I have fun plans this weekend, mostly play dates and being as social as possible. On Saturday we have THREE social engagements. On Sunday we have just one social engagement, which is good because the kids are both fairly shattered from the new school/nursery schedule.
This morning I saw my breath for the first time this season - Autumn is here. Maybe this weekend I can get the candles out and put up the autumn tea towels and work on the cosying of the house. Fall is my favourite season.
This week the meal plan was far too aspirational and I spent too much time cooking during work hours. In order to pick up Isaac by 5 and have dinner ready by 5:30 I had to leave work every day at 4:30... which is fine but not ideal. Andy has been going back into the office which is great for him but I think we need to get better at weekend food prep. We also need to get better at not running out of food on a Thursday. I'm starting to worry that we will need to shop for groceries more than once a week soon... the fridge was STUFFED on Saturday after delivery and now it's mostly empty again. We're down to 6 eggs after ordering a tray of 30 on Saturday.
The aspirational meal plan was:
Saturday: Thai Green Curry
Sunday: Afternoon Tea (too full for dinner)
Monday: Veg burgers & chips & Kale
Tuesday: Pad Thai (from a kit)
Wednesday: Meatballs & Spagetti and Salad
Thursday: Eggs and Waffles
Friday: Tacos
The only thing I really had to make was meatballs... but I still feel like I spent way too much time this week prepping and cooking food. None of these meals took more than 30 minutes to prepare, but that's still 2 hours of my week (Mon-Thurs) which is a lot of food time.
I think we need to get better at cooking things that can be doubled and then putting cooked meals in the freezer... but also isn't that basically just for lasagnes and enchiladas? And also... we don't have a huge amount of freezer space.
Maybe this meal planning rut is because of the change of season and it's time for a change of menu. I think I need to make a list of winter foods... time for roast dinners!
I have a wicked craving for green curry now.
ReplyDeleteSigh, I don't have the answer on dinner at all. I tried doing meal prep and it made my weekends too crowded...I tried doing leftovers which led to us eating the same thing three nights in a row...and then I pretty much gave up on cooking for my family because I also got tired of figuring out what people wanted to eat. But I do still enjoy cooking a nice dinner on Sunday hopefully with leftovers. It's really the best that we're going to do at this point.
Before kids we used to make two big things on a weekend and then eat the same things every day for dinner during the week. That was fine for 2 but it's hard to reheat for 4.
DeleteLike you said - I think that making one big meal on a Sunday is the way forward, so at least we have some nice leftovers to fall back on.
I am a big fan of "simple dishes" because although I like to cook, I don't want to spend hours of time that I don't have. Maybe some crockpot recipes will come in handy for fall?
ReplyDeleteI am a fan of making one protein, for example a crock pot chicken, which you can use to make all meals that week. Night one, put it on tacos, night two toss it with pasta, night three, eat it with a side of rice etc. boil some broccoli as a side and you are good to go. I am also a fan of bratwurst or other items like that which can easily be thrown in a pot/pan/microwave with a side of baked potato or salad or pasta and you are good to go. The other thing I do is just make one (or two) huge dish(es) on Sunday and eat it for five nights just like you said. I often make soups or stews as you can ladle out four servings and reheat that in a pot, so it's not difficult even with four people. They also freeze well if you do make room in the freezer!
ReplyDeleteI always say I'm going to make more use of our slow cooker, but then I don't. This fall and winter - MORE SLOW COOKER!!
ReplyDeleteI made tortilla soup today in the slow cooker! It was good!
DeleteWe really the least fanciest family when it comes to dinners. usually we take out protein+veggie+starch and call it a day. The next day, leftovers. Day three-same, a different protein, veggies, starch.
ReplyDeleteMonday- chicken legs+broccoli+potatoes
Tuesday-leftovers
Wednesday - salmon, salad, rice
Thursday- leftover if any
Friday - turkey tacos
Saturday- maybe take-out (like monthly)