Isn’t it great that you are most hungry at the time of your life when you have the least energy to cook. Ah yes! The joys of motherhood. When I was pregnant with my first son, I would have been happy to sleep all day. I had no interest in housework, let alone cooking. After asking my husband to order pizza for the third night in a row, I began to feel a little guilty. I knew that I needed to eat better in order to be healthy for my baby.
Every time I watched Martha Stewart and Rachael Ray I vowed to start cooking again; but after the first trip to the grocery store, the promise had been broken. It was just so much easier to buy pre-made meals and order take-out. Well, they say that need is the mother of invention. My choices soon caught up with my budget. The expense from eating out pushed me to become a culinary sensation in my own home.
I started to buy my meats at the local wholesale club and realized that by buying large quantities of meat I saved over 50%. A two pound package of chicken costs around $6 at our grocery store, yet, a seven pound package of chicken costs $12 at the wholesale store. After my first try at meal planning, I was hooked. I saved time, money, and best of all – energy. Meal planning became a new way of life; a talent. It’s not as complicated as it sounds. Believe me, if I was able to do it, you can too!
Benefits of Meal Planning:
- Plan meals in advance - you have to plan in advance in order to buy all the ingredients that I will need. As an added bonus, you are organized and know what you are cooking for several days in a row.
- Less trips to the grocery store – being organized forces you to make a list of the things that you will need and shop in advance. No more last minute trips to the store to get one more thing that you forgot.
- Quick meals – since the meats have been pre-seasoned and marinated, you take less time to cook and the food has better flavor.
- Varied menu – when you make a plan, you get to mix things up and add variety to your repertoire.
- More time – The less time that you spend cooking and planning your meal every night, means more time with the family.
7 Easy Steps:
1. Buy a large package of meat or chicken at the store.
2. Choose two or three meals to make out of it.
3. Separate meat into three bags of equal amounts. Season meat according to desired meal. (This is the most time-consuming step; enlist your partner’s help.)
4. Place bags in the freezer.
5. Make a schedule of meals.
6. Thaw out the meat in the fridge the night before you plan to cook it.
7. Cook the meal and save the leftovers for the following night.
8. You don't have to have the same thing with leftovers - try different recipes with the leftover portions or meats.
Sample Schedule
Ground beef meals: Spaghetti, Meatloaf, Nachos
Chicken meals: Cajun Chicken Pasta, Peppery Chicken Caesar Salad, Chicken Chili
Steak meals: Fajitas, Balsamic Stir Fry
Pork Meals: Brown Sugar and Maple Pork Chops, Slow Cooked Tropical Pork
Final Tips
- Give yourself permission to change the menu if you are craving something in particular.
- Schedule yourself to use the slow cooker or crock pot on busy days when you will not have time to cook but still want to eat a home cooked meal
- Be sure to read up on food handling safety to find out the best way to freeze, thaw out and cook each meat. For more info go to www.usda.gov.
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