The Art of Meal Planning



This is both the most productive and the hardest part of grocery shopping. With meal plans the question “What should I make for dinner?” is far less daunting. But everyone knows, or can imagine, the feeling of failure each week when it is Sunday night and you haven’t made that grocery list yet. So the purpose of this blog is to help me be better, but mostly to help Lindsey and Trevor eat. When they come back from Costa Rica, perhaps Lindsey will realize what she could have learned from me all along.

Because one of my audience is an absolute beginner, we have to start with brainstorming. This is how to begin:

Write down five entrees (main dishes) that you and your family members love to eat. Here are five examples:

Pazole (Mexican stew)
Grilled Salmon
Tacos
Ravioli with Marinara or Alfredo Sauce
Baked Potatoes

The next step can be overwhelming so we will start with just one dish. Pick an entrée, find a recipe from all of those cookbooks you got from your wedding but never cracked open, and write down all the ingredients that you will need to make that dish.

Ex. Grilled Salmon (recipe from allrecipes.com serves 4)

• 2 pounds salmon fillets
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 4 green onions, thinly sliced
• 3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
• 1 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
•
Place salmon in shallow dish. Combine remaining ingredients and mix well. Set aside 1/4 cup for basting; pour the rest over the salmon. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Drain, discarding marinade. Grill salmon over medium coals, skin side down, for 15-20 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork. Baste occasionally with reserved marinade. CAN ALSO PLACE SALMON ON TINFOIL AND COOK IN THE OVEN (but we are not really looking at the cooking right now—just the organizing)

The next question you ask yourself—“What should I serve with this entrée?” Maybe it should be something from another food group. DING DING DING! Let’s think of a vegetable we love, or in Lindsey’s case can swallow, and add it to the menu. Personally, I love sautéed broccoli. I love any veggie.

Ex. Veggie
Steamed veggie mix
Fresh Green beans
Spinach salad
Roasted Brussel Sprouts (delicious-drizzle olive oil, basalmic vinegar, garlic & bake in the oven)
SOMETHING

Then what else do you think it will take to make a complete meal? You could add a grain. I would probably add brown rice that is flavored with lemon juice. Or you could be as simple as a piece of toast with it.

So in a few minutes that is one meal done. Now we have one night. So one format I love for grocery lists is this:

Meal Ingredients Needed
Monday: Grilled Salmon with Brown Lemon Rice and Grilled Brussel Sprouts • 2 pounds salmon fillets
• vegetable oil
• lemon juice
• green onions, thinly sliced
• fresh parsley
• fresh rosemary
• salt
• pepper
Fresh Brussel Sprouts,
Brown Rice
Tuesday:
Wednesday:
ETC

So now I think you get the idea, but we will do more in case we learn something.

So let’s do tacos

Ex.
2 cups Shredded Beef or other filling
12 Corn Tortillas
2 cups Chihuahua or Monterey Jack Cheese, grated
1 Tomato, diced
1 bunch Green onions, chopped
1/2 head Lettuce or cabbage, shredded
1 cup Salsa Mexicana and/or Salsa Verde

So what goes with tacos? Well of course toppings like cilantro, sour cream, & whatever else you like. Is there any way to serve something on the side? Oh sure. Fruit sounds like we need it here. A simple fruit salad can be made by just cutting up fruit and mixing it together. And always, refried beans, or any beans, would go great on the side.

Meal Ingredients Needed
Monday: Grilled Salmon with Brown Lemon Rice and Spinach Salad (any Greens) • 2 pounds salmon fillets
• lemon juice, or one lemon
• green onions, thinly sliced
• fresh parsley
• fresh rosemary
Spinach Salad
Brown Rice
Tuesday: Tacos, fruit salad, and black beans
Shredded Beef or other filling
12 Corn Tortillas
2 cups Chihuahua or Monterey Jack Cheese, grated
1 Tomato, diced
1 bunch Green onions, chopped
Shredded lettuce, cabbage, or other green
1 cup Salsa Mexicana and/or Salsa Verde
Sour cream
Cilantro
Black beans
Fruit for salad: ex. Apples, bananas, strawberries, blueberries etc
Wednesday:
ETC


Here is where this really gets useful. For Monday, you already have spinach and green onions listed. You can chop the spinach or whatever you chose for the tacos. Packages of those items come in liberal amounts so you will have plenty left over for Tuesday’s dinner. So you only put it on the list once.

If you do this for at least three nights MIRACLES HAPPEN. By Wednesday you will probably be ready for chicken or pizza. So lets say you do pizza. You have two kinds of meat already planned. You have Monterey jack cheese (which could easily be replaced for mozzarella), you have tomatoes, and onions. If on Thursday you wanted that pasta, guess what else you could plan for the list—pasta/pizza sauce. By planning ahead you already have ingredients for almost two other meals, because in the pasta you could put rosemary and parsley from Monday, and add a vegetable.
So lets put that on the list

Meal Ingredients Needed
Monday: Grilled Salmon with Brown Lemon Rice and Spinach Salad (any greens) • 2 pounds salmon fillets
• lemon juice, or one lemon
• green onions, thinly sliced
• fresh parsley
• fresh rosemary
Spinach Salad, Brown Rice
Tuesday: Tacos, fruit salad, and black beans
Shredded Beef or other filling
12 Corn Tortillas
2 cups Chihuahua or Monterey Jack Cheese, grated
1 Tomato, diced
1 bunch Green onions, chopped
Shredded lettuce, cabbage, or other green
1 cup Salsa Mexicana and/or Salsa Verde
Sour cream
Cilantro
Black beans
Fruit for salad: ex. Apples, bananas, strawberries, blueberries etc
Wednesday: Pizza, leftover fruit
Thursday: Ravioli with Red sauce, brussel sprouts, and bread sticks (made from leftover pizza dough)
Ravioli pasta
Classico Pasta Sauce
Brussel Sprouts


See how it gets easier and easier? That is just the basics. With practice we can get into nutrition & balancing, but this is where to begin. As you do this you will start to recognize completely different meals that could be made with the ingredients you have and are planning to get. GOOD LUCK!

The best way to get ideas is to use what you have. Identify any and all recipes in your books that you want to try. Sure you will probably burn a few grilled cheeses, have the meat done WAY BEFORE THE RICE, serve the breadsticks at 5 and the soup at 7:30, but I have made all of these mistakes before. It takes practice, and after all of mine, I think this is a really good way to start.