That which gets measured gets done. Or so they say.The adage doesn't always work when it comes to public education (see: NCLB), but it turns out to be true for me for meal-planning. As I reported back in April, I started meal-planning (with help from a new dry erase board) for the first time this year. Wasn't sure it would take, but figured it was worth a try -- anything had to be better than too many nights of frozen pizza or hot dogs.
Now that the year is halfway through, we're still eating frozen pizza (8 CPK BBQ chicken pizzas this quarter, to be exact) -- but we're also eating out less, using more of our groceries before they expire, and eating a greater variety of meals. This quarter I also added a meal sharing plan with my neighbor on Tuesday nights -- one week I make dinner for her family and my family, the following week she makes dinner for us all.
Out of the second 13 weeks of 2009, we were out of town nine nights, had dinner out (date night, friend night or just take-out) eight nights, and got dinner from our meal-trade six nights. Of the remaining dinners, here's a sampling of what we had during Q2:
- 27 different dinners
- 18 nights of leftovers (a.k.a. good planning)
- 8 different dishes involving chicken
- 6 nights of hamburgers or hot dogs on the grill
- 4 nights of tilapia with veggies
- 3 nights of French toast with turkey sausage and fruit
- 3 nights of sweet potato and black bean casserole
- 3 nights of skillet meals from the freezer
- and assorted other dinners
I only wish I could get this organized in the kitchen! When Michael and I first moved to the DC area, we could have been the poster-couple of bargain shopping and meal planning. We'd only make one big grocery store shopping spree a month, filling in the essential (milk, bread, etc.) once a week, spending less than $200 a month on groceries. Now, we go shopping every week, average somewhere between $60-100 per trip, and I never feel like we have food in the house! How does that happen??
ReplyDeleteYou are top notch at this! I've fallen off the wagon since the hubby is in another city. I'm inspired to start again (even if it is just me and the little one). And CPK pizzas are awesome! Keep up the great work!!!
ReplyDeleteI love the sweet potato and black bean casserole!
ReplyDeleteThat's inspiring - actually. When I am organized, I make a menu plan and only buy what I need for the plan. I usually base the menu on what is in season and coming from the garden. I always allow for pizza night, something I know the kids will eat, something just for the adults, and something new to try. Just have not been that together lately...
ReplyDeletewhat is a meal-trade? I need to get on that bandwagon!
ReplyDelete