Menu Planning...
This evening I completed my new two week cycle for dinners and breakfasts. I began doing this about two months ago. It is SO much easier for me to stick with.
First of all, let me extol the virtues of menu planning. Your grocery shopping is more efficient, saving you time, money, and waste. This is especially true if you choose more than one dinner that will feature your newly purchased (and not part of your usual fare) asparagus or red bell peppers. You do not have to stress every day, hoping you have the ingredients for whatever it is you are craving. When your darling husband comes home and casually inquires concerning that evening's repast, you do not answer with the dreaded, brain emptying, "UMMMM" before you try to pitch tomato soup and tuna melts as an option that was planned.
In this area it becomes extremely helpful to network with other lovely wives you know to see what they do. For some reason, every time that I have a baby I feel that I am completely starting over again when it comes to household management. I reinvent everything, and create the new normal out of the new chaos. One lovely lady I bombarded mentioned that she only hits Costco every other week, and uses a two week cycle for menu planning. As I mulled this idea over, several objections came up, but a desire to limit my time grocery shopping won, and I sat down for the first time to the daunting task of coming up with ten meals in a row instead of five, with a spare (probably tomato soup and tuna melts).
Now, let me extol the virtues of bi-weekly planning specifically. In the obvious category there is the time saving. It does not take that much more time. I already have my cookbooks or food magazines out for new ideas. In fact, I am MORE likely to try couple new ideas out over a two week period than over one, and since I already glanced over three recipe magazines, I have sticky notes marking my spots for some new recipes to spice things up. Because I still have to buy fresh fruits and veggies on the 'off' week, I am more likely to vary what we eat.
It also raised my awareness of how much food we actually consume. We need more bread and less milk than I would have guessed on a one week plan.
Most importantly, I achieved increased consistency with meal planning, because I don't have the opportunity to fail every week. Only every other. Let's face it, the less opportunities to fail, the greater my chances of sticking with something. Hurray for FOOD!
First of all, let me extol the virtues of menu planning. Your grocery shopping is more efficient, saving you time, money, and waste. This is especially true if you choose more than one dinner that will feature your newly purchased (and not part of your usual fare) asparagus or red bell peppers. You do not have to stress every day, hoping you have the ingredients for whatever it is you are craving. When your darling husband comes home and casually inquires concerning that evening's repast, you do not answer with the dreaded, brain emptying, "UMMMM" before you try to pitch tomato soup and tuna melts as an option that was planned.
In this area it becomes extremely helpful to network with other lovely wives you know to see what they do. For some reason, every time that I have a baby I feel that I am completely starting over again when it comes to household management. I reinvent everything, and create the new normal out of the new chaos. One lovely lady I bombarded mentioned that she only hits Costco every other week, and uses a two week cycle for menu planning. As I mulled this idea over, several objections came up, but a desire to limit my time grocery shopping won, and I sat down for the first time to the daunting task of coming up with ten meals in a row instead of five, with a spare (probably tomato soup and tuna melts).
Now, let me extol the virtues of bi-weekly planning specifically. In the obvious category there is the time saving. It does not take that much more time. I already have my cookbooks or food magazines out for new ideas. In fact, I am MORE likely to try couple new ideas out over a two week period than over one, and since I already glanced over three recipe magazines, I have sticky notes marking my spots for some new recipes to spice things up. Because I still have to buy fresh fruits and veggies on the 'off' week, I am more likely to vary what we eat.
It also raised my awareness of how much food we actually consume. We need more bread and less milk than I would have guessed on a one week plan.
Most importantly, I achieved increased consistency with meal planning, because I don't have the opportunity to fail every week. Only every other. Let's face it, the less opportunities to fail, the greater my chances of sticking with something. Hurray for FOOD!
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