Make Life Easier With Menu & Grocery List Planning
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One day you spend three hours in the kitchen only to see your creation disappear in ten minutes. Another day you open the fridge and find it empty and end up grabbing fast food. Another day you go shopping for ingredients for a recipe and when you get home you realize you already had many of the ingredients, plus yesterday's leftovers. If this sounds all too familiar, the good news is that the solution is easier than it sounds.
For some reason, planning ahead can seem like a daunting chore, but when it comes down to it, isn't the hassle of not planning worse? Investing just a little time at the beginning of each week will save you time and money, and help you eat healthier and live more relaxed. If you're up for giving it a try, read on.
TAKE INTO ACCOUNT
What day of the week you are going to plan the menu and do the shopping.
How much time you have to cook.
The days you will eat out or take lunch to work.
If you have kids who eat lunch at school, check the menu for that week to avoid repeating dinners.
Whether you will plan breakfasts and snacks, or focus on lunches and dinners.
CREATE YOUR MENU LIBRARY
Mindful menu planning also ensures a more balanced diet. Although nutritional guidelines are constantly evolving, you can follow the principles of a source you trust to include plenty of protein, healthy fats and carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals. One such model is known as the "Harvard Plate," which maps out healthy proportions and examples of vegetables, proteins, grains, fruits and oils. With this starting point, you can begin to build a collection of well-rounded meal menus. An example would be fish with wild rice and green beans, cooked with olive oil, and fruit salad for dessert.
You can store your menu ideas in digital format, write them on cards, or hang a poster in your pantry. You may want to organize your menu by categories, such as meat, fish or vegetables. Magazines, food blogs and Pinterest are good places to start for inspiration. Over time, you'll add more options, and this will take the work out of thinking about meal planning and grocery shopping each week.
PLAN YOUR WEEKLY MENU
Before you sit down to choose the meal menus for the week, take inventory of your fridge, freezer and pantry to see what needs to get used up to avoid waste. Now, what recipes do you have that could incorporate those ingredients? Can you include several recipes that are different but share common ingredients? Write down the remaining ingredients you'll need to complete the week's recipes, either in a note app like Google Keep on your phone or on paper. Then, there are countless templates on Canva you can edit and print off to display your weekly menu. See what format works for you, print out a dozen copies and grab one to jot down your menus each week. Another option is to laminate a copy and use it as a reusable dry-erase board and hang it on your fridge.
GET COOKING
To save time during the week you can prepare several dishes in advance or cook some foods and have them ready in the fridge just to heat and eat. You can allocate a couple of hours on a day that suits you and advance dishes for the week. This is known as batch cooking, and it can be a lifesaver when you get home late and the last thing you want to do is stand in front of the stove.
The best way to save time in the long run is to prepare the main dishes that you can store in the fridge or freezer. Or, you can just make a large batch of rice or pasta, or whatever base you’ll be using in different recipes throughout the upcoming week. Dishes that break down rapidly, like certain salads, you can chop up the same day you eat them, but thanks to your thoughtful planning, you’ll have all the ingredients on hand and ready to go!
Especially at first, you might find that you have leftovers that you don’t want to throw out, or things will come up that will throw your plan off-kilter. Don’t let this put you off the idea of meal planning, because with a bit of practice, you’ll start to get a better idea of portions and flexibility. And remember, you'll probably still waste less food than if you didn't plan your groceries.
FINAL TIPS
Save your old menus and write the date on them. This way you can repeat the plans and quickly find seasonally appropriate menus in the future!
If you have never done it before, it may take you longer to do this planning, but you’ll see that once you’ve done it a couple of times, it will become a built-in habit and make your meal prep a breeze!
xx, Danae