By Andrea Dunn
It’s 4pm – do you know what’s for dinner tonight? According to a report in dailynews.com – over 70% of people will answer no. How about you? Do you plan your meals for the week?
Know before you go. Know what’s for dinner, before you go out the door in the morning. A little planning ahead, and communication among those you eat with, can pave the wave to a hassle-free and enjoyable dinner time. Nothing worse than coming home from work at dinner time, pulling into the garage the same time as your spouse, only to realize it was your turn to make dinner happen. (The only thing worse than this? Realizing it was your turn to pick up the kids from day care.)
What if you did know what was for dinner– would you choose your mid-day meal differently? How many prepare a meal for dinner, only to have another family member come home and say, ‘chicken? I had chicken for lunch!’.
How do you plan your meals for the week? Some people tell me they have a set food theme for each day, for example, meatless Monday, Taco Tuesday, Fish Wednesday, Crockpot Thursday and Pasta Friday. Then within those categories, vary the items cooked. A friend showed me her menus -she plans out the meals for a month, complete with recipes. No, she is not a chef or a dietitian, but I do think she has a bit of OCD. A month? That is organized!
Meal planning and eating at home saves money. But it takes time to plan and grocery shop. Set a specific time of the week or weekend to make it happen. If you have kids and/or a varied work schedule, look ahead on the calendar to know who has what events on what days. Keep the meals simple on a work night – look for recipes that you can make in 30 minutes or less. A quick online search of 30-minute meals revealed hundreds of tasty recipes.
Or let someone else plan for you. Meal planning apps (some are free) are available or try https://www.choosemyplate.gov/budget-sample-two-week-menus for 2 weeks of menus with a grocery list. These recipes also list the cost per recipe and per serving. This website is under the USDA – so think of it as your tax dollars at work. Another great (tax dollars at work) resource is your public library – hundreds of cookbooks. A search online at my local library helped me find The giant $7 a meal cookbook: 701 inexpensive meals the whole family will love by Susan Irby as well as The $7 a meal Mediterranean cookbook: 301 delicious, nutritious recipes the whole family will love by Dawn Altomari-Rathjen. Another budget-conscious book is The $5 dinner mom cookbook: 200 recipes for quick, delicious, and nourishing meals that are easy on the budget and snap to prepare by Erin Chase.
Know before you go …and here’s to dining at home this week!
