That question, "what's for dinner?"
And how everyone else is answering it.
In possibly my most old-lady move yet, I’ve taken to using TikTok for meal-planning inspiration. Sure that app is a hub for new voices and trends (and a lot of silliness), but I use it for the most basic, mundane task: to figure out what to make for dinner. The visual element helps me decide what I’m in the mood for, and I can scroll ideas even faster than a Pinterest board, it seems.
I recently happened upon a few different accounts that only feature the creator writing out the family’s meal plan for the week. One is a woman writing and decorating a board that she hangs up each week, the other is just some swirly handwriting in a spiral-bound notebook.
I have been meal planning similarly since my college days. It started as a means to make my grocery money stretch. During my last year of college, I accepted an internship running an afterschool program and coordinating volunteers at an elementary school. It was an amazing opportunity, but only paid $1500 for the entire semester and it occupied A LOT of my time. I was also working at Barnes and Noble, but had to cut back my hours considerably, so my parents sent me $200 a month to help out. I was bound and determined to use that money and only that money for groceries, so that left me with $50 per week.
Of course, this was 20 years ago. Could you imagine a $50 per week budget now? Even if you were a single young adult!
Nonetheless, I planned my meals in advance, and only wrote on my grocery list what I needed for the week’s meals. I even took a calculator to the store with me. (As a result, I could totally destroy on Price is Right!) It’s a method that has stuck with me for decades (although, I don’t take a calculator with me anymore and my budget has increased substantially).
But through TikTok, I’ve become somewhat voyeuristic about other people’s food prep habits. I’ve learned:
Some people go into the week with reckless abandon! Buying a smattering of groceries and then letting the mood strike them, Chopped style, each evening.
Some people eat far simpler meals than I do - a bowl of cereal or a frozen pouch from Trader Joe’s.
Some people eat out a lot or pick up carry-out.
Some people cook two meals a week and eat leftovers on all the in-between days.
Some eat the same rotation each week: Monday: Spaghetti, Tuesday: Tacos, Wednesday: Breakfast, and so on.
Some do a similar rotation, but with food “genres:” Monday: Vegetarian, Tuesday: Mexican, Wednesday: Italian, etc.
There is an entire world of food prep: pre-portioned, Pinterest-worthy glass dishes with each component measured neatly. Or bags of pre-made, labeled, and organized frozen dinners that require only a dump into a crockpot.
Some people don’t do the giant once-a-week grocery trip, but instead, grab a few things each day from a neighborhood market on their way home from work.
Some people don’t have to account for the tastes of children *gasp* and can do whatever they want in the evening!
Honestly, I can’t get enough. I’m fascinated by other people’s dinner routines and I have no idea why. I’ll add to this that there are several trends to showcase “real” dinners or “single mom dinners” or “dinner in a trailer park.” I appreciate seeing these real glimpses into life, after the years of having only overly photoshopped and impossible-to-recreate Pinterest and Instagram photos brought to us by food bloggers. It’s refreshing to see dinners that feature ground beef and cans of cream of mushroom soup.
I thought I’d share my routine because I’m sure you are all just as fascinated by this as I am - ha! I also hope that you’ll share yours in the comments, thus feeding my new, weird obsession, but also because I’m always hoping to find a new, more efficient or inspiring way.
We do the giant, once-a-week grocery trip that suburban midwesterners are known for. Often, on Sunday morning, I make a cup of coffee and snuggle up on the couch with my phone or computer and a notebook. First, I list all the usuals we need every week (the things for school lunches, the basics like eggs, milk, and bread), then I spend the morning pursuing TikTok, Pinterest, or a few sites I follow for inspiration. As I decide on a recipe, I add to my list whatever ingredients I need.
I’ve learned not to plan for five meals because at least one day we will get takeout and/or at least one day I’ll be too tired for anything other than tacos. Because I love meal planning, I try to balance the meals so we aren’t eating all beef or all chicken. What has gotten old in the last few years is how boring everything seems. I feel like I’ve cooked everything by now and never have any inspiring ideas. Sure, I repeat recipes, but it’s getting harder and harder to feel excited about, well, anything. I’ve been eating food for 42 years now. That’s enough.
I always write the intended meals on a board or notebook, but have started writing them in the same notebook, so I can look back at past weeks for inspiration.
As I was mulling this ridiculous topic for the last few days, I was thinking about the role routines play in our lives. I like a good routine that comes about organically and feels natural. And, while I wouldn’t say I’m a person who craves routine, I am absolutely fascinated by the routines of others. You know when it’s dark out and you’re driving and people have their lights on inside their houses and you can kind of see in as you speed by? I like to see “behind the curtain,” as it were, into the real mundane parts of people’s lives. I think it’s because we all just assume everyone does things similarly. I mean, we don’t really think about it. We just go about our lives and if you stopped to ask us, we’d probably assume most people go about their lives similarly. But, when I get a little tidbit that suggests otherwise, it’s fascinating. And, as you know TikTok is a great place to satisfy your voyeuristic tendencies!
Let me know in the comments a routine you’ve developed or a life hack you’re particularly proud of!
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When I’m not finding random ideas on TikTok, here are a few of my go-to sites for dinner ideas:
Cheers!
I'd love to know what you're searching on TikTok to find these videos! I also find them fascinating.