Meal planning made easy!

Well, I just showed you how to make a meal planner, now I will give you a few ideas how to plan - by showing you my meal plan for the week.. I usually sit down on Saturday with the kids and plan meals because they are a major factor in deciding what delicious gastronomy will be created the whole week! We start with breakfast - I give them both a choice of their fav breakfast and dinner - since they have lunch at school, I usually don't bother them with lunch decisions. So both kids will give me one option each which is usually something like pancakes or waffles! So we have two calorific breakfasts and five healthy breakfast in the week. Everyone is happy! We usually eat traditional Indian breakfasts that are healthy and complete like Poha, Idly, Dosa etc. I try to plan one Dosa day so I can use the same batter to make Uttapam or Appe (recipe later) on another day, two meals - one recipe!!. I also include one fruit (which I pack with their breakfast) and yoghurt cups as my kids are not too fond of milk and drink it once a day at snack time and one glass in school. I try to ensure they have 3 servings of dairy in the form of milk, curd, paneer or cheese. For dinner, they get to choose one meal and it's usually pasta or noodles - so the next 3 dinners are usually roti and curry or occasionally pulao or rice and curry. I try to include pulses and dal once or twice a week and vegetables in the form of curries and salads. We try to make simple salads that go with dinner. For snack time it's milk with a sandwich or French toast, or baked potato wedges. Usually something simple and non fussy. Cereal and milk is once a week or once in two weeks as I avoid the highly sugary cereal and give them classic cornflakes. Lunch is usually roti and curry or rice and dal and sometimes leftovers - which I consume the next day itself. Weekends lunch and dinner are usually left blank because inevitably we go out or friends come over so it's a last minute thing but hey 4 meals out of 28 is not bad at all ! :) I write down the groceries I have to buy accordingly in the "To buy list" to make sure I don't run out of them and I write down any prep like batter or dough that needs to be made in advance in the "To Do list" to make sure I'm prepared ! I usually browse my recipe books to try and find a new recipe to make, to keep my family happy and satiated! I keep it in mind and include it in the next weeks menu. I'm planning to make a recipe index an easy recipe reference, some day - that's another project :) I hope you can make your own plan according to your families tastes, keep everyone involved, not only will they feel happy but you will not have to worry about what to cook, you will have suggestions from your family and you can be assured their plates will be clean :)

Sanity in the kitchen - Meal planning !

How many times have you walked into your kitchen and opened your refrigerator, staring blankly at its contents, wondering what to cook for breakfast, lunch or dinner - or when your kids come home hungry from school..you reach out for a bag of chips or cookies, only to feel guilty later? I know I've been there many times ! I tried planning meals for the whole week - only to wonder what's the name of the dish under all that scribbling or finding out I don't have the ingredients to make that special dish I planned ! No more - I've figured out a way to meal plan and be prepared to serve my family healthy hot meals ! No more wondering, lots of time to spare and peace of mind at last - and I will show you how! OK - I made this planner but forgot to take step by step pictures but its relatively easy. All you need is some chart paper, sketch pens and ruler. Start by cutting out a comfortable size rectangle / square ( I used a piece of cardboard that came with a product around 12" x 12"). I drew a grid to write down the days of the week and 4 meals - breakfast, lunch, snack and dinner. The extra space I used for two boxes - "to buy" and "to do". My kids drew some eatables in the meal boxes and colored it to make it look pretty. I laminated the sheet to make it stronger and easier to clean or make corrections. Voila! My planner is ready! I use fridge magnets to keep it on the side of my fridge where it's easy to see and write on. I use a whiteboard marker or sketch pen, it wipes clean with a damp rag or duster. The picture of the planner is here, next I will share my ideas how to meal plan ! I hope this helps you in saving a lot of time and help you plan keeping your family's dietary needs in mind. Happy planning !