Let’s talk about planning your menu for the week ahead
My husband and I have always considered ourselves to be spontaneous when it comes to food. We come back from work, go straight to the kitchen and figure out something to cook for that evening. This routine worked for us for a long time, but since our son was born getting in the kitchen to cook our dinners has not been easy.
During his first months (he is now 16 months old) my husband took over the role of chef as I was busy breastfeeding or trying to put him to bed. Or do both at the same time.
When the little one started to sit at the table with us we had the challenge of having to think of recipes that we could all eat. But coming back from work, having no idea what to cook and often not having the right stuff in the cupboards was becoming a daily stress.
I can hear you say: Sounds easy! What is she talking about?!? But I really didn’t find it easy, and it took us a while to get to the level of organisation we have now. I don’t want to go back to the days where I had to make scrambled eggs for dinner because there was nothing in the fridge and I could not think of what to make for dinner.
After my long days I felt so tired, my bones ached, but I was willing to start a big change for our dinners.
This idea is not only for those who have busy family lives but also for those who work long hours or who are lacking a little inspiration or time on weeknights. My husband dismissed this idea at first, he said it would never work. And boy, have I proved him wrong!
The solution:
Since the scrambled eggs incident I decided to start planning our menus a week ahead. I know it is a pretty straight forward idea, but I wanted to share with you the steps I take to make the planning easier.
To start I divide the dishes into five categories: beef, chicken, fish and seafood, vegetarian and soups. For each category I choose around ten recipes, which gives you a total of 50 easy recipes in your repertoire.
Using my 50 recipe bank, on Friday evenings, I sit down and pick the ones I will use next week and start compiling a shopping list, trying to include what I already have at home in these dishes.
I can honestly say this planning method has changed our lives. Everyday I know exactly what I will be cooking and that I have all the ingredients I will need at home. No stress. And as it turns out, we’re spending less at the supermarket.
And planning you weekly meals this way is not only for busy families, it can be adapted to any lifestyle. Can’t see yourself having the time, or the strength, to cook every night? Pick three or four recipes for the week and cook double the amount, freezing for a later date. Don’t fancy soups? Vegan diet? Change categories or scrap them all together, adding more recipes to other categories you enjoy.
To me it is really important to keep the spontaneity in our cooking, this is why my repertoire contains so many recipes, I don’t want to feel sick of eating the same stuff over and over again.
A final tip to make cooking easier is to print the recipes you are using that week and pin them on your fridge, making them easily accessible and visible in case you forget anything.
Do you think planning a weekly menu ahead would fit well with your lifestyle? How do you guys manage your week nights dinners?
