3/13/14

Easier and More Efficient Meal Planning, Snack Planning, and Grocery List Making

One issue I have when planning out my weekly menus and making a grocery list is all the time and effort it takes rounding up my recipes from various sources. They are all over the place! -  Pinterest, cook books, and the internet. It's driving me crazy and it has to stop.

Soooo, I'm attempting to put my recipes and meal ideas in one place, on good old fashion 3X5 index cards. I hope this will help me create a nice, tidy collection of recipes I cook regularly and rotate. When I sit down to menu plan, I can just reference these cards without getting on the computer and flipping through books, or worse, just winging it.

On one card I made a list of easy, mostly nutritious, minimal-prep-required snacks. I can take this card along with me to the grocery store and instantly be inspired. So often, I'm standing in the store thinking we need snacks!, but for lack of planning don't know what to buy. This way I can also take advantage of sales. Look at the card, see what's on sale, and there's my decision. End of story.

bananas, not bannas. Now I have to re-write this whole card.

I don't mind shopping and I don't mind cooking. It's thinking I have such a hard time with. Thinking what to eat, what to buy. If I could just grab 5 recipe cards and jot down the needed ingredients, I  think I'd be a happier person.


Another realization I've had recently is if I make a good plan, staying in budget takes care of itself.

Like so many other areas of taking care of the house, I'm learning to make food planning easier and more efficient without losing quality.

What are your go-to snacks?

12 comments:

  1. I love that you caught the spelling of bananas. That is one tricky word, isn't it. Your organization is impressive and inspirational.

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  2. Great idea! I end up spending WAY too much money on snacks for E because I fall into buying goldfish, vanilla wafers, teddy grahams, etc. because it is "easier" but it ends up being so expensive!!!

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  3. I agree that it's the "thinking" that is the most dreaded part!

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  4. I was JUST talking about this with my sister this morning. I'm with ya' - my brain does not think when I try to think about what we're going to eat - with most things with kids - most things need a little planning for it not to become a major stressor - like showering. :)

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  5. Something fruit-ish and popcorn. Or a piece of cheese toast (bread, cheese, broiled in toaster oven for a few minutes). Or I often bake something to have on hand for lunches, so I'll just give them that - cookies or cake. but it's got some nutritional value of some sort. And, this sounds mean, but I will sometimes offer them something I know is not their favorite thing to see how hungry they actually are - a hungry kid will eat anything. And my main snack strategy is DRINK SOME WATER AND WAIT UNTIL THE NEXT MEAL, but my kids are older than yours :)

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  6. I'm so with you on the time factor and energy required to think...for the last year or so, based on the week, I will make my list by figuring out how often we will be home for each meal and then I'll purchase x amount of meat, x different kinds of veggies, etc and I cook fresh, often grilled, on the fly. So-it might be roasted veggies and grilled meat and then grilled veggies and baked meat and then a salad with grilled meat, etc and I'll pair my meat and veggie with a grain such as quinoa, etc. I love the fun of winging it like that-I usually buy one new type of cheese from
    Costco every couple of weeks and keep a steady supply for dressing up meals. Anyway...for this season of motherhood, it's a win for me!

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  7. I am loving your grocery spending series. I have been inspired to do the experiment right along with you (6 in our family, 4 kids, 3 of whom are boys....although the oldest is 6 and youngest 2 so I don't yet have the voracious male eaters I keep hearing about) BUT, snacks can be the biggest enemy of mealtime so I read about putting out a plate of fresh oranges or apples before supper. Only enough for about 2-3 slices each. That is my new plan for afternoon snack. And I love the 3x5 cards, I have adopted a 2 week meal plan and am amazed at the time it has freed up in my day. Apparently there was a lot of time spent standing in front of the open pantry or fridge thinking "what am I gonna cook?" I keep a notebook and make notes on the meal plan of the source and if it is a keeper I jot down the recipe on the back page of the meal plan. My husband would rather me rotate his favorites than always be "surprised" at the table so I am trying to do that also.
    Anyway, love it and keep it coming!

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  8. Oh, the power of a 3x5 index card! I, too, am overwhelmed with the thinking. It's like, how much more can my brain hold in one day? We love fruits and nuts as a snack. I just do some sort of combination of this for snacks. Almonds and strawberries, cashews and cantaloupe, peanuts and blueberries, etc. I buy the nuts in bulk at Costco. I've found that it's simple enough to help me stay sane, and it fills up their bellies so that they don't ask for *another* snack 2 hours later. :)

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  9. Do as the French do and don't snack! Ha. I try to cut any snacks out of the budget and pantry. It gets expensive and most are processed. So I usually stick to cheese, fruit, homemade granola, homemade bars etc.

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  10. Love your blog! These are not necessarily super healthy snacks but when I do not have a treat on hand and the children would like one I find I almost always have the ingredients for cinnamon toast or homemade tapioca pudding. My mom used to make tapioca and I had forgotten about it - so easy - just milk, eggs, sugar, vanilla and tapioca.

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  11. I look forward to reading your blog and I love everything about it! I learned of it through mutual friends of friends of friends :) You give great advice and you encourage me. I do miss your food recipes!

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  12. What is brown bag popcorn? Do share!

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