You may remember my discussion about starting a meal plan for my family.
I went to the library, checked out some cookbooks, made a list of the recipes that sounded good, then got down to business deciding which meal to have on which day.
I do one week at a time, and post the plan on the refrigerator for all to see.
We're on the second week, and it's going fairly well. I like knowing what I need to set out to thaw in the morning, I like having all the ingredients ready, and I can plan my time according to what I'm planning to prepare.
The bonus of this meal planning has been that the kids know in advance whether they're going to like dinner or not. They have time to prepare themselves for the torture that is (gasp) beef stew, or the excitement that is breakfast-for-dinner.
It is really difficult to try out new recipes on these folks, though. I have made a deal with them, to make it easier. I will only try one new recipe per week, and it will be followed by a well-loved meal the next day.
Last week the new meal was chicken piccata. It was a huge hit.
This week, pasta with shrimp. Isabel had a stomach flu, Elijah doesn't like shrimp. But Gabe, Joe and I loved it.
With busy schedules, football practice and Girls on the Run practice, family dinners have a high potential of falling to the wayside. I am fighting this tooth and nail.
Anyone else doing a meal plan? Even cooking dinner? Any other Rachael Ray wannabe's out there?
12 comments:
Meals are always a bit of a struggle when you have several mouths to feed. I like your meal plan approach, and think I might use it. For me, the struggle is with my husband's very specific tastes, and very small appetite. If he doesn't like something, he just doesn't eat. It's very frustrating at times ! Saying hi from SITS, you have a beautiful blog !
We do meal plans. I sit down and look at what we have and what we might need. I should do it with the grocery store flyer so I can incorporate what is on sale that week too but I'm still working on it.
I like the idea of incorporating a new recipe each week. We sit down as a family and eat together. I want to keep that. I think it's really important. :)
I'm going to need to start going through my cookbooks and finding some new stuff. Good idea!
I do have a meal plan and it works great on some levels. I now have to factor in that we aren't home until 7:30 on Wed and Thurs night because of dance. So I pack Ash a dinner to eat on the way home and I bring Addie something to eat while sissy has classes. Luckily the studio put in a dinning area with a fridge and a microwave. Then I try to have something in the crock pot for Adam for when he gets home. Lemme tell ya - it's a challenge.
I am a total Rachael Ray wanna be. I do something similar to thing but I do if for a longer period of time. I get recipe mags in the mail and when I go through them and gather recipes for about 2 weeks worth of dinners. I also read alot of food blogs and use recipes from there. We rarely eat the same meal twice so my family is used to things changing. But it is so nice to just go to my list and pick whats for dinner, knowing that I have all the stuff to make that meal.
If I didn't meal plan, I'd have no idea as to what to get at the grocery :-) I usually plan a week at a time, too. I like to try new things...but lately they haven't been working out so well. And even when I have a plan...things often change. Usually because I forget to defrost something. Or we decide to go out at the last minute...
I think maybe after Football I can give this thing you call dinner a try again, lol!
There is a benefit to it getting dark at 6:00 in Ohio, and that is it corrals my kids inside and settles us down more for the night.
Well Chicka - I'm a planner. But now, my plans are going to be doing some serious changing. I have been informed that I basically have to change my entire lifestyle and my family will be making some changes too. I used to do 1 new recipe a week. Now it's gonna be more like 4 new recipes a week. But, regardless - we always eat dinner together, not matter how insane.
Girl, you know I love to cook! And YES! we will be doing some cooking oolala in November. With wine. Amen.
I have a little dry erase board in the kitchen with Mon-Fri (Sat and Sun are a free for all) listed and what I'll be making for dinner each night. It makes shopping so much easier if I have it all mapped out. I do new recipes A LOT. In fact, it's probably only once or twice a month that I will do a recipe for a second time. I just get bored of the same old stuff. We'll see how that works out when Sophie gets a little older.
It's great you're serving up home cookin' - I try to most nights - I think it's good for everyone. Easy to get stuck in a rut. I think I'll try Chicken Picatta thanks to you! Visiting from SITS
I was doing meal plans every week & posting them on the fridge, but lately I've slacked off. And you can tell because we're eating out waaaaaaay too much.
I need to get back into the habit so I can use all of these groceries I'm buying, stop eating out AND save myself some time. Gah.
I need to do a meal plan.
But I hate cooking so I'm sort of like, "Erm...dinner tonight is...well..spaghetti I guess!"
I try to meal plan weekly, and base my weekly grocery shopping off that. I love to try new recipes... most of the ones I've tried have gone over well with Shane and the girls. Michaela is a really picky eater, so she's the one I have to worry about.
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