I’ve already confessed my struggle with wanting to do everything perfectly as a new wife. A huge part of this for me definitely revolves around meal preparation. I know my Sweetie knows how to cook – and even likes it – but I also really enjoy cooking, especially trying out new recipes, and varying our meals so they are nutritious and well-balanced.
The problem is I usually start thinking about dinner right around the time I get hungry. I mean, that’s what happened when I was single. I’d go to the fridge, whip up something quick, easy, and vegetarian and off I’d go to the next thing. Big meal prep was for weekends or holidays, not every day.
That is, until I had a husband.
Now there is someone here who likes to eat meat – maybe not for every meal, but at least a few nights each week. Other than that he’s pretty flexible. When he was single he’d make himself about 4-5 days’ worth of something (chicken & rice or couscous, spaghetti & meatballs, etc.) and then just eat it all week until it was gone. That was fine then, but it probably wasn’t going to work that way for me…Ms. Vegetarian-for-the-past-11-years-but-trying-to-be-more-flexible-while-trying-to-conceive.
So, it’s been a year and 10 months since our wedding day, and I’ve been saying for at least six of those months that I need to start meal planning. {Poor guy, he’s been pretty patient with me as I’ve struggled with my seeming inability to implement said plan.} I’ve seen a few examples of menu planning from friends but never so much as printed out a calendar to get started until this past weekend. I was finally ready.
And now, here I am, two whole days into the process and loving it! For a brief moment when I came downstairs last night I was tempted to revert back to my old ways – throwing out options to him to see what would stick. {Well, OK, I did actually do that, but he chose the meal that was next in line in the plan. Humph. Imagine that.}
And guess what - dinner was easy! I even prepared 80% of it while I was on the phone with a friend. And at the end of the meal, we’d finished off three leftover items from the fridge (two of which would have gone bad by the time we would be cooking at home again on Friday). I didn’t have to go to the store. {Right. Because I planned ahead!} And to top it all off, I made something that was Google’s answer to the question: “What to do with leftover sausage.” Answer: Spicy Sausage Pasta with salad and garlic bread. Yum! It was so good we now have a new favorite to add to the list.
Are you a menu planner? I’d love to hear your tips and ideas – please share in the comments section.
Just in case you aren’t – Here are a few things that helped me get started:
- Came up with a list of standard favorites – these are easy to make and I know we could eat them consistently and not get tired of them
- Printed out a blank calendar from the web
- Started plugging in our “favorites” (in pencil) every other week (i.e. Pizza Night every other Saturday and Black Bean Tacos every other Tuesday)
- Then I created two more lists: Meals I want to try & Meals he’s loved in the past (but I don’t make often because they’re a bit more labor intensive)
- I visited a friend’s cooking blog for reminders of specific recipes and also landed on Pioneer Woman’s blog, since there’s a ton of great inspiration there, too.
- Other helpful guidelines based on our preferences, like:
- Pasta no more than once a week
- Fish at least once a week
- Beef no more than once a week
- Vegetarian up to twice a week
- With fall coming – soup once a week, prepared in bulk on a weekend and available as leftovers for lunch during the week
- Ambitious meals reserved for weekends
- Chicken can always be an easy back-up (he loves chicken; me…I’m still trying to just like it.)
It helps that every Thursday night is Date Night, and the Husband knows it’s a sweet gift to me if I don’t have to cook that night. Also, since moving to Colorado, three Wednesdays a month we have a potluck dinner with our community group from church. That usually means I can plan to make one side rather than a whole meal for that night. He’s also agreed to take one night a month that I don’t have a menu planned. He’s in charge that night and can prepare whatever he wants.
It’s early, but I’m gonna call this a successful endeavor. It probably took me an hour and a half on a Sunday afternoon, and I’m pretty much all planned out until the last week of September. I still have to do all the shopping for everything beyond this Thursday, but the plan is in place and I feel a weight lifted.
What’s your plan for making meal planning easier and less frustrating? Inquiring minds want to know!
{ 27 comments… read them below or add one }
Mer- I love the Pioneer Woman! I usually do at least one or two things of hers a week.
I find it is best for me to plan for two meals and one day of leftovers per meal. Greg eats more than I do and usually a meal for “4″ takes us through one meal and one leftover day for him. That works out for the night I have plans or want to do something else.
Do you have a crockpot? I love putting items in one and then having dinner later that day and then great leftovers! Also good for doing a big items- like a roast, or pork, or chicken that you can work from for meals later in the week.
But- it must be said- I love the grocery store and go about every other day because I like shopping for that night or the next time. I can’t break this habit from my single days!
HI Margaret! So fun to see your comment! And I love the grocery store too…partly b/c I worked at one in high school and partly because they’ve become so amazing recently.
Yes, we have a crockpot but I’ve never used it! Can you believe that? It’s still in a box in the garage. I do have pot roast on the menu for this month so I’m sure I’m going to have to dig it out one of these days. And I’m totally with you – a meal for “4″ usually doesn’t amount to that in our house.
Do you have a favorite of PW’s? All her stuff is great – just wondering what you’ve tried that you love. Great to hear from you!
-M
Breakfast for dinner is always an easy favorite – omlettes, fritattas, pancakes – they are all great ways to sneak in veggies!
Get your crock pot out of storage – easy chicken tacos – honestly the best homemade shredded chicken … buy a packet of taco seasoning, put 3-4 frozen chicken breasts in the crockpot and dump a container of fresh salsa on top. shred the chicken for tacos, tortilla soup, enchiladas, nachos….and you can control the spice level by the kind of salsa you use!
We love PW’s veggie pasta primavera…it’s def. a weekend meal because it’s labor intensive, but soooooooooo delicious.
I love breakfast for dinner Jill! That was a frequent meal when we were getting ready to move. Better go dig out that crockpot. Thanks for the chicken tacos idea. I’ve done it w/o the crockpot, but I like your way better I think.
I made the mini meatball sliders last night I love the BBQ Meatballs. The Drip Beef sandwiches. (we are big into beef at our place!) Dr. Pepper Shredded Pork, Big Bacon Sliders. Avocado Egg Salad. The Chicken Tortilla soup… I have cooked so many things! I have not been disappointed with anything. But I am kinda the opposite of you— while I do eat Beef, I do not eat any Dairy so I usually have to make some adjustments. Check out this blog also- she has some great recipes too. My favorite is the Mini Ham buns. They are great for weekend guests, a shower or a pot luck: http://www.bigredkitchen.com/2008/04/mini-ham-and-cheese-rolls.html
Love it! Thanks Margaret!
Many weeks I pull several recipes from online, a cooking magazine I have browsed through lately or a cookbook that has not been used recently. If the recipe is portable, I print it off and either make a list or take it with me to the store. This notepad from Knock Knock, http://www.knockknock.biz/catalog/categories/pads/kk-pads/all-out-of-red-pad/, is the greatest grocery list guide and fun to fill out if you are a check-the-box person like myself.
Happy meal-planning, list-making and cooking!!
Written like a true expert!! Question for you Mrs. Madeley – how much time do you usually spend cooking each week?
Merritt,
I am super impressed that you have started eating meat again! It has been 15 years for and I just don’t think I will ever be able to go back. However, having married a meat eater and raising 2 meat eating kiddos makes meal planning such a struggle for us. I am so thankful that my husband does not mind eating vegetarian most of the time and when he gets a meat craving he will usually cook it himself (I am getting better about it, but handling raw meat still really freaks me out!) I am encouraged to work on better meal planning. I’ve been married 5 years and still haven’t quite gotten the whole cooking every night thing down.
HI Maggie – great to “see” you! I have never been good at getting enough protein. So being veggie and hypoglycemic has been a tough combo. Now that we’ve moved to the Boulder area I feel like it’s easier to find organic and local options and that’s been a big part of being more able to stomach the idea. I’ve only once eaten an entire chicken breast and more often I just take bites of his food if it looks and smells good to me (in restaurants). But you’re right, cooking it is taking some getting used to. The first time I made chicken I almost gagged. But it has definitely gotten better. I totally feel for you as the only veggie in your family. Good thing you have a flexible hubby! Thanks for stopping by and for commenting!
Merritt, wanted to share a fun site that I may/may not be addicted to: http://www.tastespotting.com (a community driven visual potluck). Beautiful pictures and fun recipes. I often find new food blogs which lead to multiple recipes that I want to try.
Because of our family activities, I can only plan meals a week in advance.
Teresa – I can’t wait to check this out. Pictures make all the difference to me. I can’t understand cook books that don’t have pics. There’s just no appeal in my mind. Thanks for the link! Hope you and the family are doing great. Say hi to your hubby from me.
Having 3 kids it’s sooo important that I have some idea before hand what is going to be for dinner. My natural tendency is to wait until I’m hungry to start making dinner, but if I did that every night we wouldn’t eat until very late. Great post.
HI Nacie – I’ve thought about my need to get this figured out before kids enter the picture. It’s a whole different issue when you add little ones into the mix. Thanks for stopping by!
LOVE this!
Also, I just tried a new recipe tonight… and (even though you don’t LOVE chicken) it’s SO good! It might just make you a chicken-lover!!!!
I posted it here: http://coleandlaura.blogspot.com/2011/09/tonights-dinner-9-7.html
Wow – the pictures make it look really good! And the Husband LOVES garlic and usually wants me to double it.
I would probably have to cut the chicken in smaller pieces for me (weird, I know), but I will certainly add this to the list of things to try. Thanks for sharing the link Laura!
I just stumbled on your blog via comment hour, and I love it! You have some fantastic tips for menu planning.
Thanks for stopping by Karolina (love your name)! Appreciate your kind words!
Great tips! I’m terrible at meal planning. And since I had my baby, I’m even worse. I hope you can find a plan that works and stick to it…you’ll be much happier and life will be much easier no matter what lies down the road for you!
Well, I’m just getting started so we’ll see how it goes. I always do better with a “system” so I’m gonna go for it (though I’m already excited about not having to cook tonight since it’s Date Night!)
Thanks for stopping by!
Hey Merritt!
I love that you are meal planning. Shopping and cooking is one of my favorite times each week. I love getting recipes from Clean Eating Magazine or online at cleaneatingmag.com, and I also love my collection of Cooking Light magazines and of course foodnetwork.com! I love simple, fast & fresh for weekday cooking. I also just “liked” Crock Pot girls on Facebook. I’ve never been much of a Crock Pot user, but their FB site has some pretty tempting recipes that would probably be great for Fall & Winer in Colorado!
Woo-hoo! I’ll go check it out. Thanks Evelyn!
Great post. Hubby does most of the cooking, but I really do want to get into the kitchen more, especially since I’ve come across a ton of new recipes I want to try. I’m thinking we could try taking turns instead of him cooking everyday.
Hi Diane –
Has the Hubby always done most of the cooking? This topic has inspired us to talk about why we got in the habits we’re in…and how to change the ones we want to change. I like the idea of sharing the load. Get in there and try those new recipes and then let us know if you’ve found ones you love! Thanks for stopping by to say hi!
My husband and i have been married for 7months now and meal planning was something we sorted out right away.
My husband is American and i, Australian and we live together now in Aus.
We do a fortnightly meal plan (2 weeks worth) and we usually make selections from a ‘favourites’ list like you do, schedule in our date night etc. We usually try to make a new recipe once every two weeks. Immediately after writing the meal plan we’ll write the shopping list for the fortnight too. Check what staples we need and then go through each meal and see what we need: eg 500g chicken breast, cream etc. So that way when we go to the supermarket we don’t usually (hehe) impulse buy and blow our budget on junk.
The following day we will go out and do our shop, marking off each item on the shopping list as we collect it. It helps ensure that we don’t have to stop by the store too often (which can be a bit of a pain as we both work full time) and again, we don’t make unnecessary purchases. We find 2 weeks worth of meals helps keep it from being boring (having a WHOLE month planned out a head) and it means that if i have some free time on the weekend i can look ahead and start preparing some of the meals to save me time after work. Things like lasagne, Sausage rolls, pastabakes, pies – all easy things that can be made and then kept refrigerated/frozen until needing to be used.
We’re both pretty young (24 & 23) but i have loved cooking since i can remember. Before we married my husband had rarely cooked as he lived on College campus and then back with his mum before migrating to Aus a few months before our wedding. Since we have our meal plan posted on the fridge, my husband will often start getting things ready for me when we get home from work and dice the onion etc and his cooking skills are improving every week! I also find it really fun to cook with my spouse and enjoying adapting American recipes as there is usually quite a difference in ingredients available in Aus. We even started keeping a humble blog about our cooking (and sewing) adventures that our family and friends use as a way to keep track of how we’re doing etc.
So i just wanted to encourage you that your meal planning sounds right on track!! And remember, it is only a plan – you dont ALWAYS have to stick to it. Allow there to be some freedom and spontaneity too. This will help it from becoming boring or feeling too much like a chore.
meant to reply…but just entered a new comment…see below and thanks for stopping by Ruby!
Hi Ruby – I simply love the organization you’ve put to your meal planning, all the way down to checking the cupboards and creating the shopping list. Two weeks seems like a perfect time frame for those two activities (something I’m still not doing 100%…we have to take a quick trip to the store a few times a week, but it’s walking distance so I don’t fret too much about that).
In case you missed it, here’s my summary of what we learned in September. http://www.livesimplylove.com/learning-thru-menu-planning
Thanks for stopping by and for your encouragement. I’m humbled to know you’re reading on the other side of the globe.