OH HAI!
I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this once or eleventy times already, but I’m busy. Like all the time. And chances are, you are too. We all have our own brand of busy, with kids/jobs/pets/life/etc. I can’t stand it when people try and compare “busy” because I remember saying I was “busy” when I was 23 and I sincerely meant it. My “busy” now and my “busy” then are two different animals. That didn’t give me any more hours in the day when I was 23, though.
I will say this: my new, mom-wife-businesswoman brand of busy is like a three way duel to the death. My work takes up a LOT of my time, especially since I work proposals. But there are a few things I won’t compromise on, and one of those is having home-cooked meals on the dinnertable.
(Please spare me the rants that accuse me of belittling you if you don’t cook. Everyone chooses their battles with their busy, and if yours is dinner, AWESOME. I just feel very, very strongly about this.)
(Damn, what has the internet become if I have to preface things like COOKING FREAKING DINNER to readers?)
Okay, like I said: not a lot of time. And because my weekends provide precious, not-to-be-wasted time at home, that’s when I get most of my week accomplished. And also because I am a Virgo who loves to make lists, I give you: THE COMMAND CENTER OF OUR FOOD.
(It is fuzzy for reasons unknown. Apologies.)
The right hand side of our fridge contains everything for everyone in the household to be involved with food. (The left hand side contains bills.)
To start with, I sit down with this notepad:
I make a plan for the next five meals, taking input from everyone in the house if they have any requests, and I make sure that under “Grab Bag”, I provide a few Alternate meals. Sometimes, you come home on Thursday and decide that you don’t WANT Kung Pao Chicken. Sometimes, you just want sloppy joes instead.
So, from that notepad, I sit down with this one next:
(I got mine at Target, made by Real Simple, but I can’t find it online. You can find a similar one here.) Knowing what I’m cooking for the next several days gives me a REALLY good insight into what my grocery shopping needs to be. I’m able to come up with a concise list of groceries for the next week, and leaving it on the fridge for a day or two, I’m able to add the basic staples that I realize we’re running low on.
I take the grocery list shopping and in one trip, I know I have EVERYTHING I’ll need to cook for the next week. It makes grocery shopping a breeze. And it saves me worlds of time instead of just walking up and down the aisles and hoping that inspiration strikes me. It also helps me stay on budget. We keep any applicable coupons for the next grocery trip in the magnetic basket you see in the first picture, so it’s always in easy view and we don’t forget about them.
My favorite thing about the Menu pad is that I don’t have to be constantly barraged with the WHAT’S FOR DINNER?! question. Dude, you’re literate. Go read it. Also, if Bryan happens to get home before I do one night, he knows what to cook. (In all honesty, the Alternate meals are specifically designed for Bryan. They’re usually one-pot/easy clean-up.)
This system has made the grocery shopping MUCH less of a time drain on my weekend, and it’s crazy easy once you just get started.
I’m still working on getting the meals to cook themselves.
Chris and I work alternate schedules which can make meal planning difficult. We have recently implemented a similar process in our house. The main difference is we don’t specific which day the meal is for. We just make a list of potential meals for the week and then pick on a daily basis which one we want that night. It has made our lives and our shopping habits much better. Plus we are definitely eating better since we are less likely to eat out. We look at what we already have on hand or what’s on sale at the grocery store and make our menu plan from that. Then we add any additional items that are needed to complete the meal or to replace items we have run out (i.e. milk, bread, personal products, etc…) and we are done. We had gotten to the point where we were going to the store several times a week and spending a small fortune because we kept forget one or two items we needed for the week. We have also stopped buy excess items that we are less likely to use just because they are on sale. Now Sunday is my grocery day and we don’t go again unless we absolutely have to.
I WANTS that magnetic basket. Where ever did you find it?
Can I just say “Amen” to the busy thing? And women do a great job of belittling each other by acting like their form of busy is “busier” than someone elses. We are bitches.
Sorry for that. Ok, about the meals – I MUST PLAN AHEAD or else I practically fall apart during the week. That being said, Joel’s been doing Nutrisystem for the past 2 months so I really haven’t cooked in months. It’s been awesome but I’ve forgotten everything I knew (which was already very little). I do love to make lists and it really helps me stay organized at the grocery store. Bravo for finding an awesome system! I’m glad to know someone else out there is as detailed as I am about things like dinner.
Courtney wants you to read ..Allergic Reaction
You are awesome! I used to keep track of dinners on my big kitchen Fly Lady calendar, but I’ve gotten lazy about it. I really need to get back to it sand include a lot more crock pot dinners. Btw – I made the beef pepperoncini at your twitter suggestion…yum! I love cooking, but one of the problems is that my husband gets home with our daughters an hour before I do, but he’s not crazy about menu planning. He hates thinking about future meals…it’s always “I don’t know what I’m going to want to eat that day” and it frustrates me to no end. So he ends up calling me two out three times a week from the grocery store because he’s shopping for dinne, which is a waste of time and money (in my opinion). Sorry…end rant. At least he cooks though, right? I need to just get back to telling everyone what dinner is going to be rather than ask him.
This is my goal. I want to prepare everything Sunday for the week (quick chop peppers…simmer sauce…etc. so that I have everything ready to throw into a pot on weeknights. This has yet to happen.
HOW COOL is that list thingy!!! I LOVE IT