How to Menu Plan

5. September 2008, 12:34 pmFriday FiveKin

Menu Plan Monday is a regular feature here at Kin’s Home. Hosted by Organizing Junkie each Monday, hundreds of bloggers post their menu plans. Some to share recipe’s, some to motivate them to actually have a plan, and some because they can’t think of anything exciting to write on Mondays . I’ll let you guess into which category I fall.Menu Planning has many benefits. Less wastage, no “What’s For Dinner?” questions at 5:30pm, a targetted shopping list. But how do you go about it if you’ve never done it before? Here are the 5 steps I use to menu plan each week:

Make a list of what you already have in your house. Empty the freezer and see what meat’s in there. What packets do you have in the cupboard? Tins?
Estimate the meals you can make with what you have on hand. Do you have everything to make Spaghetti Bolognaise? Or a curry? Write down what you could make with what you have, and you’re on your way to your first few meals.
Navigate the specials. If you have a variety of supermarkets you can shop at, check what meat is on special where. Meat is generally the most expensive part of the shopping, so if you can save $10 on meat you’ll be far better off than $2-$3 on general groceries. This, of course, also apply’s if you don’t eat meat.
Unleash the cookbooks you have languishing around the house. At last count I had over 60 recipe books. Each week grab a couple and sit down with a cuppa and match up meat specials with new recipe’s you’d like to try. I’ve taken to marking recipe’s with sticky tabs if I’d like to try them, and with the meat specials in hand I can pick a few dishes to fill whatever gaps I have left.
Synchronize your calendar with your menu plan. Do you have football training til 6pm on Wednesday? Wednesday is a crockpot meal. Or toasted sandwiches using leftovers from Tuesday. Aunty Pat is over for dinner on Friday night? Plan your best meal for then. Know you’ve got extra’s for Sunday night? Something that’s easily padded with vegetables and bread.

There you have it! Your first menu plan. Doesn’t that feel good? Now post it on your blog, or write it up on some pretty paper and stick it on the fridge. Next time someone asks “what’s for dinner?”, point them to the fridge and ask them to get the meat out of the freezer.

It is important to be fleixble with your menu plans - if something happens push everything back a day. Juggle your meals around. Tonight I believe we’re having Tuesday nights meal that has been postponed because I didn’t get the meat out of the freezer early enough. Also hang onto your menu plans. If you run out of time to go through the whole process - dig out an old one and run with it. I have a basic menu plan complete with family favourites using regularly cheap meat (chicken pieces, mince, sausages and frozen fish). I dig it out if I don’t have time. Less thought required and a blessing if someone else needs to do the shopping or cooking.

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6 comments:

Marcia at Organising Queen, 6. October 2008, 16:49

Excellent, step-by-step post!
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