"The Sheldon Plan." You really are a genius, Sheldon!

I mentioned this idea in someone else's thread and decided it deserved its own thread. It's a meal-planning idea that my husband and I got from watching The Big Bang Theory on TV.

For those of you who don'****ch the show, Sheldon is an adorable-but-misunderstood genius physicist who eats the same meal for each day of the week. I don't remember which food went with which day, but it went sort of like this -- Monday is pizza night; Tuesday is Thai, Wednesday is Chinese, etc. I suspect Sheldon may have just a touch of OCD. 

The food obviously is not recommended, but the concept is good. Based on Sheldon's eating plan, I devised a one-week sleeve-friendly menu, breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and created a shopping list for it. For instance, tonight is shepherd's pie (made with hamburger and a mashed cauliflower topping) and a salad. We have that every Tuesday. Tomorrow, we'll have chicken tenders, sweet potato, and snow peas, and we'll have that every Wednesday.

I have named this method The Sheldon Plan. It takes all the guesswork out of meal planning and ensures that you have the right ingredients for a healthy meal on hand. I've even made it easier. I place my grocery order with PeaPod, a delivery service of Giant supermarkets, and have the food delivered right to my boat (I'm living on a boat for the summer). 

My hope is that by making meal planning, shopping, and cooking so streamlined that healthful meals are quick and temptation is kept at bay. When we get tired of a particular meal, I just swap it out with another and adjust the shopping list. BTW, I also leave one day empty to account for leftovers, dinner out, or invitations.

I love you, Sheldon! 

psychoticparrot

I love that show! Can you give your current menu for ideas?

My breakfast doesn't vary much. It's either 2 scrambled eggs and a piece of fruit, or a bowl of homemade miso soup with tofu for protein. Same for lunches -- a big salad with whatever is on hand to go on top -- shredded cheese, chicken, fish, Kalamata olives, leftover diced sweet potato, tofu (not all of them at once, though!) -- and a sprinkling of balsamic vinegar to dress it.

Dinners:

Sunday: Crock-pot ratatouille over white beans

Monday: Portobello caps topped and baked with a slice of tomato, caramelized onions (can be made in quantity in crock-pot and then frozen), and a slice of mild provolone

Tuesday: Shepherd's pie, fresh tomatoes

Wednesday: Sauteed chicken tenders, microwaved sweet potato, and steamed snow peas

Thursday: Taco salads (nonfat refried beans topped with shredded Mexican cheese and heated in microwave, then topped with chopped fresh tomatoes and a spoonful of salsa)

Friday: Marinated and sauteed fish (cod this week), microwaved sweet potato, cucumber-ginger salad

Saturday: If there are no leftovers to be finished up, we go out to eat, usually with friends.

Great ideas! Thanks for the help!

That is very clever. My only worry is that I would have so many leftovers stacked up that I would throw food away. One family size cooked meal at my house gives me leftovers for like 3 meals. But it's definitely a good way to prepare yourself so you're not searching the kitchen every day for something to make. Btw I'm so JEALOUS that you're living on a boat all summer! !!!

When I do this, I look for "recipes for two" online, or otherwise cut back the recipe to only make enough for one or two meals. Some recipe sites (I think Allrecipes?) will do the math for you and automatically scale!

Oops, this message is for Amy. Freeze the leftovers in portion-sized meals. Then, when you're extremely busy, not feeling well, or just don't feel like cooking, pull out a ready-to-eat meal and heat in the microwave.

As for the boat, yeah, I love it. My husband and I have spent many summers now on our boat on Chesapeake Bay. It never gets old.

psychoticparrot

I'm glad you've found something that works for you!  

I've always been someone who enjoys meal planning and recipe experimentation, so this wouldn't work for me/my family.  But I definitely get how it works for people who don't have cooking as a hobby!  

I don't detest cooking, but it definitely is not a hobby of mine! The easiest, fastest, yet still healthy, meals are what I like best.

psychoticparrot

Whatever works, eh?  We've all got to find what works best for ourselves :D  I'm glad you've figured out what works well for you!