, chili, enchiladas, etc) but I can't imagine it'd be simple to cook most of those for a single person. Sometimes I buy other cuts of chicken, ribs, ham, ground pork, roasts, various types of steak, brisket, etc.

tl;dr Find out what is on sale and find out how to cook it.