Mom’s Money

Meals Planned For The Week? Best Laid Plans Foiled Again!

Time is money. Watching your money also involves watching your time. It makes sense, then, that saving time is saving money.  If you’ve already discovered that planning your meals ahead of time is saving you, not only time, but money, good for you!  But, have you found yourself, still, even with the best of plans, having to run into the grocery store at the last minute after a long day?  Did you barely get to the daycare before they locked their doors after phoning you with that nasty call to come get your kids NOW?  Okay, you are really frazzled now, right?  So, no quick stop at the grocery store, it’s the drive-thru tonight.  Oh, well, maybe tomorrow…

That’s the thing about best-laid plans; you are going to come up against them when you least expect it.  Planning for a disruption to your plans isn’t something we very often do successfully.  My solution?  Just like a good Scout; Be Prepared. The inevitable glitch happens in all plans, but when you have a back-up plan that’s easily accessible, it takes the pressure off you and your family, and saves you time and, again, money.

In order to be prepared for a snag in my meal plans, I have prepared a “go to” recipe index, complete with shopping list for anytime I just can’t wrap my head around dinnertime after the pressures of the day.  The creation of this method is simple: 

1) I gathered seven of my favorite fast and simple recipes.  Any recipe will do as long as they involve very few ingredients, it’s nutritious, quick, and delicious.  We all have a few meals like that in our head. The dishes we make over and over again, typically one-pan type meals.  Now, write them each up on note cards.

2) Somewhere in your kitchen, pick a pantry door or cupboard door, and either attach some of those peel-and-stick bulletin board cork squares inside the door or screw in a clip if your door is thick enough.  Place your recipe cards inside an envelope and pin or clip the recipes inside the door.  Now you have your favorite quick and easy recipes in one spot ready for action.  You may even be able to call on your family to help get dinner started if you ask them to just grab a card and go!

3) In order for this back-up plan to work you’ll need one other item.  That is a permanent grocery list for your purse or car.  Look at your recipes, find the common food items, like chicken for instance, and put it on the list.  Other pantry items needn’t be on the list if you know you always have them on hand, like onions, canned tomatoes, spices, and the like.  Now, organize this list with the names of your “go to” recipes listed beside each grocery item it requires. For instance, if recipes named A, B, and C all require chicken, write A, B, and C next to “chicken” on your list.  Now if you’ve decided to make recipe A, you’ll be able to easily run down your grocery list and pick up all the items you need for recipe A.

Simple? It takes a bit of organizing ability at first, but is well worth it when you haven’t quite gotten your weekly menu planning done, or you’re running behind and the fabulous meal you had planned for tonight has to wait until tomorrow.  You’ll feel so smug the next time you’re zipping through the grocery store with your little list, moving quickly down the items, checking off all your recipe A items, and arriving home in record time to create a quick and easy meal that’s nutritious AND delicious!  Oh, yes, and did I mention inexpensive?  Compare the money you might have otherwise thrown away at the fast food drive-thru lane with what you just spent at the grocery store and you’ll have to give yourself a well deserved pat-on-the-back.  You are back on track and your menu planning, and budget, are saved!  Kudos!