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Meal Planning

Last week I wrote about some of the issues that we face living the (so called) simple life. One of the things I have had to start taking seriously since moving to the country has been meal planning. Before we moved here I already meal planned, but usually only a week at a time.

These days I plan four weeks at a time. That way I know I have everything, and I don’t need to go to the supermarket too often. I stop in at the IGA in the small town near by for extra fruit, milk, and bread in between big shops. It has only 3 short aisles, so I am never going to get carried away with impulse shopping.

When I am planning my meals, I now also have to anticipate what produce we are going to have available from the garden, and think about what I have in the freezer. At the moment pumpkin and pork are needing to be used and my menu reflects this.

Whilst I love not having to think at the end of a long day, meal planning takes away some of the creativity and spontaneity that I love when cooking. Because I shop to the meal plan, if I get a sudden rush of inspiration, I can’t always make it because I won’t have the ingredients – that 20 minute drive to town is usually enough to crush any inspiration!

Here is my meal plan for the next four weeks. Like all meal plans it takes into account what we are up to.
Shearing starts this week, and though we don’t have to cook for the shearers, we will be busy and need food that can be put together fairly quickly (or already in the freezer).

Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
Chicken Wraps
Pork cutlets,  mash and veg
Mushroom risotto
Spaghetti carbonara
Away
Away
Pumpkin Soup
Pasta marinara
Chicken casserole
Leftovers
Pork chops with roasted apples and creamy mustard sauce
Vegetable Bake
Homemade pumpkin gnocchi in sage butter
Roast Pork and veg
Fritters
Spaghetti Bolognaise
Vegetable quiche
Left overs
Sausage and veg
Marinated Pork Ribs
Homemade chicken pies
Thai pumpkin soup
Stir fried chicken with rice
Pork Sang Choy Bow
Stuffed Potatoes
Chicken curry with naan
Pa’s Birthday Party
Homemade pizza

What is on your meal plan this week/month?

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Katie says

    April 30, 2012 at 9:36 am

    Is that the chicken casserole with the cheesy scone topping? Mmm-mmmm. I love that one. I am thinking of pizza tonight as we have got some Mozzarella in the fridge – from Chiang Mai – lucky us! And I'm thinking Mike might have pizza on a potato base.
    But in general our situation is the opposite of yours – the market stalls are 50 metres from my door; I go down with a basket and come back with pork, eggs and whatever vegetables are in season that I recognize. Mangoes are in now.

    Reply
    • Jo says

      April 30, 2012 at 10:00 am

      I should send Mike some gluten free pizza base lol. Probably will be cheesy scone topping one lol.

      Reply
  2. Anne @ Domesblissity says

    April 30, 2012 at 9:20 am

    You may recall Jo, I don't meal plan but rather make meals from what I've got on hand. I very rarely duck out for just 1 ingredient even though I've got a number of shops only 5 minutes away. I'm looking forward to the cooler weather for soups and stews and have a cooking day planned for tomorrow. A few vegie based dishes, soups and bean dishes. I'm getting that freezer stocked up to prepare for any further disasters in the future! LOL

    Anne xx

    Reply
  3. Anne@GtSlamseysFarm says

    April 30, 2012 at 8:41 am

    My goodness that's impressive.Do you stick to it? My meal plan is a Sunday joint, leftovers and in winter whatever I've hidden in the freezer or in summer whatever glut of veg or fruit there is in the garden. But I have shops and markets nearby.

    Reply
    • Jo says

      April 30, 2012 at 9:50 am

      Hi Anne, I do try to stick to it, but when unexpected things come up, or we have a lot of leftovers which need to be eaten up, I usually just tack the meal we missed on to the end of the cycle so I have a few extra days before we need to shop again.

      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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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…
A picture perfect Autumn afternoon to end the scho A picture perfect Autumn afternoon to end the school holidays. We’ve been busy spending time with friends and family, harvesting the last of the summer produce, as well as a short escape to explore the big smoke. After the craziness of last term it was the break we all needed. It’s back to school for me tomorrow, and the kids are back on Wednesday. Shearing starts soon and so it’s all systems go over the next few weeks.
Covid has made some late changes to our weekend pl Covid has made some late changes to our weekend plans so we are embracing the unexpected and doing not much at home. Plenty of time for hanging out on the dam and enjoy the perfect weather.

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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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