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).
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Monday
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Tuesday
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Wednesday
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Thursday
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Friday
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Saturday
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Sunday
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Chicken Wraps
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Pork cutlets, mash and veg
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Mushroom risotto
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Spaghetti carbonara
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Away
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Away
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Pumpkin Soup
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Pasta marinara
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Chicken casserole
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Leftovers
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Pork chops with roasted apples and creamy mustard sauce
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Vegetable Bake
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Homemade pumpkin gnocchi in sage butter
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Roast Pork and veg
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Fritters
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Spaghetti Bolognaise
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Vegetable quiche
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Left overs
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Sausage and veg
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Marinated Pork Ribs
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Homemade chicken pies
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Thai pumpkin soup
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Stir fried chicken with rice
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Pork Sang Choy Bow
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Stuffed Potatoes
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Chicken curry with naan
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Pa’s Birthday Party
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Homemade pizza
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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.
I should send Mike some gluten free pizza base lol. Probably will be cheesy scone topping one lol.
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
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.
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.