Meal planning 2

This is a continuation of my previous post which you can read here

After working out what sort of things you'd like to tackle with meal planning, and working out when you're going to fit your shopping in, the next thing we can do is build out a list, (which I use as my shopping list and kitchen inventory), and plan out our meals. I'll show you some of my methods - it's quick and simple. Let's go!

Inventory

I have watched a lot of videos and read a lot of blogs on this topic and I have to say, it always looks like a lot of work.

What I often saw was someone at the kitchen table writing down a list of everything in the fridge and pantry, then a list of meals for anywhere from a week to a whole month, then a list of what they needed, and then cross referencing what they had vs. what they should buy...

If it works, it works; but for me, that's too much work.

Here's what I do.

First, I don't have separate lists, and second, I don't rewrite them.

I have a running inventory on my phone, in Notes, which has everything I typically buy. Even herbs and spices.

This inventory has check boxes. If I have something, I tick it. If I've run out, I untick it.

Before I make my online order, I go through my fridge and pantry and start unticking everything I am low or out of.

I then go online and start ordering those unticked items.

(Then, I tick them as I add them to my cart.)

On Saturday at the refillery I refer to my unticked items that I source there. This is why I keep it on my phone. Easy.

Here's a tip: If you find you shop in-store at the supermarket, list your inventory/grocery list in the order they appear at your supermarket.

For example, first on my list is produce, because that's at the very entrance to the supermarket. Everything thereafter is listed per the aisles, down to the back of the supermarket (where typically bread and frozen meals are.)

This means you only ever have to walk around the supermarket once.

Fun inspiration for planning the meals

Okay, so I feel like the hardest thing is knowing what meals to make. This is actually why I meal plan because I struggle with decisions and would rather have done that work already by dinnertime.

Here's how I came up with a week's meals. Ever heard of "Taco Tuesday?" Sometimes people like to create day-of-the-week inspired meals, and I thought I would play with that a bit. Here's what I came up with:

• Mediterranean Monday. (Pasta.)

• Taco Tuesday. (We typically have nachos.)

• Mid-Week Middle East. (Falafel.)

• Thai Thursday. (Thai curry soup.)

• Fry-day. (Dumplings.)

• Pizza Saturday. (This is a long standing tradition.)

• Sunday Roast. (Roast potatoes and other veggies with mushroom gravy.)

That's a list of theme-inspired dinners. Now, you don't have to have those on the day that corresponds. It's about building a menu. I took this and broke everything down on a spreadsheet. I don't think this is something everyone (or even anyone!) else would want to do, but remember: I like to research!

You can skip this if you're not interested in this level of planning; but I will say, you only have to do it once.

Break the meals down into your goals

I broke down these meals into tables that showed me how close to my goals I was.

Could I meet all the Dr Greger recommendations? Was it budget friendly? How much of the ingredients could be sourced organic, and plastic free?

I discovered that my falafel dinner was actually the most expensive of all, and it had a lot of non organic and plastic items. The same was true of making nachos. So I thought of another thing I used to make, and compared the cost.

Way cheaper to make a lentil dal and a lot less plastic.

The way I did this was with columns that represented my 'goals'. An example is shown:

As I organised things, I was able to shift things about. I could see how far or how close I was to my goals for meals, and adjust accordingly.

The goals is not perfection - it's just to get to a place I am happy with. Each meal should have grains, legumes and greens. I build it out from there.

Once I am happy with a nutritional profile, I move into cost. If some things are too expensive, by my standards, I will look to adapt the ingredients. I am also aware that a lot of what I make can be stretched further than a single meal.

Cost is ballpark because prices change all the time. But it's good to have an idea of the arena one is in.

After cost I look at the options available to me for organic and plastic free. This might also need some changing.

An example might be switching spinach for kale. Or tinned tomatoes for a jar of passata.

Or using bulgur wheat instead of rice.

This means I have checked off the meal profiles, I've done my best to source organic and plastic free, and I have a sense of control over the spend. But then I need to factor in time. Another pillar.

Protect your time - plan the week

I start with meals that are essentially easy to cook and clean up, typically by not involving too many different cooking utensils. (It makes it easier, as well, when you only have one hob as we do currently!)

Then, I look at the meals and my work week.

I want something easy to do in the evenings, but I don't want to spend my weekends cooking. (Which is why I don't 'meal prep.' I spent way too many Saturdays in the kitchen doing that.)

Let's start with Saturday. Saturday night my partner makes pizza, which means I don't have to think about dinner at all. I have an evening off, and it's a weekend - so I enjoy my time even more.

We realised that rather than having to make the pizza sauce on the Saturday, which takes a while, we could use the bolognese sauce I make. It's already made, there's always loads left over, and it's healthier than plain pizza sauce because it has greens, grains and lentils in it.

Would it work? We tried. It was delicious!

So that meant that Friday night would be pasta, so the sauce was available for Saturday.

That's two dinners assigned.

As I moved "Mediterranean Monday" over to Friday, I switched Fry-Day's Dumplings over to Monday. Tuesday and Wednesday are lentil dal, because who wants to cook too much in the middle of the week, and then Thai Thursday is a one pot recipe that can stay where it is.

That leaves Sunday roast in its preordained spot, which, as we don't eat meat, is a placeholder term for lots of vegetables. Sometimes they go in a quinoa salad and other times in a lentil soup. This also means there is lunch for Monday - a good start to the week.

Next, we'll put it in the calendar.