Regardless of how I feel about menu planning…
- It takes too much time to do.
- I know I’m going to change my mind about what I want to eat before the month is over.
- I’m sure it saves money, but back to #1.
- I work better under pressure.
I must face the facts…
- Once you get started and have menus in place, it gets a lot easier and grocery shopping is a breeze.
- I decided that planning one month at a time was too intense for me because I do change my mind a lot. So I have been planning one week at a time and if I decide to change my mind, I make the changes for the upcoming week. It gives me something to look forward to.
- We save money and waste less food when I plan our weekly meals.
- Despite what laziness, procrastination, and poor planning may try to make me believe, I really don’t like “flying by the seat of my pants” when it comes to meals. Plus, if I can go with hearing “Mom, what’s for dinner?” and not break out into a cold sweat, then I’ve had a really good day.
Menu planning is not a resolution (lofty ideas – I don’t make those), but rather it is one of my many goals (I have a plan and I will implement it) for the New Year.
Some other things I’ve noticed is that we eat healthier when I plan. I actually do enjoy cooking, but not having a plan in place has made cooking an unpleasant chore. Over the past two months, I have gained five pounds (a lot for me), my children have eaten more cold cereal for breakfast and potato chips during lunch than I care to admit to*, and I have not been eating as healthy as I used to. Did you know that one box of Nabisco Nilla Wafers can be consumed in one night while using a computer? I wouldn’t advise you trying it, but now you could have a winning answer on Jeopardy one day.
If you would like to see What’s on the Menu for us this week, then take a look.
*I have nothing against weight gain, cold cereal, or potato/tortilla chips. I just don’t like it on my belly when I’m not pregnant…Kashi brand and Wheaties cereals are winners here…and On the Border and Kirkland (Costco) brands of tortilla chips are the best.
