Each line usually ends up with two options on it.
So say I have ground beef, followed by tortillas, in the veggie column I might add peppers and salad fixings. This is column is where I keep track of what we might need, and it also helps me make sure I purchase enough when we do our shopping. I like to make sure we have veggies with every meal. So here is where I note down the grains and starches we usually use, such as pasta, rices, potatoes, tortillas, buns/breads and so on. I have a good general idea of what we usually pair with what. Meatsīecause we order our meat is large packs from the butcher, I needed something that would allow me to make note of what we have, and also let me plan for items that may not come in the pack we chose, such as fish, poultry, and eggs and other alternatives. While I’m no longer planning out two weeks of specific meals, I do still need to plan for those meals. So how do you plan meals when no-one actually uses a recipe? I’ll show you.įor dinners, I use this little printable I made. While I don’t quite have his talent, I’ve noticed that I’ve started doing that a lot more myself, and our teen is doing the same thing. The rest of the time he just tosses stuff together and turns out these amazingly yummy meals. Over the years, I’ve picked up a lot of tricks from my husband who only uses recipes for certain things. You see, I used to follow recipes all the time, some were actual recipes and others were more like my own standard way of cooking things. Specifically, watching my husband work his magic in the kitchen was the big eye-opener. Well, it all started when I stopped planning and started watching. So, if I don’t plan my meals, what do I do? Something to help balance out the different meats and make sure I had enough ingredients in the pantry and fridge to make well rounded, wholesome meals from. Even though traditional meal planning wasn’t working anymore, I quickly realized that I did need some sort of plan. I learned a lot from stopping my meal planning and observing how our family really works in the kitchen. The last point was especially eye-opening.
There were more reasons it was no longer working, but these were the big ones. To be sure there were nights when I was scrambling last minute, but we cook almost all of our meals at home, reserving eating out or getting take out for special occasions. without a plan, we didn’t resort to take-out or dining out.One of the boys might mention wanting pasta, or it might be rainy and cold out so a stew or roast appeals more than a chicken salad does. we tend to choose our meals based on what we feel like for dinner.my husband loves to cook, and he likes to make things up as he goes along.we changed how we shopped, which meant that half the reason for planning my meals was no longer valid.There were many reasons why our system stopped working, but I’ll spare you a novel and stick to the main points. Eventually, I just gave up trying, and we sort of floated along without a system and I learned so much about how our family approaches meals. It was doing nothing to help simplify our lives and it was no longer really doing the job it was supposed to do. My old way of planning my meals was a case of me working for the system. I say it all the time we need to create systems that work for us, not the other way around. Meal planning doesn’t have to be creating a menu to follow each week In the end, I decided to stop planning my meals in the traditional sense and create my own system that better suits our lifestyle. It forced me to start planning around what we already had and just like when any system changes, I just sort of stopped doing it for a while as I mulled over how to do it the best way for our family.
Truthfully, though, we hardly ever followed my plan, and then last year we discovered a local butcher who sells local meat in bulk packs. Not only did they help make sure I had something to put on the table each night, they really helped when it came time to do the grocery shopping. The thing is, I used to use them faithfully. Can I let you into a little secret? I don’t use any of my meal planning printables.
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