I am here to tell you that I have changed!
When I first got married I didn't decide what I would make for dinner until I was already hungry, which mean Josh has been hungry for the last hour. Then I would have to take time to make sure I had all of the ingredients. Then I had to start cooking. We ended up having a lot of our meals at 9:30-10 at night. Woah.
And luckily we lived across the street from a grocery store because I would literally have Josh run (much faster than driving) to the store to get an ingredient I didn't have.
I started to plan out a week of meals so I wouldn't have to go to the store so often because it was getting expensive! I also found that I was wasting a ton of food and it was not good!
When we moved to Utah I took it one step further and started planning out meals for a month! I was so nervous at first. But this is how I managed to do it:
1. I get my notebook and write down the days of the month. Every 1st and 3rd Sunday of the month I get together with extended family for dinner so I write that on those days before I do anything else. Same with any holidays that include dinners ( Thanksgiving, Christmas, 4th of July...)
2. I get every Wednesday off from work and I don't work Saturday or Sunday. I write this next to the dates so I can plan better. On these days I don't have to worry about what time I'll get home from work so I'm able to make my meals that will take a little more time or energy. I also try to put my easiest/quickest meals on Mondays because I know I wont want to spend too much time in the kitchen those days.
3. I get out all of my recipes and last months meal plan. Every time I try a new recipe or change something in an old recipe I have Josh rate it on a scale of 1-10. I write his rating on my recipe so I'm able to look back and see what his favorite meals were. I try not to put all of my "10's" in the same week just as I try to spread out the 6's and 7's. (I usually don't make it again if it's less than a 6 or 7...)
4. If I am trying any new recipes this month I try to highlight it or mark that it's a new recipe so I can make sure to not skip that one! At the start of our marriage I would make the same 10 meals over and over again. Josh finally spoke up and asked me to try something new. So I don't skip those! (Obviously I'm not trying anything new this month...)
Shopping
When I go grocery shopping I try to get all of my non perishable items at the beginning of the month. So that is when I buy my frozen chicken, ground beef, bread... all that jazz. Then each week or every other week (depending on what I'll need) I'll buy the more perishable things like milk, fruit, veggies, etc.
This is what has saved me the most money! I cram as much into my freezer as possible and use the rest up before it goes bad. It has been a great system for me so far! But now I just need to get a deep freezer so I can fit even more!!
I've realized that even though I have meal planned, doesn't mean I need to cook it that night. If I'm not in the mood for Teriyaki chicken, I can make mac n cheese and it's no big deal because I already bought all of the ingredients. I can swap things around and it wont matter! In fact I usually end up sticking to what I planned for the week but making them all in a completely different order. But that's okay! I'm not wasting any food by doing that. And that is pretty awesome!
I am able to make healthier meals for us because it is all getting planned out ahead of time.
And we are not wasting food! Josh and I are able to take leftovers as lunch the next day. This also saves tons of money because we aren't going out and buying lunch while at work or school.
What do you do to meal plan or meal prep?? Although I love the system that I have created, I would love your feedback and tips!
Audrey Jo
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