Planning a Weekly Menu
Saturday, January 5th, 2008 by The Cooking Guy Subscribe To Our Feed
Are you a busy parent? Most of us are so busy that we forget to think about dinner. The kids are late for soccer practice or someone needs to be picked up from dance class. How many times have you run out of the house with a cookie or candy bar in your hand or ran through the drive thru because you didn’t have time to make dinner? With our lives so busy, we forget to think about what’s for dinner. I have some great suggestions on how you can plan delicious and healthy dinners.
Start with a plan
A great way to start is to plan out the week’s menu. An easy way to plan is to make each night of the week a different theme.
Here is a sample week. These are just suggestions, so you can tailor it to your family’s preferences.
Monday-Mexican
Tuesday-Italian
Wednesday-American
Thursday-Miscellaneous Salads
Friday-Casseroles
Saturday-Open for eating out
Sunday- Grilling
Make a list of your favorite dishes that apply to each theme, so when you sit down to plan your week you can choose off the list. For example, you could have tacos on Monday, Ziti Bake on Tuesday, Hamburgers on Wednesday and so forth. Other options could include world cuisine your family enjoys, sandwiches or breakfast for dinner. Planning with a theme helps narrow down the possibilities, thus making it easier to plan a weekly menu. The options are endless as long as your family will enjoy them.
Whether you want to plan themed nights, or choose from a list of your family favorites, making a list of recipes will save you time and energy from having to look through your recipes trying to figure out what to make. It will also save you from being tempted to taking a trip to the nearest fast food place. This also works well with appetizers, side dishes, breads or desserts.
Plan in action
Now that you have a plan, make as many preparations as possible ahead of time. Cooking meats or chopping vegetables and freezing or chilling them can save a lot of time. If you know you are going to need 5 pounds of cooked hamburger that week, spend a half an hour cooking and separating into meal sized portions. Once you have the meat cooked, decided if you want to freeze or refrigerate.
If you do freeze your meat, when you are ready to use, pop it in the microwave on defrost mode for a couple of minutes or throw in a sauté pan with a little bit of oil until it breaks apart. Another suggestion is slow cooking a whole chicken and shredding the meat once cooked. Slow cooking is a great option because all you do is throw the bird in the slow cooker in the morning and when you get home at night chop it up. These preparations can be made in the morning before your kids get up or after they go to bed at night. When your meal requires a pound of meat, pull one of your containers out and throw it in the dish. This is also true for your chopped vegetables.
Making more than needed
Another great way to make the most out of your time is to cook your meats and vegetables or prepare marinades and vinaigrettes while you are preparing another meal.
For example, if you need grilled steak for a salad later on in the week, grill a few extra pieces and keep in the refrigerator until you are ready to make the salad. You could also do that with chicken or other meats. Same goes for your vegetables. If you need mushrooms to put in your pasta dish, make extra and store until ready to use. Or if you are making vinaigrette dressing that goes on a salad one night and could be used as a marinade the next nigh,t making extra will save you prep time. Because you are adding flavors to your meats and vegetables when you cook them, this will give your next dish the same great flavor but with a new twist.
With these great suggestions, taking the time to plan ahead will ensure you are ready with healthy and delicious dinner ideas when your busy weeks hits. It will also help instill healthy eating habits that are sure to last a lifetime.
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