I've never taken part in this before but have long read the contributions of The Five Fs and GeekMummy with interest and a note to try it the next week. However, this week I'm doing it. There are a number of reasons for this:
- I have recently lost my imagination and my desire to cook, therefore beginning to eat a great big pile of stodge and take-aways as a matter of course. This is not healthy for my body, my wallet or my fridge. The food waste bin is happily consuming the good food that I'm buying and can't be bothered to cook. I think this stems from being shattered when I come in from work and not having the brain-power to concoct something. If I plan it then I have no excuse (and neither does my husband! Hint, hint).
- As previously mentioned, I'm wasting food and money. I don't like wasting food, it goes against what I was brought up to do, is wasteful of the Earth's resources and, at a time when Mr. TheBoyandMe and I are trying to save money, is incredibly wasteful. On Saturday, I threw away; half a brie, a bag of salad, three carrots, a cucumber, five vitality health drinks, a block of goat's cheese and some leftover baked beans. That's ridiculous!
- I need to lose weight, and rather than diet (which never works for me), I'd rather take control of the content of the food we eat and monitor the fats and sugars going in. I need to eat more fruit and vegetables, this will help.
- Final point, my mother's complaining that she doesn't know what to give The Boy for lunch (when I work) because she doesn't know what he's had the night before or is going to have. Now she has no excuse, especially as I've written it on the blackboard in the kitchen!
I know that this plan should probably start on a Monday, but for me the week starts on a Sunday so that's when mine does. Work days are italicised. For those who can't read my 'teacher's whiteboard handwriting', it says:
- Sunday: Shepherd's pie
- Monday: Pasta and salad
- Tuesday: Fajitas
- Wednesday: Butternut squash and spinach lasagne (leftovers from the freezer), and salad
- Thursday: Pizza and salad
- Friday: Butternut squash and blue cheese risotto
- Saturday: Mango and coconut paneer
Wish me luck at sticking to it!
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I'm linking this up to Meal Planning Monday over at At Home With Mrs. M.
Good luck. Do you not have a roast on a Sunday? I find meal planning cheaper and much less stressful. I have Tescos deliver mine too 🙂
Thanks, hoping I stick to it. No roast here, what do you notice about the obvious ingredients of most of those meals?
Oh are you a vegetarian? I thought lots of salad and pasta.
It's a great idea. Something I think I'm going to have to do now I'll need to budget even more! Or I'll just come eat at your house, I love the sound of your menus!! Good luck sticking to it :0) x
Hate it when I lose my cooking inspiration…This week we are going all Italian after being inspired by Jamie 🙂
That lasagne sounds awesome btw.
very organised, we say we will plan ahead but never do!
Looking good! I am so into it now and it saves me so much time that I easily find the time to plan the week's meals and make a list from it.
Love the sound of the risotto but I would be the only one in the house that would eat it. OH hates blue cheese and the children aren't keen, whereas I love it. Given the colour of butternut squash, it would be particularly awesome with Blacksticks Blue.
Welcome to the MPM family 🙂 All the cool kids are here. You have a funky chalkboard like Mrs Shilts, mine just gets written on a piece of paper! This all sounds lovely and 2 of my favourites – shepherds pie and fajitas 🙂
Dude – you have inspired me! i've TOTALLY slipped into a crappy food rutt, and somethings gotta give! I'll let you know how I get on! x
good for you – it does help to have a plan i always try to each week i don't always stick to it but i would say i stick to it for at least 4 or 5 days out for the 7. it helps with planning my on line grocery shopping if i have a meal plan too as i buy food i need rather than what takes my fancy and then i am flummoxed halfway through the week.
good luck
ps. i know you are against them but a slow cooker would so help you with the time and can't be arsed and budgeting aspects of your no cooking dilemma – or maybe not as you cook veggie I guess . anyhow all the best with it xx
Number 1 covers me perfectly!! I've just done my tesco shop online and ordered lots of things and come later on in the week I won't be bothered to make it. So wasteful but I just feel knackered and it's so much easier to order a pizza or something! Good luck!!!
It migt take you a few weeks to get your head around going back to work, but I reckon this could help us (and maybe you) be more organised with our evening meals. Hate throwing food away, good luck!
That's a lovely selection for your first week. The lasagne and the risotto both sound delicious!
Thanks, pretty sure we'll stick to it too, have no imagination to do otherwise!
Sounds like you have some butternut squash to eat up. I quite like setting myself a challenge to cook something with a particular ingredient. I did this in the run up to moving house a lot. I cleared out quite a lot of our cupboards this way, we tried some different things and hopefully saved some money too.
More that we only eat half of one in a sitting, then it doesn't last more than 3 days before needing slinging. Therefore we have to have them close together!
I need to clear out my cupboards and see what recipes I can concoct. I know there's a lot of tinned tomatoes, coconut milk and black cherry filling. Any ideas? 😉
All sounds yummy. My meal plans always seem to have an Italian theme too – pasta, pizza and risotto.
I found that writing down all my regular recipes in a couple of lists help. All sounds very organised but I have a list of mince (or in our case veggie mince) based meals, a list of quick and easy stuff (think pizza and beans on toast), a list of pasta meals, and a list of proper meals (which mean I spend a few hours in the kitchen), I also have a list of meaty stuff (for OH and the kids).
I try to pick one or two from each list in a week which gives us a bit more balance, rather than eating 3/4mince meals and 3 pasta meals. And it gives me something to choose from rather than spending hours poring over cookery books or wondering what to write.
It's definitely saved us money too, and I've become much more disciplined when shopping.
That's an excellent idea thank you, I'm definitely going to do that so that I don't end up with too many duplicates. We're having two butternut squash meals because we only eat half in one meal and the second half doesn't tend to last more than 3 days afterwards.
I guess I'm a rubbish vegetarian because I don't like lentils, pulses or beans so I don't cook things that contain them. Maybe I'll get some more ideas on this meal planning journey?
I've been meal planning for almost 13 years – it happens to coincide with the birth of my eldest, I simply couldn't continue to "wing" it when I got home from a full days work.
I ask the children for meal ideas & then I write the list up on our menu board in the kitchen. I hope your Husband is better at reading the board and then making the dinner than my Husband is!
In the last 70 nights I have had 1 night off cooking & then we had a takeaway 🙁
You have inspired me yet again!! Your posts should have a "like" button. Love the comments above too. Thanks.
Thanks for joining in with Meal Planning Monday for the first time! Your reasons are similar to why I started meal planning, it really does stop you getting into a rut I find. Look forward to seeing your next meal plan.