There have been trillions of posts written about meal planning. But one thing I have found that the vast majority do is start with the meals you want to make first. Why is this the wrong way round? It gets you to focus on what you might want to eat - not using up what you already have. If you take an inventory of what is in your kitchen (including the fridge/freezer/veg rack/larder) you probably have food which would cost a couple of hundreds of pounds to replace like for like for the average family. And yet we are all guilty of claiming to have "nothing in". Cue the phone call to the local takeaway at the worse, or a trolley full of duplicates at best. (Don't believe me, go and look at just the stuff in the kitchen cupboards now and tot it up in your head).
So how to do it the "right" way round.
First work out how many meals you need to plan for - this needs to include breakfast/lunch/dinner/snacks/drinks - if you eat/drink it, include it so if you know you (almost) always have a cup of tea and a biscuit midmorning include a space for those.
If you have an activity that means that you don't need to feed as many as normal (or more than normal) note these down. Or if you won't be back until late and want something quick, or conversely need to be out early and won't be back until late this will also dictate the kind of meal you have. For example Thursday (pre COVID) was brass band night for my son and I was the taxi service so dinner had to be done and dusted by 5.45; cue pizza from the freezer, 20 minutes and on the table with little or no supervision once it was in the oven. Fill these days in first.
Second thing to tackle is breakfast - if this is normally cereal due to time pressures of school and work fill these days in. Do you have fresh fruit to be used up or frozen fruit in freezer, maybe smoothies or pancakes would be good. Oats are always cheap. Scrambled eggs give a filling protein hit. Finally there is always toast. etc. Go on be a devil and try a variety of ideas.
Now go to fridge and freezer and pantry and see what you have already there. For me I look at the protein first as my husband is an avid carnivore who will pick at something and not touch it until he finds the meat. Do I have any chicken breasts in the freezer, how about bacon in the fridge, do I have tins of tuna on the shelf? I concentrate on the fridge first as these are the things that will perish first, then the freezer, then fill in the gaps with the pantry. Sometimes I even have a ready-made (home cooked) meal in the freezer from where I have cooked in bulk and frozen some for another day. What I do not do (because I am rubbish with it) is have a running inventory of how many of each thing I have in stock; this means I physically go and look and being a visual person this also inspires me more than just looking at a list. By now you should have an broad idea of what you are eating for quite a few of the main (for us evening) meals for the week, go to the cupboard and look at the flavourings etc you have to refine your ideas. Do you have pasta but no lasagne sheets - swap pasta bol for classic lasagna. Do you have long grain rice and cajun spices but no risotto rice, then that ham risotto from the storecupboard becomes jambalya instead. What order do you put them in? Well if the pepper you have in the fridge is on the way out faster than the carrots then make the meal that uses the pepper earlier in the week. Obvious isn't it. Next is lunches - do any of the evening meals offer the possibility to have leftovers the next day for lunch? Put those in. Make your challenge to not throw any food away because it is spoiled.
Next look at the website for your local supermarket for any special offers - use those as ideas to fill in some gaps only if they make a sensible choice. (That whole salmon for £12 may be on offer but if it blows the entire budget it is a no no).
Now fill in the remaining gaps. Less daunting than looking at the whole blank sheet isn't it.
By now you should have a list of those things that you intend to buy based on what is missing from home for your plan. Next thing is a final check which can save embarrassment at the checkout further down the line. Work out how much it totals out to (past receipts or a price book are useful here) and if it is over your food budget (and yes I do encourage you to make the time to do one) then adjust the meals in the plan. Do not be tempted to be a little over with the intention that you will be a little under next week - this is more likely snowball and lead to a lot less money for the last week before the paycheck. This is more damaging to your morale than swapping chicken thighs for chicken breasts and red lentil dal instead of meat curry now.
Finally you are ready to hit the shops- if there is anything you can't get (random empty shelves have become a reality this year haven't they!) then you now have the knowledge of what is still left at home to make a substitution so you and yours don't need to miss a meal.
Confession time. Do I do this every week? I would love to say yes but in reality with 3 autistic offspring, a job, side hustles and a husband who is MIA more often than not because it is "all too much" life gets in the way. A meal plan isn't a contract or a life sentence it is a guide to ensure you have enough meals to prevent those top up shops which always cost more than they should. There are no meal plan police to check that you have really had shepherd's pie for dinner today. Swap according to your mood or go off piste with a similar costing meal if you have the ingredients in. Sometimes this means the plan is done but not followed faithfully, sometimes the wheels have come off before the plan is written and I do a more generic shop and rough out a plan later. Sometimes you just have to forgive yourself for falling off the wagon, you are after all a human being - what is more important is that you get back on again, no matter how many times this is. Long term this will save you money and that will help you achieve your goals whatever they are.
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