Last month a friend started a Facebook group to keep herself accountable in her own weekly meal planning for her family and to create a space for others to share their menus. I had been wanting to start meal planning for several months, but, had not been able to motivate myself to sit down and do the “work” (like how I lacked the motivation to start writing again until last week).
I was a quiet observer in the group for the first few weeks and was inspired by others who “had it together” enough to plan their menus. One day I had some time to myself - I needed the push of being out of my usual spaces and schedule to really get going. When I could sit down and take the time to really think meals and how to plan the week, I was able to build a base that makes it easier each week.
The first step I took was to write down my favorite dishes. I made my list in 4 categories: Pasta, Soup, Quinoa and Other. Just as I knew that having a list would help me to plan my menu each week, the categories would help me to have a balance of different options and types of food each week. Next, I planned for the first week, choosing dishes for each night and thinking about how much time I would have each day to make those happen.
The daily stress of having to figure out what to make at the end of the work day before the 3-year old melts down was more intense than I realized. With a plan, I can come home and get right to cooking without having to think about what to make for dinner and save myself from the stress.
Flexibility is key – it may be a great idea to make quesadillas for dinner, but, if I forget (2 weeks in a row) to get tortillas then I need to think on my feet and figure out what to make instead. I also have expectations that certain staples are always in my pantry, when the black beans are out on taco salad night, I can substitute cannellini beans. It doesn’t hurt that I truly love cooking and have been known to look at my kitchen as a challenge basket to figure out what to make for dinner (great for creativity, lots of fun, not so helpful for stress levels).
I make a lot of food! I’m generally in the habit of taking leftovers for lunch at work, but, in the first week I had so much that I knew they wouldn’t all get eaten. I identified what meals I had enough leftovers from that I could freeze them for another week. Having the back-up of leftovers in the freezer is great when another week is extra busy and defrosting some leftovers makes it easier to make sure food gets to the table. I also realized that I could easily make one night a week a leftovers night. (I chose Thursday, as I tend have work events or want to use the time to get a jump start on my cooking for Shabbat.)
Over time, I think planning will help bring down the grocery bills. The next step for me will be to base my grocery lists on the menu plans. Currently, my box from Imperfect Produce arrives on Tuesdays and I have the weekend to place my order, which works for my meal planning cycle. My shopping schedule is not quite so predictable, I need to line the menu planning up with the shopping timeline to make sure that I’m getting what I need and want and not too much.
I found a great little magnetic-weekly calendar at Target that I keep on the fridge with the weekly plan. I love to have the visual reminder of what is coming up this week.
The meal plan “experiment” for me is still young, but I appreciate what I’ve learned so far and how much stress it has alleviated at the time of day I am the most exhausted. I know that I have work to do before it feels natural to sit down and make my weekly plan, but, I’m excited by what I’ve done so far and the potential that I see for continuing to maximize my time and make life easier.
