Preparing your weekly menus in advance takes a bit of time, but once you do it a couple of times, you'll realize how much time you save, and how nice it is not to think about what to have for dinner each night after a hard day's work. You'll have everything you need for the meal instead of getting half-way through preparations and realizing you don't have an important ingredient. And if you're running late, someone else may be able to step in and get the meal started!
So, where do you begin?
Sit down with some of your favorite cookbooks, family recipes from your card file (or computer file), and some new recipes from the newspaper or internet that you've been wanting to try. You'll need a pen and paper, too. A notebook or clipboard is useful.
Get a family member or two to participate. They may think they don't want to, but showing them the pictures in a cookbook may entice them. It's a good way to get more variety in your meals, and teaches your children useful life skills. They may even get some credit at school for doing it!
If they're too young to read, they can suggest some favorite foods. If all they recommend is corn and French fries, incorporate what you can and get additional participation from them by asking them to choose between a couple of food (green beans or carrots?)
Little kids don't need to sit through the whole session, but if they can do some coloring or play quietly in the same room, you can let them help make choices from time to time and also keep an eye on them. (You might put together an activities box just for menu-making time--things they only get to use during this time.)
Now the fun begins. Oops--let's backtrack a little. You don't want to be too hungry or too full when doing this. So plan to do it after lunch, perhaps, or have a snack while doing it.
O.K., now we're really ready. Start looking through your resources and make notes of recipes and their locations. Once you have about 20 selected, you can begin sorting out a week of dinners. You want to have enough choices so you don't end up with chicken every night.
Once you have your week's entrees selected, decide on accompanying side dishes, salads and desserts. Write it all down by day of the week. Use the recipes with the more perishable items earlier in the week.
Now go through the list, including all recipes, and write down all the items you'll need that you don't usually have on hand. Add these items to your weekly grocery list.
Your weekly menu will list the days of the week, the dishes planned for each day's dinner, and where to find any recipes you'll need.
After you've done this a few weeks, you can start repeating some dinners. If you put the weekly menus list in your computer with items needed for each meal it's easier to mix and match later. Eventually you'll have enough weekly menus to repeat a whole week when you want to.
Options:
Get your family to help with meal preparations. It's a great way to spend quality time together. Little kids can help wash vegetables or set the table. Bigger ones can help with the cooking--boys, too! (Like Reese on Malcolm in the Middle.)
If your family gets cranky before meals, have a light snack ready: V-8, fresh fruit, or peanut butter/cheese and crackers if the mealtime is an hour or so away.
Plan on using leftovers, if you expect to have some, perhaps incorporating them into a new dish.
If your family likes to go out to eat, plan on that in your weekly menu.
Have international night one day a week. Pick a day, and if you can, make it the same day each week. The menu is planned according to the theme. Everybody brings an interesting factoid about the country to the table. If you have more time and energy, add appropriate music and decor. Have a friend or neighbor from that country? Invite them for dinner! You'll learn about another culture and get more ideas for the next time you do that country. Don't know anyone from there? Watch a movie or documentary about that country or someone from it during or after dinner.
One final thought: Weekly menu planning doesn't have to be limited to dinner. You can plan breakfast and/or lunch, too!
Randi Kuhne is the owner of Kids Party Supplies (http://kids-party-supplies.com), a resource which helps parents find character and theme-related party supplies and gifts for their children. The site also has party planning ideas and other helpful information for parents. |
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