Skip to content
Every Sunday, I do my best to set time aside for meal planning. We all have crazy busy weeks that aren’t always the same from one week to the next. Because of that, we tend to go for “convenience” come mealtime. Although convenience is a good thing at times, it can also burn a damn hole in your pocketbook. I remember once tallying up what I spent on restaurants and takeout for a month, and the number shocked me into orbit . . . seven hundred dollars! Fuck THAT!
After reading Cooked by Michael Pollan and watching the series “Cooked“ on Netflix, I had a realization: No one cooks at home anymore! Convenience has won everyone over. You crave cupcakes, you buy them. Would you want them as much if you had to make them to enjoy them? Probably not. But hear me when I say there is something to be said about taking the time to plan out your meals. You will save money, and more importantly, you will feel a sense of accomplishment. Do you want to go out for dinner? Pick a night to do that! Take a few of these tips that I use and try out a plan this week. If it doesn’t work out, tweak it a bit! I promise you will be glad that you made the time, and you might even find it lessened the crazy.
Meal Planning
- Look over your schedule for the week. If you have a night or two that you know you’re going to be super busy, use that night for dining out or make soup on Sunday and freeze it for later.
- Take inventory of your pantry and fridge for the week. Doing this will reduce spending when shopping for ingredients.
- To keep things interesting, designate each night into regional cuisine or throw in a vegan night. You will eventually have a list of favorites that you will want every week or once a month, but I strongly recommend that you continuously change up the recipes that you put in rotation. There is no better way to broaden your craft and knowledge of ingredients than through action.
- Write out your plan on a dry erase board so that your significant others can get excited about what’s for din-din. If you have kids, get them involved! Ask them to plan and prepare dinner one night. I try to do this with my kids so they will be able to survive without me once they move out on their own.
- Pick a day during the week to prepare food and cook in bulk: dried beans to toss into soups or salads, dips, crudites for quick snacks, and salsa. Canned beans are great and – you guessed it! – convenient, but dried beans can stretch your dollar and contain less sodium.
- Save recipes from magazines, Pinterest, or other sources. The great thing is, if something sucks completely, you don’t ever have to make it again!
Have a good time with it and don’t stress. Food is fun. Creating what you eat can even be more fun. For Pete’s sake, get back into the kitchen and cook!
