Weekly Menu Pad
Okay – here goes! I have posted the planned menu for my family this week. Check it out here. I strive to create a menu for the week ahead (and sometimes 2 weeks) on Sunday afternoons. With all that is going on in our house each week, there is just no way I could cook without knowing ahead of time what I need to buy, defrost, or prep.
I know this sounds extremely organized and hard, but really it’s not. Really.
My husband bought me a pad of paper with the days of the week listed out (yes, he is an engineer too) – it is magnetic and sticks on the fridge as a reminder for me each night of the next days plan. I basically just take a 1/2 hour Sunday to jot down the meals and then double check the necessary ingredients in the house.
I try to also shop that day and get the house fully stocked, but with 2 preschoolers, that rarely happens. Lotsof the standard ingredients are already stocked in my house. These items make up a large portion of our weekly meals. As you will see over time, I have about 15-20 “go-to” recipes that I make often and always keep in the house – just makes life simpler not to start from scratch each night.
I work 3 days a week (Wednesday – Friday), so I tend to have larger, more involved meals on Sat – Tues. I save the leftovers or simple meals for the nights I come home from work (Taco’s as an example this week). A key learning for me, once we had kids, was to not take on too much everyday in the kitchen. Leftovers ROCK! It is also perfectly fabulous to insert take out meals in the week if it just feels too overwhelming. I used to make up meals at the local Dream Dinners meal prep location, but they closed recently and I haven’t found a good substitute, other than making more large-portion meals and freezing them for later.
One BIG piece of advice is to also make a habit of staring at your menu each night before bed. I do this while we are cleaning up the dishes from the day’s dinner. That way I can defrost/prep anything for the next night and/or notice if I am out of something I need. This has saved me huge chunks of time. And it just takes a minute.
Tomorrow: Red Fish Stew – boy was it yummy…
