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Farm Kitchen:  Meal Planning  |
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cajungal
True Blue Farmgirl
2349 Posts
Catherine Farmgirl Sister #76
Houston Area
Texas
2349 Posts |
 Posted - Jan 08 2006 : 10:29:36 AM
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Meal planning....here's what I do....what do you do?
If you visited our home, you would guess that I'm not organized. This is true for most areas of my life. But, my kitchen and how I use it are totally well working. One thing that I've done for about 8 years now is making a meal plan.
I started off with planning by the week then by the month and for about 5 years I've been making a 9 week planner. 9 weeks sounds like a really long time...and it is...but once the chart is made, grocery shopping and thinking are a cinch. Everyone in the family participates in the planning, usually just telling me what they want to eat, and then I coordinate it all.
My plans have always followed a theme. For example:
Mondays....... beans and rice
Tuesdays...... fish
Wednesdays.... smoothies and fruit
Thursdays..... Italian or Oriental
Fridays....... Mexican
Saturdays..... Grill
Sundays....... sandwiches
I take the theme and plug in an actual meal. It's unwritten but always understood that there will be a salad and possibly another vegetable. Plus, of course, cornbread or sourdough!
I grew up in Louisiana and beans and rice were always the special of the day at restaurants. The history of it is that Mondays were wash days and the beans could cook all day long. So, I keep the tradition, but, I don't repeat the same kind of bean until the next 9 week plan. The variety ranges from red beans, black beans, lentils, white beans, pinto beans, etc...
The 9 weeks usually covers a season of weather. Which, down here is hot and hotter. But, by the end of a 9 week stretch we're usually ready for a change to more winter like foods.....gumbo, chili, stew, or a more summer like menu with pasta salads and bbq.
I grew up in a home of two fabulous cooks. We had a double kitchen. My Moma had a fully equipped kitchen and my Daddy had a fully equipped kitchen and a huge 6 foot diameter circular island was in the middle of the two. I have so many memories of the whole family in that kitchen just cookin' and talkin' away. Precious!
I love being in the kitchen with my girls. My hubby loves eating what we make. Lots of good memories being made.
Now, back to the 9 week plan....I am not glued to it. If my hubby wants to go out for supper, well, you don't have to tell me twice! Plus, there are always turkey hot dogs in the freezer for when we are out playing all day long and don't feel like cooking.
I know that planning helps me have a more affordable grocery bill. My gardening also reflects what we eat and helps to save money.
I also have grocery lists made out according to the menu week. For example, week 2 on the chart of meals has a week 2 grocery list already filled out. Preparing all this for the 9 weeks takes about 3 hours. But, this is 3 hours one time work until 9 weeks later! Saves lots of time!
I just wanted to share this with y'all. Perhaps someone can be helped by the idea of planning ahead.....whether for a week or a month or longer!
I'd like to hear your ideas, too. Even though I've got a plan, sometimes we get tired of eating the same recipes and we get in a rut. Since our farmgirls are from so many different places, I'm sure there is variety!!
Blessings
Catherine
One of the best compliments from one of my daughters: "Moma, you smell good...like dirt." |
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CabinCreek-Kentucky
True Blue Farmgirl
8529 Posts
Frannie
Green County
Kentucky
USA
8529 Posts |
Posted - Jan 08 2006 : 10:54:22 AM
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Breakfast: McDonalds
Lunch: Taco Bell
Dinner: Pizza Hut
ha! o.k. .. jus' kiddin' .. (well, maybe not ALWAYS kiddin'!)
i dooooooooo love Taco Bell!)
Actually, there is (and never has been) any 'rhyme or reason' to meal preparations in my household. It usually just consists of whatever is on hand .. OR .. restaurants! It IS on my New Year's Resolution list to get better at eating healtier! (hm .. i think it might have been on the list for about the last dozen or so years too! but THIS year .. i MEAN it!) look forward to reading what all you more organized, health-conscious farmgirls have to say .. might be VERY helpeful me if i READ and HEED. xoxo
True Friends, Frannie |
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cajungal
True Blue Farmgirl
2349 Posts
Catherine Farmgirl Sister #76
Houston Area
Texas
2349 Posts |
Posted - Jan 08 2006 : 10:58:28 AM
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Frannie, you are a "shoe in" to always making me laugh and smile.
As Tony the tiger says, You're GRREEEAAATT!
Catherine
One of the best compliments from one of my daughters: "Moma, you smell good...like dirt." |
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Aunt Jenny
True Blue Farmgirl
11381 Posts
Jenny
middle of
Utah
USA
11381 Posts |
Posted - Jan 08 2006 : 12:24:23 PM
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I do our menu for the week on Sunday nights. Most of the time I get out a cookbook I have been dying to get around to using (I have alot of those) or sometimes an old favorite...and then I try to do at least a few recipes from the cookbook. Other than that I always have written down what is on the calender for evenings for the week...so I can make a quick meal on the night that we have cub scout pack meeting at 7pm, or I can make pasta on the night I will be gone to a "girl thing" (I DON"T like pasta!)I know they neighbors think we are strange but we barbque at least once a week..more for sure in the summer..but we barbque in any weather..our big gas grill has it's own little porch and we use it!!
I always ask if anyone has special requests and take a couple of the suggestions. Someone always says pizza..but I save that for the nights when we get behind and need to quickly cook something. I keep good frozen pizzas on hand for that. I like the way you have Theme nights Catherine..maybe I should try that. I have to alternate meats..my husband dosn't like to have chicken two nights in a row. I would eat it 5 nights in a row..haha. So we alternate between chicken or turkey, beef, pork now and then and usually one meatless supper a week. We do have mexican food at least once a week..its a favorite with everyone.
I really find it easier to have it all planned out for the week. I have never tried to take it further than a week though. Maybe I should. OUr menu for the week is posted on the fridge so the kids don't have to ask what is for supper. Of course they still do.
Jenny in Utah
It's astonishing how short a time it takes for very wonderful things to happen...Frances Burnette
http://www.auntjennysworld.blogspot.com/ |
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therusticcottage
True Blue Farmgirl
4439 Posts
Kay
Vancouver
WA
USA
4439 Posts |
Posted - Jan 08 2006 : 3:34:11 PM
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Good subject gals! I need to do this. My husband keeps telling me that I should plan menus but I just hate to think about doing it. I know that once I even got one month done then I could just rotate every 4 weeks and not have to worry about it. I think it's because we're on such a tight food budget and I'm not able to buy all the things I'd like to cook. So I just don't do it. Same thing with grocery shopping -- I hate to do it because hubby doesn't give me enough money. Oh well!
Gratitude turns what we have into enough.
http://rusticcottage.blogspot.com/ |
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Aunt Jenny
True Blue Farmgirl
11381 Posts
Jenny
middle of
Utah
USA
11381 Posts |
Posted - Jan 08 2006 : 4:24:06 PM
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If it helps, Kay..I don't go shopping AFTER I meal plan like most people. I meal plan with what I have on hand. So if I know I have hamburger, a couple whole chickens and some tuna on hand I will plan around that for the week. I do keep food storage to fall back on..but that is when we have the beans and corn bread or soup and sandwich or pasta nights alot. Our budget is really tight too. We do buy a 1/2 beef for the freezer each fall and I try to raise some chickens for the freezer too...so we fall back on that alot. I do make it last all year though so I won't let us use the best stuff in the first couple months.
I won't go out and buy special ingredients for a meal very often. It means a 15 mile round trip to the grocery store usually. Our little local store here is very limited...so I use what I have on hand. It does make things more challenging for sure.
Jenny in Utah
It's astonishing how short a time it takes for very wonderful things to happen...Frances Burnette
http://www.auntjennysworld.blogspot.com/ |
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cajungal
True Blue Farmgirl
2349 Posts
Catherine Farmgirl Sister #76
Houston Area
Texas
2349 Posts |
Posted - Jan 09 2006 : 04:07:04 AM
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My meal planning is also dictated by budget. We're a family of 4 and our budget was $75 a week while the girls were young. It then bumped up to $100 and now I'm up to $130. This includes food, paper goods, feminine stuff,etc... So, my choices for food ingredients are still limited.
We live on very little specialties the first two weeks of the month because that's when the mortgage is due. When the second paycheck of the month comes....WOO HOO...we live high....I'm able to buy potatoe chips to go with our sandwiches. We're really big spenders! ha ha
Kay, hang in there. When you're in the middle of a hard time it feels like it will go on forever. But, it won't. Perhaps you can choose just one evening a week to prepare those special recipes and the rest of the week can be scaled down.
Jenny, my hubby is like yours...doesn't want something two nights in a row. That's what really prompted me to plan ahead. I was used to cooking up a pot of beans on Monday and then turning them into soup or some other meal later in the week. I also tried to cook a big meat item like a roast and then make several different meals. Nope, didn't work. He really wants something different each night. I'm sure there are some ladies that think I should've told him to lighten up and eat what I put on the table. But, I really do enjoy cooking and most of all I enjoy making him happy. Sometimes that works to my advantage.....he has a happy full belly and I go in for a big request of something I want....how can he say no?
Blessings
Catherine
One of the best compliments from one of my daughters: "Moma, you smell good...like dirt." |
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Linda Houston
True Blue Farmgirl
538 Posts
Linda
Lake Charles
Louisiana
USA
538 Posts |
Posted - Jan 09 2006 : 05:53:23 AM
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I am glad to read this thread. I live alone and sometimes I have tons of waste because of poor planning. I had to understand the importance of being organized for one as was for me when I was feeding the tribe of 6. I have a weight problem and if I can do this my mind does not have to dance around food thoughts and events.
Thanks |
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Celticheart
True Blue Farmgirl
811 Posts
Marcia
WA
USA
811 Posts |
Posted - Jan 14 2006 : 8:01:23 PM
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I confess. I'm a menu planner and have been for several years. It's one of the few organized things I do...lol. My friends have always thought I was kinda weird that way. It came about out of necessity. I work out of town and had 4 little kids and a DH worked construction so he was gone alot. The last thing I want to think about when I get home is 'what's for dinner?' So I make out a menu plan on Sunday afternoon and post it so everybody knows what's coming up on the menu. This also reminds me to get meat out to thaw, etc. I get input from the rest of the household. People get to pick their favorites(and even cook them if they get home first). This is also the time I get out my cookbooks and I like to try a new recipe every week if I can work it in. Like Aunt Jenny, I plan my menu from what I have on hand and then make my shopping list. We raise our own pork and buy from the 4-H/FFA sale at the fair every year and my parents have a huge garden and fruit trees. They share with all of us...my sisters and their families and whoever looks hungry I guess. No one my Dad knows will ever go hungry as long as he's in this world. He has a tremendous green thumb. Anyway we can and freeze whatever he gives us. I have a Master List of menus that I rotate and cook according to the season(and what's in season). Have any of you ever checked out the Once a Month Cooking site? That's pretty interesting.
Marcia who's not really as organized as this sounds =~)
"I suppose the pleasure of country life lies really in the eternally renewed evidence of the determination to live." Vita Sackville-West
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Julia
True Blue Farmgirl
1949 Posts
Julia
Shelton
WA
USA
1949 Posts |
Posted - Jan 14 2006 : 8:23:27 PM
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I just did a menu plan for this month, something I haven't done in yearrrrrrrs. I forgot how much smoother it goes,less stress. I don't have to think to hard what is for dinner, I just look at my list and get 'er done. I like it!
"...the setting sun is like going into the very presence of God." Elizabeth Von Arnim |
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prairiemaid
True Blue Farmgirl
200 Posts
Margret
Canada
200 Posts |
Posted - Jan 15 2006 : 06:14:22 AM
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I've planned our meals for the week and was so thankful for it. I'm such a procrastinator when it comes to what's for supper. I'll put it off until we are eating so late. I make my plan up according to what's in the house. I don't shop according to the plan.
Keep a place apart, within your heart, for little dreams to go! |
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asnedecor
True Blue Farmgirl
1054 Posts
Anne
Portland
Or
USA
1054 Posts |
Posted - Jan 15 2006 : 10:03:11 AM
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There are some great ideas here. I plan meals when I know I am going to go "major" grocery shopping. With just two of us, it is hard to come up with meals that don't make a huge amount and don't take tons of time to cook (we both work fulltime). I like the 9 week plan idea and the rotating of cookbooks to use new recipes. Heaven knows I have a good collection of cookbooks that I can pick from. I guess I just have to get my act together and try doing meal planning on a regular basis - probably would eliminate the headaches of "whats for dinner" and keep us on track for eating good healthy food.
Keep the ideas coming I am making notes
Anne
"Second star to the right, straight on till morning" Peter Pan
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Shirley
True Blue Farmgirl
734 Posts
Shirley
Olympia
Wa
USA
734 Posts |
Posted - Jan 19 2006 : 11:45:41 PM
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WOW, I didnt know people did that!!!!
What if your not in the mood for whatever it is that night?
Im with Frannie, whatever is in the house or go out, but not so much to fast food places, although Taco Time is good.
We dont eat red meat, but do beakes and fins, we eat alot of no meat dishes, homemade soups,etc. My DH will eat anything at anytime, 2-3-4 days in a row, I was so tired of turkey, but he just kept eating it.I always tell him he would eat s--t if I put it in front of him ROFL
shirley |
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quilt8305
True Blue Farmgirl
409 Posts
Mary
Spokane
WA
USA
409 Posts |
Posted - Jan 20 2006 : 10:00:32 AM
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Anne, There are just two of us at home now too, and I agree, it is hard to downsize meals and not waste food. Fortunately, my husband works at home so "leftovers for lunch" is a frequent choice. And we have two labradors who like leftovers too.  I have been thinking about going to the bookstore for a new cookbook that emphasizes meal planning for empty nesters.
Mary
The great use of life is to spend it for something that will outlast it. Wm. James |
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sqrl
True Blue Farmgirl
605 Posts
Melissa
Northern California
USA
605 Posts |
Posted - Jan 20 2006 : 10:34:09 AM
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I'm trying lately to plan meals a head of time. We have no time for figuring what's for dinner. I work full time and DH goes to school full time and works part time. NO TIME!! SO what I'm doing now is making bread on Saturdays and a big pot of soup on Sundays and that takes care of a coupe of days of that week. Sometimes we have enough to freeze. The problem is that we don't have mch time to make the meals so they have to be made a head of time. So soup works real well right now.
Blessed Be
www.sqrlbee.com www.sisterhood.sqrlbee.com
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Farm Kitchen: Meal Planning |
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Meal Planning
