Month: June 2017

Meal Timelines

Published on by Kim2 Comments

Do you ever get to the end of the afternoon and realize with a shock that dinner will be expected shortly and you have no idea what it will be? Well, it happens to all of us, but if it happens regularly, I’d recommend reading two previous blog posts, Planning Your Day and Meal Planning. This post will build on what we have already started discussing.

Planning ahead involves knowing how your day will go (roughly) and knowing what you plan to make for a meal, but you also need to know how the various steps for your chosen menu will fit into your schedule. When do you need to start preparing? Do you need to figure on 2 hours in the kitchen or 20 minutes?

Many recipes now include prep time and cook time, which is very helpful. But you still need to know what you’ll be doing when.

Note: if you use frozen meat for your meals, remember to add defrosting the meat to your steps or your schedule the day before or early the day of.

As you look at your menu, map out the different steps and when you’ll need to do each of them (i.e., 2 hours ahead, 45 minutes ahead, right before serving, etc.). Some recipes or dishes are simple enough that you only need 5 minutes of prep time 2 hours before dinner. Some have a few more steps. Others are all last minute, just before you eat. Write it down in a timeline, counting backwards from your target mealtime.

Note: if you collect tried-and-true recipes or standard menus for a monthly meal plan, this will be helpful to keep with the recipe. That way you don’t have to think it through each time.

For an example, using the menu outlined in A Simple Meal, you would sketch out a timeline like this:

  • 2 hours prior — prepare meat and put in oven
  • 45 minutes prior — prepare sweet potatoes and put in oven
  • 15 minutes prior — set table and steam vegetables

Now you know that you have less than 30 minutes needed for the meal, but also you don’t need to do anything between the 2 hour mark and the 45 minute mark. You can plan on 75 minutes to devote to other tasks.

Now you also know what you are doing and that your bases are covered. Way to plan!

Budget Meals

Published on by Kim

How can you feed your family well for less? There are a number of things you can do to stretch your grocery dollars. Try them out and incorporate the ones that work best for you and your family.

Use cheap but nutritious ingredients

Eggs and beans provide protein without costing a lot. Rice also provides nutrition cheaply. Cooking a large chicken on sale and using it for multiple meals will save your dollars. Bananas and baby carrots are not expensive fresh fruit and vegetables.

Shop at the cheapest grocery store

I am a huge ALDI fan, but there are other options available. If your staples are consistently affordable, you are a long way toward meeting your budget. Also, be careful that store-hopping for deals does not cost you more in time and gas money than you are saving on the groceries.

Stay flexible to take advantage of sales or windfalls

You never know when the manager’s special will be a jackpot or day-old bagels will be available for use. Remember your meal plan can be tweaked, so take advantage of the bagels or whole chicken and work that into the next meal or two while it’s fresh.

Use storage mindfully

If you have a freezer or large pantry, make the most of it. But do so mindfully. If you don’t rotate stock or forget to use items until they are out of date, you are throwing away food (and thus money) and wasting space.

Use meal plans

When you plan out your meal menu, you will provide boundaries for yourself. This makes it easier to buy only what you plan to use. You can stay flexible, as noted above, to use bargains, but your list will be complete without room for impulse purchases that are unnecessary and potentially unused.

Eat at home when you can

It is so tempting to just pick something up on busy day after busy day, but remember that groceries go farther. You also have the added benefit of family time, good conversation, and healthier menus.

Junk food costs money

Similarly, snack foods are generally pricy carbs. If you can cut out sugary drinks and pre-packaged snack packs, you will be healthier for drinking water and have more money for good, fresh fruits and vegetables.

Note: Many thanks to multiple family members, far better at this than I am, who contributed ideas to this post!