Last week, I wrote about how my husband thinks my habit of menu planning costs us more than if I shopped based on sales and what we already have on hand. I mentioned that maybe I'd challenge him to make his own menu and we'd see how his compared to mine.
On Thursday night, I handed him the store circular and said, "What would you buy this week?"
His menu looked something like this. Obviously, he's not as detailed as I am.
**Hamburgers on grill, topped with bleu cheese, grilled zucchini
**Bacon-wrapped Shrimp, corn or rice, salad
**Meatless stirfry with veggies
**Pasta something
Ground beef, zucchini, and shrimp are all on sale this week, and the other meals are based on what we already have in the cabinets. He also listed things like bananas, milk and vinegar as things we are out of, and he circled a couple of sale priced snack foods as well on the circular.
Besides the lack of detail, there are a couple of notable differences. I detest bleu cheese, so I'd never buy it to top burgers with unless he requested it. I'm also not a fan of zucchini, so I would have chosen corn on the cob to go with the burgers. We also need hamburgers rolls and we're running low on ketchup. In addition, neither kid will eat zucchini and I'm not sure if they would eat burgers made with bleu cheese, so I would also plan a food I know they would eat. We don't have any bacon, so I'm planning on steaming the shrimp and serving it with cocktail sauce, and I almost always serve shrimp with sliced fruit and some sort of starch that the kids will eat. While I can throw together a stirfy in ten minutes, I prefer them with meat, and I'm not in the mood for anything soy based. And, safe to say, if I planned "pasta something" I'd be out of my mind because I would certainly be missing a key ingredient or draw a blank on where to start.
Also, his list doesn't include other things we're out of, like lemon juice, butter or peanut butter, and mine also lists stuff for snacks and lunches for the kids. A full third of my list is fresh produce. I also planned a homemade trail mix and a dessert.
My menu looks like this.
**Stuffed Sole (with crabmeat and scallops), sliced melon and salads: The fish is from the Omaha Steaks bounty. I'm pretty sure Maureen will eat it and Johnny will at least taste it.
**Hot Chicken Salad with steamed corn and salads: Not sure why this dish is called a salad, it's more of a casserole. It's also one of my most requested meals when John's parents babysit. We pay them in food.
**Spaghetti and Meatballs with garlic bread and steamed veggies: The garlic bread is cheesy and delicious.
**Grilled hamburgers with squash and watermelon: No bleu cheese on mine or the kid's burgers. I'll probably also steam peas or something in the microwave as an alternative to the squash.
**Steamed shrimp with Lemon Dill Couscous and steamed green beans: The yummy and easy couscous is ready in literally minutes and the green beans are the canned variety.
Although his list was shorter because it was missing pantry essentials and wasn't broken down into specific ingredients, I think the price overall for his menu would be about the same as mine. Maybe a little cheaper, but not by much. Healthwise, his is just as good as mine, especially since he included two to three meatless options.
I'm still going to meal plan, because it keeps me organized, and I did incorporate two of his ideas into my own menu. But I think we're going to have to call it a draw.
What's on your menu?
On Thursday night, I handed him the store circular and said, "What would you buy this week?"
His menu looked something like this. Obviously, he's not as detailed as I am.
**Hamburgers on grill, topped with bleu cheese, grilled zucchini
**Bacon-wrapped Shrimp, corn or rice, salad
**Meatless stirfry with veggies
**Pasta something
Ground beef, zucchini, and shrimp are all on sale this week, and the other meals are based on what we already have in the cabinets. He also listed things like bananas, milk and vinegar as things we are out of, and he circled a couple of sale priced snack foods as well on the circular.
Besides the lack of detail, there are a couple of notable differences. I detest bleu cheese, so I'd never buy it to top burgers with unless he requested it. I'm also not a fan of zucchini, so I would have chosen corn on the cob to go with the burgers. We also need hamburgers rolls and we're running low on ketchup. In addition, neither kid will eat zucchini and I'm not sure if they would eat burgers made with bleu cheese, so I would also plan a food I know they would eat. We don't have any bacon, so I'm planning on steaming the shrimp and serving it with cocktail sauce, and I almost always serve shrimp with sliced fruit and some sort of starch that the kids will eat. While I can throw together a stirfy in ten minutes, I prefer them with meat, and I'm not in the mood for anything soy based. And, safe to say, if I planned "pasta something" I'd be out of my mind because I would certainly be missing a key ingredient or draw a blank on where to start.
Also, his list doesn't include other things we're out of, like lemon juice, butter or peanut butter, and mine also lists stuff for snacks and lunches for the kids. A full third of my list is fresh produce. I also planned a homemade trail mix and a dessert.
My menu looks like this.
**Stuffed Sole (with crabmeat and scallops), sliced melon and salads: The fish is from the Omaha Steaks bounty. I'm pretty sure Maureen will eat it and Johnny will at least taste it.
**Hot Chicken Salad with steamed corn and salads: Not sure why this dish is called a salad, it's more of a casserole. It's also one of my most requested meals when John's parents babysit. We pay them in food.
**Spaghetti and Meatballs with garlic bread and steamed veggies: The garlic bread is cheesy and delicious.
**Grilled hamburgers with squash and watermelon: No bleu cheese on mine or the kid's burgers. I'll probably also steam peas or something in the microwave as an alternative to the squash.
**Steamed shrimp with Lemon Dill Couscous and steamed green beans: The yummy and easy couscous is ready in literally minutes and the green beans are the canned variety.
Although his list was shorter because it was missing pantry essentials and wasn't broken down into specific ingredients, I think the price overall for his menu would be about the same as mine. Maybe a little cheaper, but not by much. Healthwise, his is just as good as mine, especially since he included two to three meatless options.
I'm still going to meal plan, because it keeps me organized, and I did incorporate two of his ideas into my own menu. But I think we're going to have to call it a draw.
What's on your menu?
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