What's for Dinner? - An introduction

What's for dinner? Who hasn't asked or been asked that question!

Well, first off...meal planning. Can't stress that one enough. Saves time and sanity and running to the grocery store 6 or 7 times a week. I started making monthly meal calendars when DH and I were newlyweds many moons ago. After a usually stressful day at work I had a half hour drive home (sometimes longer!) to figure out what I was going to cook that night. And it usually involved first stopping at the grocery store almost every day. When your brain is fried it's hard to think of different and healthy meal options. I was tired of eating the same 3 or 4 meals made mostly from packages and boxes.

By creating a monthly meal calendar, you sit down once a month, take a few minutes to slot in meals from a list you've made of your favourite dinners. I have about 40 items on my list, so meals are spread out nicely and I don't get a chance to get tired of eating something too often. It saves time and the daily question of "What's for dinner?" DH can just look himself. I used to print off a blank calendar template from the computer and write in the meals with a pen and stick it on the fridge. But several years ago I purchased a wipe-off version that works well with dry erase pens. Whole thing is magnetic and sticks to the fridge.

Ideally I'll do a big grocery shop once every 7-10 days, keeping in mind what I've planned to make that week so I grab what I need. Of course there are times when I need to pick up something I've forgotten or ran out of mid-week. But I'm not lurking at the store every day. Who has time for that?! I certainly don't!

Nothing is ever written in stone! Whatever method you use to plan your meals, be it weekly or monthly, life happens. Things come up, making it not practical to have a certain meal on the day you selected. That's what arrows are for. Switch the days around! Move the Tuesday meal to Thursday or swap with with something next week. Or just cross it out all together and write in pizza! :) If you ever stop by my kitchen towards the end of the month you'll see all sorts of things crossed out and moved around. Some days you just don't feel like eating what you planned 3 weeks ago. It's okay. There are no rules. It's just there to make your life a bit easier!

I plan on sharing some family-tested dinner recipes and products over the next few weeks. Everyone gets tired of eating the same foods....I know new recipes are always welcome in my kitchen! I'll be sure to include some deliciously cozy fall meals :)