I love having a loose plan for meals, because it frees me up the rest of the time from thinking "What will we have for dinner" and it lets me focus on other stuff I'd rather do.(like you know what---) We shop for what looks good, what we "feel like" then make a list of possible meals from what we bring home, post it on the fridge and cross off stuff as we have it. I also like to cook for "planned leftovers" so we get home-cooked food every day, but we don't have to cook everyday (thank the microwave for that)For instance, I'll make a big pot of soup or casserole that we can use for a couple days, and then freeze part of it for later. I'm also pretty lucky that my husband likes to cook too- so it's not always up to me- what a luxury for which I am truly thankful.