Planning ahead

Planning ahead is very important for me. I work best when there's some sort of structure to things. When it comes to putting dinner on the table, taking a half hour or so every other week to decide what we'll be having for dinner each night is well worth the time.

-It saves me the stress of realizing at 4:30 pm that I have no idea of what to make.
-It saves electricity because I'm not standing, staring vacantly into the freezer trying to find some inspiration.
-It saves money because we eat out less frequently.
-We waste less food because it reduces the forgotten produce/veggies, etc. that tend to get lost behind other stuff. It reduces the incidence of frozen food ending up in the trash due to freezer burn, because I'm constantly rotating through everything. We end up wasting less because I plan out my leftovers and how they'll be used.
-It also saves last minute trips to the grocery store for random items because as I make my menu plan, I make my grocery list.

So yes, I plan out 2 weeks worth of dinners in advance. It reduces my stress levels, saves money and time, and is, when you stop and think about it, better for the environment. It works for me. It took me several tries to find an approach that works for me, though. If you are interested in me posting about the various approaches, or want to know more about mine, please post a comment and let me know. I'll be happy to share the information.

For today, I'm going to share one of the tools I use to keep meal prep sane. I don't have some spiffy name for it or anything, but it's really helpful.

What do chili, tacos and sloppy joes have in common? They all call for browned & drained ground beef. In our house, before allergy knowledge, we would often have one or 2 of those things within a couple of nights of having a meatloaf dinner. Back then, I would break the meatloaf up and use it as the 'ground beef' ingredient for the chili, tacos or sloppy joes, just seasoning and adding other ingredients as appropriate. Since wheat, parsley, mustard and eggs are no longer on the menu for us, we don't eat meatloaf any more. I have had to adapt.

Now, instead of using the leftover meatloaf, I brown up 2 lbs of ground beef at a time, even if I only need 1/2 lb for that night's dinner. The rest is drained and then stored in the fridge or freezer for another night's meal. With a little planning, you can chop a lot of prep work out of the equation. Also, it cuts down on active cooking time, which is really good in the summer. (Especially if, like us, you don't have air conditioning!)

Tonight (Tuesday) I am having pasta salad for dinner. Brown rice macaroni (don't forget to rinse with cold water after cooking!), canned tuna, peas and salad dressing, served on a pretty bed of frilly lettuce, and maybe some sliced black olives and tomato wedges to add a little extra interest to the look and taste.

Tomorrow (Wednesday) I will use leftover pasta from tonight to make macaroni and beef in tomato sauce. I will brown 2 pounds of ground beef and use about 3/4 of a pound for the mac and beef. The remaining 1 and 1/4 pounds will go into the fridge, drained. The veggie side will be green beans.

On Thursday I will make an apricot chipotle glazed pork roast in my slow cooker. We're unlikely to eat more than 1/2 of it, so the remainder will go into the fridge to await being turned into Saturday night's dinner. The roast will be served with roasted sweet potatoes and spinach.

On Friday, I will pull out the 1 1/4 pounds of ground beef from Wednesday and turn it into homemade sloppy joes, served with a nice green salad.

On Saturday, we'll be having pulled pork BBQ sandwiches made from the leftover pork roast. The side will be asparagus.

Maybe I should call it the Chain Reaction Menu Plan, or ChaRM Plan for short. What do you think?