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Meal Planning

Earlier this year I began planning our meals for the fortnight before doing the grocery shopping.  I could never think of what to make for dinner, and then once I finally did, inevitably, I didn’t have the ingredients.  It came to a head in April when I ended up driving up to the shops 3 times to get ingredients for a curry (including curry paste). It occurred to me that once we move to the country, it will be a 1 hour round trip to the shop  – don’t want to do that once let alone 3 times. I had to do something to make life easier.

I am a total convert to meal planning now. I can’t believe how much money we are saving by not throwing out so much food that we didn’t end up using, and I love not having to make a decision at the end of the day (one less thing to think about is always great). Also the variety of foods we eat and our nutrition has improved because I am no longer making pasta 4 nights a week when I can’t think of anything else.
Here’s how I did it:
  1. I made a list of all the meals that I make regularly  (or should make more often).
  2. I then divided them into categories e.g. make ahead, vegetarian, takes time, kids favorites, easy.
  3. I then did a quick calendar grid for the month on the computer.
  4. With the kids help we choose the meals for the fortnight, taking into account what else is happening in our life. I generally don’t plan Saturday dinners. We might do something with friends or family or go to the market that day and buy something fresh for dinner. Alternatively we can have eggs on toast.
  5. I make up a shopping list and go shopping.
So here’s what our menu plan looks like this week:
Monday:
Meatballs with mash and salad
Tuesday:
Chicken curry with naan
Wednesday:
Vegetable Soup
Thursday:
Vegetable Soup
Friday:
Sausages and vegetables
Saturday:
Not planned
Sunday:
Homemade Pizza
We always have the same thing on Wednesday and Thursday because they are the days that the Country Boy also works. We always get home after 5pm with 3 tired hungry kids and need to feed them quickly so I make something on Tuesdays for the following 2 days.
I also try to include at least 1-2 nights a week without meat for both health and budget reasons.
Since I started doing a meal plan I have noticed that there are heaps of resources on the web. Some even have the recipes and make up a shopping list for you. Planning with Kids is particuarly good.

Do you meal plan? Do you have any other good ideas to help me become more organised?

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Comments

  1. Nat says

    October 17, 2011 at 7:53 am

    I meal plan, Jo. I don't know how people don't. We just work out the meals and then buy the food, but we don't put a day for a meal, we just pick what we feel like from the list. That way, it still feels like some choice is involved. What I like is that, if you have ingredients left over that you need to use, you look carefully for a meal that will use them up and put that on your plan for the next cycle.

    Reply
  2. Jo says

    August 24, 2011 at 9:22 am

    It's out of necessity rather than anything else!

    Reply
  3. Margaret says

    August 23, 2011 at 10:57 pm

    You mum would be proud! Oh to be so organised.

    Reply

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Hi, I’m Jo

I'm a city girl turned farmer's wife, school teacher, ideas woman, and mum to three country kids. Country Life Experiment is all about simple country living, growing and making our own food, and life on our family farm in rural Australia. Join me as I give country living a try. Read more...
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A lovely, easy Christmas with family, good food, a A lovely, easy Christmas with family, good food, a few presents, an afternoon swim and dinner on the veranda as the sun set. Time to stop and be thankful for the many blessings of the year. I hope you had a lovely Christmas too!
We have been mulling over how to fix up the drivew We have been mulling over how to fix up the driveway and lead up to our house for a while. Currently it’s just a dumping ground for old bits of metal and a big pile of mulch, but C would like to create a turning area and put in a garden. First up though, there’s a huge old stump that needs to go. What better excuse is there to have a fire on Sunday afternoon? C and the kids jumped on the quad bike and trailer, and hauled back a big pile of sticks and logs to help the stump burn. Once the fire was going, marshmallows were found and roasted. No better way to spend time together.
Team work makes the dream work. We were asked rec Team work makes the dream work. 
We were asked recently whether we “make” our kids work on the farm. The answer is of course not. Having said that, all three love to help out whenever they can. They all work hard because they want to; because they take pride in working hard and contributing in a meaningful way to our family life; because they love living on our farm and don’t remember life before we moved here. Whether it be planting trees or doing sheep work or feeding animals, they all want to be involved. As a parent, nothing is better than watching them grow in skill and confidence as they work along side you. We’re so glad that we get to spend time with our three, working together.
We’ve had an unexpected addition to the family ☘️🐑. She is a lot easier to look after than the other family members but she does try to escape her yard and head butt people. Poddy lambs are super cute but they tend to think they are a human. Clover the lamb is sure that Meg is her mum. Can’t think why… 🤔🤣
The perfect way to end a long winter weekend: toge The perfect way to end a long winter weekend: together, cooking damper around the remains of the bonfire.
It’s been a tough few weeks on the farm. We got It’s been a tough few weeks on the farm. We got through shearing without a hitch (thankfully 🙏) but we’ve had a run of the flu followed by Covid run through the family since then. The kids and I have tested positive (this is my second time getting it 🦠) though so far C has managed to avoid it. There has been a lot of lying on the couch feeling pretty ordinary. Han had to reschedule her driving test for a 4th time due to Covid, which is disappointing for her because she wants her freedom and for us because it would be so much more convenient if she could drive herself places. Just to add in to the mix, our hot water system has chosen now as a good time to die so we’re on cold showers until we’re all out of iso. This is not meant to be a whinging post but sometimes life just sucks a bit and it’s good to be real. Fortunately, the sight of the fire going with a stack of wood next to it cheers us up. Things will improve soon. Onwards we go…

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Hi, I’m Jo

City girl turned farmer's wife, school teacher, ideas woman, and mum to three country kids. Country Life Experiment is all about simple country living, growing and making our own food, and life on our family farm in rural Australia. Join me as I give country living a try. Read more...
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