I learned this technique from the fixing dinner program on Food Network. It looked very time consuming and complicated at the beginning but then after a few times, it gets so easy that I can’t imagine how cooking was like before this.
Here is the thing. You just pick 7 meals, the program says 5 meals and leaves two nights for take out or left over, but I cook the whole week. So I list my 7 meals on a paper, and all the ingredients categorized by type (e.g. produce, meat, dairy…). After this I put my paper in the plastic cover, and go through my pantry and fridge and mark the items I already have with whiteboard marker to be able to clean it after wards. When it’s all checked and marked the remaining ingredients unmarked is my shopping list for the week. I write them on a piece of paper and voila, done. I go shopping once a week, it saves me time, and gas usage, and it’s perfect for my busy life style.
On weekdays, I know what I’m making for dinner, so I take items out of fridge if I have to in the morning and make preparations through the day when ever I have time. Cooking time is cut to fifteen to thirty minutes. At the end of the week I wipe my plastic cover leave the list in the cover and put it in my folder. I did this for 6 weeks and now I have 6 menus to choose from or even mix and match and make new ones.
Money saving tip:
I list more that 7 meals in a piece of paper, then check my pantry, fridge and freezer, and see what I already have to use. I choose those meals that I don’t have to spend money on this week. One other thing is that I choose dishes that have same ingredients, with these dishes I either buy value packs which are cheaper or make once and use twice. For example I have Spaghetti and meat sauce on Monday, and Shepherd’s pie on Wednesday. I make the meat sauce twice the amount and leave half of it in the freezer for Wednesday and On Tuesday I have something Vegetarian to keep the balance.
I love cooking and I love to make it fun and easy. I cook once a day for dinner and I make it more so we can have left over for next day lunch, the hardest part of cooking for me is to decide what to make. This is the way I deal with cooking and meal planning, I’m sure every one has their own ways and tips and I hope you could share yours.
Until Later
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