Meal Planning

I am all about keeping it simple and having a plan helps me better utilize my time, save money, and of course eat yummy food! Meal planning has saved my sanity and most definitely helped our budget. In the past I have dabbled here and there with some vague organization, but never really kept it up for long and during my pregnancy I completely handed over the reigns to the hubby. For nine long months the idea of preparing food was just out of the question and Kellen stepped up like a champ, making us delicious and healthy meals. With all that time away from the kitchen, upon Ezra's arrival I was so excited to get back into my cookin' groove! And that's exactly what I did. Food was fun again and I was just in hog heaven! As always though my system was kind of crumby and I would make several trips to the store (no easy feat with a wee one) and in my excitement would spend way more money than I wanted. So I got organized and made a plan. In the last several months I have created an easy and efficient system and now I can't imagine how we ever got by without it.

Every Saturday I write out a meal plan, no assigned days, but making sure to include enough food to get us through to the following weekend. I sit on the floor with all my cookbooks (and occassionally my laptop) and select our meals and snacks based on season, current cravings, and budget.

I have found that when you select recipes seasonally and with overlapping ingredients you can make your dollar stretch quite a bit further. (Good, quality organic food is very important in our house, but I hate to spend money unneccesarily. When you're buying asparagus in November you are just throwing your money away, not to mention the environmental cost.)

What's great is that when you're shopping with purpose there is a lot of room for flexibility. Sometimes I'll leave out a meal and see what's in abundance this week or when the farmer's markets are thriving I'll buy up the best priced, most appetizing food and then make a plan. This way you know you are getting the freshest food and you'd be amazed at the deals you can make. (I got a giant basket of eggplants last year at our local farmer's market for a dollar. It was the end of the season and nearing the end of the day. The farmer simply wanted to part with her produce and I happily obliged. Needless to say we ate every eggplant dish I know that week...and it was awesome!) If you are fortunate enough to live in a place with year round abundant farmer's markets (I am jealous!) and would make planning all the easier.

During the winter I make a lot of stews, soups, and casseroles. You work with what you have and a good hearty, winter veggie meal warms the bones with the added bonus of plenty of left-overs!

So if you're curious I'll give you an example from this upcoming week in our house.

The Meals:

 Cornmeal Brussels Sprout Masala w/ Rice

Tomato-Rice and Roasted Garlic Soup

 Superhero Chili (Roasted Root Veggies and Beans)

Caramelized Onion and Butternut Squash Casserole w/ Roasted Sprouts

Chickpea-Quinoa Pilaf w/ Curried Tofu

And that's it for the week. I will be able to make five delicious, home-cooked meals with enough left-overs to last through the following weekend for a little less than $50. I am definitely not the purest foodie on the block (well maybe on my block, but that's not saying much). I would love to incorporate more raw and fermented foods, buy more local, etc... but I feel pretty happy with my diet and definitely happy with my system.

If you're having trouble getting organized a template might be just what you need. If you would like to use an adorable meal planning template, Danielle's is super cute, efficient, and comes in two different sizes. How fun!

Do you meal plan? What's in your shopping cart this week?

Tara