Planning Meals

In a previous post I mentioned that I plan my meals in a 3 month block.

First I print off a calendar for the month I want to plan (or three months as the case may be).  I had originally wanted to type it, or use drop down menu fields to select meals before printing, but these took to long to try and set up. The ones I found already set up online were American and the food was just too different to what we eat. At this stage handwriting is working for me (if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it). I also like to sit with the calendar at the table with my latest cooking mags and books around me to put in things I would like to try to cook. It is a nice experience to plan this way. It takes approx 2 hours in total. That sounds like a chunk of time, but it seriously saves me so much more time than this over the next 3 months, as well as relieving anxiety everyday, the 2 hour investment is worth it.

Meal planning has been so helpful in a number of ways:

• It aids speedy grocery shopping, as I know well in advance what is on the menu and can buy certain things when they are on sale.
• It provides much more balance to our meals, as well as variety. We are not eating the same things every week and are also able to try new recipes regularly.
• It means we are wasting less food and also eating less takeaway. Takeaway is now once a month, or if our day has gone pear-shaped.
• It stops that 4.30ish anxiety of ‘what’s for dinner…’ This in itself is brilliant, I can have relaxed time with my LT after school and not be flipping through recipes and racing to the shop for last minute ingredients.
• It also means that I plan the days I am cooking bulk meals and can freeze them to use on busy work/study days.
• I also am able to have a few emergency meals from the bulk cooking that I can share with family or friends in case of illness etc. I love to be able to help people out every now and then, and a spare lasagne or soup can give someone else the night off.
• Oh, and sometimes we don’t feel like the meal on the planner, that’s OK too…it is flexible.

A number of my friends are now using menu planners too. They are finding it helps with all of the above things. It takes one thing off the constant list that runs through a Mum’s head, and that has to be a good thing.

Below I have attached the excel spreadsheet I downloaded from the internet earlier this year. I don’t recall which site it came from, but will reference it if I find it again. I have also compiled a list of the meals we have on our list for this three month block (May-July) with our winter selection, in case you are interested. Some have links to online versions of the recipes too.

Click this Link to download the ‘monthly-menu-planner‘  it is an excel document. When you open it, make sure you enable macros (it will prompt you to do this) otherwise the calendar will not update to the month you enter.

sfi= super food ideas

• Sausage casserole (frills in the hills has a fab recipe) and rice
• Apricot chicken (maggi packet and apricot nectar) and rice
• Char sui pork Stir fry and noodles
• Lasagne and salad
• Laksa and noodles
• Morrocan beef casserole (N)
• Shank Soup and crusty bread and sausage rolls (N)
• Home made pizza http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/102/basic+pizza+dough
• Greek lemon chicken (N) (http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/25466/greek+lemon+chicken)
• swedish meatballs and noodles (N)
• tortellini and sauce and bread
• Chicken curry and rice (one pot oven meal-sfi)
• Chicken soup and scrolls (scrolls: http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/18936/hawaiian+pizza+scrolls)
• Schnitzels and veg and pasta
• corned beef and roasted vegies
• mongolian beef (SFI)
• meatloaf (N)
• salmon pasta
• cottage pie
• lamb koftas
• spinach impossible pie (SFI)
• Steak and chips and vegies
• roast and vegies
• sweet and sour pork (http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/22129/sweet+and+sour+pork)
• chicken cacciatore
• spaghetti bolognaise (N)
• pasta bake and salad
• fried rice and mini spring rolls (http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/16110/special+fried+rice) I use ham or chicken not always the char sui pork as suggested in the recipe.
• cheesy meatballs and vegies and rice
• Porcupine meatballs and pasta http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/16053/porcupine+meatballs

Favourites from the summer planner include:

• cheese and mustard drumsticks (SFI) (N) http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/16085/cheese+and+mustard+drumsticks
• Satay beef skewers
• “No scurvy for us” Nachos (N)
• Tandorri Lamb Shanks
• Oven fish and chips
• chicken kiev and rice and vegies

I generally have at least 3 veggies in a meal. If they are not hidden (as in sausage rolls) then they are either steamed, roasted or eaten is a salad. I have some ‘nutirent dense’ (N) food too, these recipes have been either chosen because of the extra nutrients in them or I have adapted them to have more ‘good things’ in them, like my morrocan casserole, or the nachos.

I hope this  post helps to generate ideas. I look forward to seeing what others are cooking too, always like to try new recipes 🙂

Happy Planning!

Fiona