Mar 21, 2012

meal planning. and other adult stuff.

i'm realizing that my "fly by the seat of my pants" attitude previously utilized for getting through the work week just isn't working anymore.
if we don't have anything in the fridge, i end up eating 1 of 3 things:
1. fried egg with salsa
2. handful of cashews and other randoms
3. PB&J

no good for a nursing mama and definitely no good for a growing boy (Mark).

so i'm getting serious about meal planning. i've found, at least for me, it's nearly impossible to make it to the grocery store during the week, so i need to shop for everything on saturday and if i don't plan well, i just end up with expensive items thrown in the cart last minute and that don't really make a meal, i.e. a jar of preserved lemons and store-made sushi.

inspired by Elle, I've created the following meal plan. I hope the structure won't bore me, but instead provide me with guidelines and answers for those nights when you ask yourself what to make for dinner.

Monday: Pasta with veggies/salad (linguine w/ b sprouts, spaghetti w/ asparagus, shrooms, roasted broccoli with penne + pinenuts)
Tuesday: Taco Tuesday (fish tacos or black bean and corn tacos or breakfast burritos)
Wednesday: Stirfry/noodles
Thursday: Grain + roasted veggies, i.e. couscous with roasted sweet potatoes, cauliflower and onions or quinoa with brussel sprouts and carrots
Friday: Eat out!
Saturday: Grab bag*
Sunday: Fish and veg or egg dish like Frittata

*Grab bag: recipes I've been wanting to try out via Pinterest

2 comments:

kate said...

Amen to grabbing random stuff at the grocery store. I bought a 9.00 pasta sauce the other day and got home and realized we didn't have any pasta left in the house. Hello impulse shopper.

hanner said...

robbie and i have been attempting the meal planning and it's been working well for us. another thing that we have found helps is making sunday our day to cook (or whatever day of the week works) so if we don't feel like cooking during the week (not if, WHEN), we can just warm it up. sometimes the recipes have been too time-intensive for my liking (4 hours of japanese curry-making...) but other times we're able to throw together a grain-based salad thing (i'm thinking of this one avocado/lemon/quinoa thing robbie made once) that will keep for a while and you can have it as a side dish during the week too. stuff like that.

anyway. another thing is that we've been really good about making the leftovers our lunches. we haven't gotten tired of it yet! it's MUCH better than the turkey/cheese sandwich, carrots, crackers and string cheese i'd had for lunch every day since we got married (not exaggerating).