Cooking With Meal Planning
Learn How To Plan Your Meals
To Free Up Your Time
Meal Planning Saves You Time
Meal planning and bulk cooking are both wonderful techniques you can utilize and modify to fit your family needs. The idea behind this is simple. The principle is that you cook and or prepare your meals ahead of time and then preserve them by either freezing or refrigerating them. Also, when you use a meal plan, you can cook one large meal and get 2-3 other meals out of it! The key here is to make every meal you cook count!
When you are going to prepare a family favorite, double, triple, even quadruple the recipe if it will keep in the freezer. Sound wonderful doesn't it? Why not give yourself a much-needed break. Cook ahead today so you can relax tomorrow!
The first step in meal planning is always the most challenging. To make it less challenging, I suggest that you grab the following supplies; Pen, paper, your personal recipe collection or your favorite cookbook and a comfortable chair.
Start by writing down a list of your favorite meals and plan on preparing a grocery list that will coincide with your list. Now, since we are talking bulk cooking here if you normally would serve up one pot of spaghetti plan to serve 2 (that would mean that you will have to double the recipe so be sure to alter your shopping list accordingly) It will take nearly the same amount of time to cook. With just a little extra planning, you may begin to save time in the kitchen.
Next you can use a blank calendar and simply write the meals down on the day you will serve them. I personally post my meal plan up on my refrigerator for the entire house to see. This also helps to prompt me for the next day of meals that will be served.
You may find the time to do a little food preparation the day before. You may bring some items and begin to chop or peel them if you have the time. Put them back in the refrigerator until you begin to cook. You may find that it is easier and faster to soak your beans the night before. You can do little things ahead of time that will help you save even more time, all because you took the time to plan ahead. Each time you plan ahead, you will get faster at it and it will be easier to stick to your plan. Eventually, you will notice the positive changes in you budget and will find ways to save money on food costs. It will all add up for you and it only takes a little planning ahead of time.
Your Freezer Is Your Friend
The most important tool in meal planning and bulk cooking is your freezer. If you have a small freezer, do not worry, you can fit many meals in that small freezer space. It will just call for a little more creativity on your part. With the use of freezer bags or wrapping paper, you can stack flat and make use of some freezer proof containers. You will be surprised at how many meals your freezer can hold. Also, if you are really limited on space, you may premix some salsa, gravies, and powdered spices and store them accordingly. You may not have all the ingredients for your whole meal plan, but you will be ready with some of the items a few days ahead. Also, it will help to arrange your dry goods, beans, rice and other things so that the portions for your meals will already be made. Set aside the box of noodles or bag of beans on your shelf where it is easy to reach. By setting a few items together where they are easy to reach, you will start to see the saved minutes of kitchen time start to add up.
Here are a few essential and widely used
meal planning techniques and tips.
Make Multi-recipes
Using this strategy requires you to cook many main course meals in one day. For instance, on a Sunday morning you could prepare a roast in your Crock pot, some spaghetti on top of the stove, a baked Chicken in the oven and perhaps a nice salad. You also could quarter and boil some potatoes, cook some rice and some veggies (either fresh or canned). What you now have is 5 different meals that you can use throughout the entire week. You can eat one of the meals that very evening and you could Freeze or refrigerate the rest. This technique works very well for some people and it provides a wide variety of dishes that you can use. I personally use this technique from time to time. I usually do my multi-recipe cooking on a Sunday and it can take up to 5 hrs to complete but what you are left with is 2 weeks worth of food that you can enjoy. And notice that the meals that I use in my Multi-recipe list are easy to prepare. If you haven't already invested in a larger freezer, this is a great excuse to consider it. Your freezer will pay for itself in just a few short months from the money you save by meal preparation and from money you save when buying in bulk at your grocery when your grocery items are on sale.
One Cook Wonder
With this strategy you would cook one main course recipe that can be used for different meals. For Instance, lets say you just baked a large turkey. You could slice some of the meat and serve the breast with gravy, dice some of the turkey and prepare a turkey gumbo and use the rest for either a soup or turkey salad. You do not have to prepare all of those meals on one day. After the Turkey has been cooked and cooled, you can freeze and refrigerate recipe portions the meat so that what you have portioned can be used for the recipes as you need it. By using a meal plan, you may make the most of your food without any waste or having to use it up quickly. Prepare your other related meals at a different time. Have your spice mixture or salsa ready on the shelf and you will save time in the kitchen when you cook.
Quick and Easy meals
Be sure to incorporate those quick and easy meals into your planning process. If your family loves Sloppy Joes cook up the sloppy joe meat in bulk and freeze it in meal size portions then all you need to do is defrost the meat, grab some buns and viola. This plan would be super great with some freshly baked bread or tortillas. Half of the cooking and clean up is already done. A really delicious meal can be made and cooking it required a lot less work.
Make Boxed Meal Mixes And Casseroles
What about Hamburger Helper? Why not cook 2-3 boxes of it, separate it into 3 separate large containers and freeze them. That idea alone allows you to prepare 3 meals in just 30-minutes. Take one container out of the freezer on the night before you plan to use it and let it thaw slowly in the refrigerator until mealtime. Then, when ready, take it out of the refrigerator and heat it up to eat. Be sure and use a cooking thermometer to watch and make sure your food has heated thoroughly. It is especially important to make sure your food is hot all the way through when you serve it if you have prepared it beforehand. Once your meal is heated and served, you will see you have spent less cooking time and less time for kitchen clean up too.
Designate A Meal For A Particular Night
Every Friday night in my house is either Pizza or burger night. The idea here is to choose any night of the week and just designate a meal to go with that night. I always make sure that I have plenty of Frozen Pizzas with a variety of toppings on hand in my freezer. The same goes for those Turkey burger or sandwich patties. The idea behind this process is that you now have one night's meal already planned. You can also stock up on that meal when the products are on sale. If you see Frozen pizzas being sold in bulk, grab them up! Your new freezer will pay for itself quickly by storing groceries you have bought ahead of time.
Love Your Leftovers
This is one of my favorite parts of meal planning because it allows you to use your imagination. At least every couple of days or so, be sure to go through your refrigerator and take inventory of what you have in there. Be frugal when you use your left overs. Save on food costs and keep from wasting food by using it while it is still good. Do not leave it unused for too long or it will spoil.
When you combine 2-3 leftovers, you may find that you have a meal right there. You can use left over pasta from spaghetti to prepare a pasta salad, leftover spaghetti sauce and just a few pieces of chicken can be a wonderful dish to top rice or potatoes. Top some leftovers with some cheese and place in the oven. With a little imagination you can make your leftovers work for you.
Save Money And Shop For Items That Are On Sale
Use the sales paper or grocery advertisements. Everyone loves a good sale and using the sales paper to help with meal planning will save on grocery costs. When you see Family favorites on sale, instead of buying one, you may budget to purchase 3-4 of the same items and simply come home and prepare the meals or freeze the food. Some vegetables and fruits may be frozen to be used for soups or smoothies later.
If you decide to get a new freezer, your new appliance will pay for itself with the money you save by buying like this. Buy family favorites when on sale and plan to use them when you are planning your meals. When you see these items on sale, it's likely that you will have money in you budget to buy them because you have saved money by planning meals ahead of time.
Keep in mind about the meal size of your planned recipe. The portions will depend more on how much food you intend to consume and less about how much each ready box makes. Plan the entire meal portions according to how much each person is likely to eat. Some people are big eaters and some eat only a little. Purchase your foods with that in mind so you will not waste. By shopping like this, it is actually very easy to save hundreds and hundreds of dollars a year in food costs.
Buy Helpful Supplies
Labels/freezer bags/Freezer-proof containers and a marking pen may be a few of the items you will need to keep handy so your kitchen time is smooth and organized. You may also need some freezer wrapping paper or a kitchen thermometer for testing to be sure your food heats up properly. Be sure that you have all of your freezing and refrigerating needs on hand. When storing food in freezer safe containers be sure to place a label on the container with the name of the meal and the date the meal was prepared.
Make sure to give the items plenty of room in the freezer so that the meals will freeze quickly. Then make the stack neat and organized. Be sure to use food that was already made first and keep those items closer to the top where they will be easy to reach and get used properly. Make sure to use your labels or mark freezer bags with a waterproof marking pen. It is very important to keep track of when you made your food so that you will be able to keep a high quality in your healthy recipes.
When you meal plan, you can start with planning a few meals ahead of time and then work it towards more planning ahead as you get more practice. Start small and work it up. You must get a grip on what it is you are planning and how much extra cooking you would like to do ahead of time. Most people would like to do as much as possible to save the time but you must have a real knowledge of what it is that you are going to use for meals. Knowing what you really need or intend to use will keep you from losing any of your precious budget money to food loss or waste. The same applies to supply purchases, only buy the bags, paper, or freezer containers that you intend to use now. Later you can invest in more supplies as you get a feel for what your real needs are going to be. You will save money and be happier with your budget.
Plan a few meals ahead and then more of them as you decide which ones you like to have as a reheated recipe from the freezer or refrigerator. Some meals may taste a little different. Also, if you start with only a few prepared meals, you may find that you will still save a lot of time. By freezing fruits and vegetables for soups and smoothies later, you will be preparing your meals ahead of time but the recipe will not be complete. This will still save you time.
Your recipes will taste freshly made and still save you time if you chop and peel some items ahead of time. You can store it in a larger container and only use what you need when you need it. Please note that items that will stick together should be frozen on a flat pan or paper, then bag it.
Use An Instant Pot (fast) Or Crockpot (slow)
These handy appliances may be your best friends in the kitchen. When using a crockpot or instant pot you may prepare the whole meal at one time. It is a hands free cooking experience. Whole meal recipes may be cooked in one pot. The recipes are delicious! Whole recipes may be cooked in the appliance while you cook using the stove for something else. It can be a time saver to make a few extra portions to use in a recipe later. If you choose to make one meal only, you will still save cooking time by using a kitchen tool built to save time in the kitchen. Clean up is also easier, plan that when considering how much time you choose to spend int the kitchen that day. Sometimes during the week we are too busy or tired and sometimes on the weekend we would like to spend time doing something else. Make recipes for sandwiches, enchiladas, Pita bread stuffing, salsa, or gravies. As you will see, the possibilities are endless and your meal planning abilities will keep these recipes fast, organized, and easy to clean up.
You Are Going To Save Time And Money
Meal planning is a money, sanity, and time saver. What else could a busy mom ask for? If you are working, the time saved will be a blessing to you when you see how much time you have saved to enjoy for other things. You will also feel better about how much money you have saved in your budget by planning ahead in your grocery purchases. You will begin to see where you use your money when you buy groceries and can adjust your spending if necessary. Also, if you choose to add extra freezer space by getting a new freezer then your new freezer will pay for itself quickly by storing groceries you have bought ahead of time while the groceries were on sale.
Now, lets get Cooking!
Learn How To Plan Your Meals To Free Up Your Time.
#mealplan #mealplanning #cookaheadoftime #budget #savemoney
Here are some tips for you.
MEAL PLANNING TIPS
How to plan meals for the week?
Plan Weekly Meals Easily With A Little Practice
See what you already have. Look in your freezer, cabinets, and refrigerator. Plan to finish already opened packages.
Use a calendar, pen&paper, calculator to plan your meals.
Create a list of recipes to try and ($) Buy seasonal items that have a good price.
Be sure and plan a few of your favorites…. Donuts Sunday morning, Spaghetti on Thurs nite, lunch with Mom
Think about your schedule and how long you want to cook
Plan to use leftovers, opened boxes, and jars in future recipes.
GO HERE. https://www.choosemyplate.gov/eathealthy/budget/budget-weekly-meals
For best results, let the food cool completely before putting it in the freezer bags or freezer wrap. It will taste better if you do not hurry.
