Tips for Meal Planning

One week's bounty from the CSA

           Approaching 30, many of my friends are in the midst of the busiest schedules. Between work, families, exercise, charitable organizations, and any other hobbies we all might have, I'd say this is a busy time of life. Lately I've had more and more conversations about my meal planning tips, so I was inspired to write a post about them. At age 22 I started dating my husband, who had a 3 year old daughter at the time, so you could say I've been working on this meal planning thing for a while.

 In general, I try to cook as seasonally, locally, organically, and affordably as possible, though there are always exceptions to that!

So here are my personal tips, drawing from advice I was given and my own successes and failures in the kitchen.

1. Start with what you've got.
The first step I always take in meal planning is looking at what I already have. We currently subscribe to an awesome CSA and therefore have our produce delivered every week. I look at what veggies we have, what pantry items or other things need to be used up, and get going from there. The kids eat up the fruit (and so do I), we always have salad stuff, and enough veggies to last the week. Some weeks I know just what to make (we love roasted broccoli, brussels sprouts, asparagus), other weeks I need a little more inspiration. If I have ideas, I write them down and figure out what protein to pair with the veggies. Otherwise, I hit the internet, food magazines, and cook books, depending on how stumped I am.
I used to start with a brand new meal plan based on the exciting recipes I wanted to try. This led to lots of food (especially produce) going to waste, which also means money lost.

2. Be realistic about your schedule.
Besides knowing what food I've got hidden away in the cabinets, I also plan based on my week. Back in the days of planning meals based solely upon fun new recipes, I would plan to cook a meal from scratch every single night. Every. Single. Night. I ended up getting so upset when my husband had to work late or would make other plans and here was this great dinner! Now I know that I should leave, "open," one night per week. Whether it is grabbing a quick burger, going to a restaurant, or visiting at a friend's house, I know not to plan a home-cooked dinner for every single night of the week. At times this means I throw something I bought into the freezer. Sometimes this turns into frozen burritos for dinner, but more about that in the next section.

3. Stock your pantry and freezer.
At one point I read about budget grocery shopping and one tip was to stock up on staples when they go on sale. You can also go to Costco. Either way, know what staples your family likes and keep them around. We always have macaroni and cheese, rice, beans, tortillas, and cheese. We usually have diced tomatoes and chicken stock. I try to keep frozen black bean burgers and pot stickers in the fridge for easy go-to meals (pot stickers and stir fried vegetables, check!).

I also like to make freezable recipes in big portions so I can have the food ready to defrost and eat when needed. Sometimes you have those weeks with early morning meetings, early evening engagements, and still need dinner when you get home at 7:00. Those are the days I set my frozen meal in the fridge when I go to work and it is usually defrosted by the time I get home. My favorites are the slow cooker tex mex chili, vegetarian chili, soups, and stuffed pasta dishes. I also make a bunch of burritos whenever we do beans, rice, etc., and freeze them so we have our own homemade frozen burritos for last-minute breakfasts, lunches, and dinners.

4. Don't break the bank.
There was a time when I spent all of my money on food. I would go to the most expensive stores, because the food was so nice, and I would pick out the best ingredients, and I would make up a week's worth of meals with no regard for what we already had. Here are some problems I ran into with that.

• I spent way too much money on food.
• I wasted food because I didn't use what we already had.
• I felt more stress when my family didn't eat because of the cost of ingredients.
• I was greatly disappointed if I messed up a recipe, or if it wasn't as exciting as I had expected.

5. Have a few fail-safe recipes in your back pocket.
Tacos, spaghetti, grilled cheese, scrambled eggs, stir fry.... Whatever meal it is that you can whip up with little to no effort (you know just what you need, and can make it with craziness around you or complete exhaustion). I spent a couple of years avoiding these recipes because I was trying to be adventurous, gourmet, exciting. But seriously, there is nothing like a great taco. Or grilled cheese. Or....well, you get the point. 

6. Simplify.
My first year of the CSA was a year of adventurous cooking. I not only wanted to cook all of these new ingredients, I wanted to make the fanciest recipes I could find with them (honestly hoping I would like these weird veggies more). Then I realized how many vegetables taste great roasted or grilled. Others go perfectly in a salad or soup. I still love making new recipes, but also know that on a Monday after, well, a Monday, or any other busy night, I don't want to spend the time making a crazy fancy vegetable dish. Olive oil, salt, pepper, done.

So these are my ideas. I may have more at some point and revise this post. I might not. Who knows. What I do know that making food and sharing it with people you care about can be exciting. It can also be really stressful if it takes over your life.

What are your tips for meal planning?