Meal Planning 2.0

Long time readers will surely remember that in the early days of this blog - nearly five years ago (whoa!) -I used to post my weekly meal plan each Monday morning. It was a reasonably popular feature as readers seemed to enjoy having a sneak peek at what we were planning to eat that week, and it kept me dedicated to the task of planning my meals each Sunday for the following five dinners. 

Sadly, sometime last year I kind of lost my meal planning mojo. Sure, there's been the occasional week where I've collected my favourite family-friendly cookbooks and scratched out a list of a few meals for the days ahead, but generally speaking, I would say I haven't done much planning. It could be that I spent a large portion of the past year working on a book while food writing from home AND returning to the catering company occasionally to help with the party planning while my friend, the owner, took a mat leave. Or it may also have to do with the fact that while I was working my busiest year ever Rob simultaneously took a part-time-volunteer-too-many-hours-to-count job coaching Ben's rep hockey team on top of his normal day job rendering us way to busy to think about planning a weekly menu. Or maybe I just needed a break from what I was doing while I figured out a new way to feed these growing boys of mine, one of whom ate an entire store-bought rotisserie chicken for lunch today when his mother wasn't paying attention.

Regardless of the reasons, our dinners for the past few months have either been the leftover remnants of whatever recipes I'm testing for work, or I'd run out to the store around the corner to collect fresh meat, an armful of veggies, and some form of satiating carbs for the kids, allowing me to whip up something in between homework help and the email replies that always seem to require my attention as soon as the pasta water comes to a boil. 

The problem with this system is: my grocery bill essentially doubled, and I didn't always have the leftovers I wanted for lunches on the following day. Also, it left me feeling scattered and rushed, and completely unadventurous in my meal making because nothing was properly planned, a total travesty for the Type A part of my personality. 

All of this is to say, I'm embracing meal planning again with gusto, and I'm quite excited about my new approach to our weekly meals. Here are a few notes about how I'm approaching Meal Planning 2.0:

• I've been trying to decide how I want to organize our dinners and I've concluded that working with a theme seems to suit me best. It's fun and allows me to cook the dishes that most appeal to me.
• Also, starting in September I'll be planning our dinners for six nights a week instead of only five. Here's why: Rob and Ben have a hockey game every (well, almost every) Friday night making it essential that we eat at home. Also, in September we are starting Family Supper Sundays, which I'll share a little more about later this month. For me, this means that Saturday night is likely the night we’ll eat out, order in, get together with other people, or keep it casual. In other words, that night will have no plan at all.

Here’s a look at this week’s dinner plan, if you’re curious, as well as a few of the themes I’m incorporating into this week (these will be fine-tuned in September when summer vacation for the kids is over):

• Monday (Pasta Night): Orzo with sausage, corn, Parmesan and thyme
• Tuesday (Leftovers): Chili and cheese-topped baked potatoes, salad
• Wednesday: (Chicken Night) Thai-glazed grilled chicken, rice, hoisin green beans
• Thursday (One Pot): Corn chowder, salad, and baguette
• Friday (Meaty Meals): Homemade bacon cheeseburgers and oven-roasted French fries

Are you interested in weekly meal plans, or seeing them? Do you meal plan? Which method works best for you? Also, what are you eating for dinner this week?

Comments

[Pat]

I am definitely interested in weekly meal plans. We will be a family of six adults in September and dealing with various diet requirements ie. diabetes, heart healthy and weight loss for some and maintenance for others. This will be a juggling act for sure.
I find that if using a meal plan you save a lot of money on stuff you don't really need and you don't want to waste.
Count me(us) in for meal planning 2.01!

[Toni]

I would love to be more consistent with my meal planning. I usually have the first 3 days of the week planned and then I run out of steam! I usually have a meat dish on Mondays, pasta dish on Tuesdays and a frittata on Wednesdays. However my kids are picky - one loves pasta and has to be forced to eat some meat while the other hates pasta but devours any meat...

It's quite the challenge...

[susan]

When my children were still at home, and two parents working shift work I would meal plan for an entire month. Seems like a huge task but once I got into it was not bad. Everyone took part in the planning stage and also the actual meal prep. Now I just do a weekly plan in which the two of us sit down with coffee on the weekend and plan for the following week. This coming week we are having a lot of salads from the Salad for Dinner book due to the unseasonably hot weather. This works very well as I plan my shopping around this and find it saves money at the grocery store.

[Jan Scott]

Hi Toni! I like the idea of having set nights for certain meals. It sure makes the planning easy, doesnt it. Im sorry to hear you have a pasta hater - that must be tough!. We used to eat pasta for dinner once every two or three weeks, but now I would say its definitely made it into the weekly meal rotation and Im cooking two boxes worth for one dinner just to keep the boys fed. 

[Jan Scott]

Wow...six adults. It definitely sounds like you have your work cut out for you. Im happy to hear that youre on board with more meal planning posts!

[Kathryn]

I never used to meal plan until this past spring… now if we don't have a plan for at least 4 days it becomes a hungry mess.
This week: pizza; bean & fish tacos (options!); chicken cutlets & baked potato skins; burgers & veggie/quinoa burgers; fresh pasta (sauce undecided). Salad accompanies most meals - that goes without saying at our place. Because the house is currently full all day because of school's summer break we also have to account for lunch… usually sandwiches of some sort, leftovers, macaroni & cheese, quiche or frittata.

[Meaghan]

Meal planning saves my sanity, and my bank account too! I work full time with three young boys,so not thinking about dinner after work is much needed. I love to cook and eat homemade meals so I make sure I am organized each week. With 2 toddlers and an active 6 year old in the house, we are picky and hungry! Regular include pasta, homemade pizza, risotto, grilled meats, and seasonal vegetable sides. In addition, we have a raw vegetable/fruit plate almost daily because if all else fails, the kids will eat something!

[Kristi A.]

I'd love to see your meal plans. I can always use some inspiration to avoid the rut of the same old recipes! We are clearing the fridge this week for a last hurrah vacation. I always make a pot of chili before we leave so that I can freeze enough for a meal to have on the night we get home.

[Carolyn]

I love to see your meal plans. Cooking at least one meal on the weekend that yields planned-overs during the week saves me on busy weeknights. I've gotten out of this routine this summer and I notice what a (negative) difference it makes.

[maria]

I love seeing your meal plans. I plan our meals out but am always looking for new ideas, especially for meals that satisfy teenage boys and also their calorie conscious parents. Our issue is that on some nights people need to eat at different times so we do a one pot soup or stew that I make earlier in the week and the first person home heats it up. Ideas for that kind of meal would be excellent.