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I'm trying this new thing. Menu planning. Recently I have been spending some time around every pay period to plan out our dinner menu for the total amount of days that we will need to eat before the next pay period, taking into account which nights we *might* be able to eat out and which nights I will offer only left overs or cereal and not cook something new.
It sounds so.... grandma-ish, and that might be one of the reasons that I have not chosen to menu plan in the past. However I'm becoming more aware of the amount of waste that comes out of my refrigerator when I am cleaning out the leftovers that I have saved that had no dream of ever being eaten. Now, when I plan out our menus, in order to save money and time I tell Chris to plan on leftovers at least twice. Then, we plan which meals we will make so that there will be leftovers to eat. A few big hits with us are 8 Layer Baked Ziti, Grammie's Homemade Mac'n'Cheese, Spaghetti Squash Gratin and Crock pot roast (with potatoes and carrots).
I have to say that so far I am pleased with the variety and predictability that menu planning has given us. It certainly makes answering "what's for dinner?" easier. It has also greatly increased our consumption of fresh veggies and lean meats and greatly decreased our tendency to get fast food when we are running late. I like that cooking dinner has become not so intimidating, and I don't feel like I am eating the same thing all the time. When I see the menu out in front of me, I am better able to spread some ingredients from one meal to another, and compare the menus to increase variety.
To view a sample menu, click here
Sunday, December 28, 2008
What's for Dinner?
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2 comments:
Meal planning saves me so much money and time. I try to not just use the leftovers, but use them in a different way. Like if we have leftover meatballs from spaghetti. The next night we'll have meatball subs. I also try to match double batches of stuff so I can freeze half for later.
Thanks Heather! I also meant to add that even though we are spending more on fresh fruit and veggies, we are spending LESS because we aren't eating out as much!
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