I love menu planning.
I love buying those cute little notepads for your fridge that have a different segment for each days meals.
I love browsing through my Cooking Light subscription each month, and tearing out the yummy-looking recipes to catalogue in my recipe binders (this results in my having 2 whole binders where every single page has a recipe that makes me drool....yum!).
I love attempting--and sometimes even achieving--to create the perfect balance of variety, health, low expense, ease, and total deliciousness throughout an entire week.
There are several things that hooked me on planning my meals (or really, just my dinners....I totally flake on the other meals). First, well honestly, I just love planning. Seeing an organized list makes my day. But for those people that aren't crazy in this way---co'mon though, you definitely have some crazy in another way still-- there are definitely other benefits.
Menu planning helps save money on groceries. When you know exactly what you'll be using, you tend to stick to your grocery list. And you actually have a grocery list. You also will be letting less food spoil, because again, you know exactly what you'll be using.
Menu planning also provides a time to try out new recipes. I thrive on trying new recipes, so I actually try something new a few times a week. But most people usually have one day a week that is less hectic, so when you plan your menu for a week, plan to try something new on that one day!
Menu planning saves time. Even though I only work part time, I don't get home til after 5:30, and coming up with something tasty, healthy, and easy to cook for dinner---and figuring out if I have the ingredients on hand and if the correct meat is thawed-- is about the last thing I want to do. If I have my menus planned, I know I have all the ingredients, my meat is thawed already, and I can just go on autopilot. It also means you only go to the grocery store once a week. Which is a
huge time saver in itself.
I plan my menus a day or two before I go grocery shopping. I look at all the sales, make my grocery list, plan my meals for the week, then add any additional items I need from the grocery store.
Though it can be as simple as just thinking up 6 things you can whip up for dinner, like I said, I love planning and creating. So for me, I'll look through my cooking light binders, look at the grocery sales, look at my favorite cooking blogs, and only then choose a lucky 6 culinary delights to prepare that week.
I also don't stick to rigidly to the days; if it's Monday and what sounds yummy is "supposed" to be on Wednesday, I just go for it. I know...I live life on the edge. But just because you menu plan, doesn't mean you have to cook something that doesn't sound good that night.
One problem I'm using this blog to address is that I often forget recipes that were my favorites a year ago. Since I love trying so many different recipes and cuisines, it's easy to love something for a few months, then completely forget about it. By having a history of my menu plans, now I'll be able to revisit those classics that I haven't tasted in ages! Or even better, I won't forget about them at all, and will have more choices to fall back to on those days when I feel like I just don't feel like trying new recipes.
Also, since I don't have any kiddos yet, I have plenty of time to page through my recipes and plan my cooking adventures. But I know these days are numbered. So I'm hoping that by recording many weeks of menus, I'll be able to reuse a few in more hectic times.
So, if you've stumbled upon my little record of my menu plans, I hope you will find it useful and a time saver. Or maybe just find a new recipe or two that intrigue you!
One disclaimer:
Though I am no culinary mastermind, I definitely am no newby in the kitchen.
I had zero confidence in the kitchen when I got married 4 years ago, and since then I have spent tremendous times developing my skills. Now, I love cooking and learning new techniques.
So, some of these recipes are not particularly quick, easy, or use ingredients that you have on hand. Others will be all of the above. I usually try to have a mix in each weeks menu, so that I can choose how much time and effort I feel like expending for dinner. Just pick and choose what sounds good to you!
Bon Appetit!
