It’s Works for Me Wednesday over at We Are THAT Family and I am bringing to the table the idea of Meal Plans! Ok I know it’s not a novel idea, but it’s one that has really been working for me and I wanted to share it!
The idea behind the meal plan is to make sure you plan your meals for the week ahead of time. I don’t mind being the cook in our house, but if I don’t have the ingredients to make what I want, then I have a tendency to just order out rather then go to the store and buy it. It doesn’t make me a bad person…just lazy! And then that leads me to eating things such as chicken rolls, and pizza rather than the healthier options I would make if I cooked at home….
Having an extra freezer would be amazing because I could buy a bunch of meat and such so that I always have it on hand, but since that isn’t an option for us we go with plan B. Each week I sit down and think about what meals I want to serve this week. Being that its just me and my husband, its hard to think of meals that are economical and easy to cook for two. I am not huge on leftovers either so that also adds a bit of difficulty. I go to the store and buy whatever I need to make the meals from Monday-Thursday. I personally think cooking 4 times a week is an accomplishment, and I try to do it as much as possible.
I am in no way a fancy cook, but I always have a hot meal on the table when my husband gets home from work (except for Fridays). I have this thing about not liking food reheated, so I do my best to time the meal as best I can. If for some reason I don’t go out and shop on a Monday the likelihood of ordering out jumps to about 100%…not great odds…but I do my best not to have this happen.
So for all you cooks in your household, sit down and plan your meals ahead of time…not only will it save you time and money, but planning ahead allows you to eat healthier too! So I say to myself..Self! Get your butt to the store and buy some good food…no McDonald’s for you this week! And then my waistline and my wallet thanks me!
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Meal planning rocks. I would be able to work full time outside the house, and cook meals nearly every night if it were not for meal planning. More people should definitely consider it. You are right, it definitely makes life easier on the waistline and the wallet.
Though on the leftovers thing, I tend to cook with leftovers in mind. I used to have issues with leftovers but it really is a time saving tool for working moms. If I roast a chicken, the left over chicken is used the next day for chicken quesadillas. Leftover white rice is made into fried rice. Leftover veggies and chicken plus a store bought pie crust=great chicken pot pie.
One of the things on my list for this year is getting a freezer. Small sized one for the garage.
I am sure that when I have a family and stuff I will need to eat my leftovers…I’m pretty good about eating leftover pasta…its’ the leftover meat I have trouble with. The good thing is I cook for like 3…lol…me and Evan eat and then he finishes it for lunch the next day! Works well! lol
Leftover chicken is about the only type of leftover meat I can deal with.
Hey this is a very interesting article! Thanks!