Many of us find it difficult to decide what to serve for dinner every night. We are all living busy lives with barely a minute to spare for ourselves. Trying to come up with original ideas for dinner is difficult, especially when you are tired after a long day. Fast food is not healthy, but is something we resort to when we have no time to prepare a meal. Creating a meal plan for your week can alleviate the last minute stress of not knowing what to cook for dinner. A little time spent on advance planning will save you valuable time during the week.
Choose your recipes for the week in advance. Many families have favourite recipes that they are frequently putting into the weekly rotation. If you have fussy children there is no way to avoid this.
A plan that combines new recipes and old favourites is a good way to get some variety in your diet. Ask your family for help. Your children may surprise you with their ideas. Some families have specific meals on certain days of the week. For example, Monday is pasta night, and Wednesday is Mexican night. When you create a plan that works for you it can be reused, and this will save you time in the future. Once you have chosen your recipes, create an accurate grocery list of all the ingredients you need. There is nothing more frustrating than planning a meal and finding you don't have the necessary ingredients on hand.It's a great idea to sit down on the weekend with a coffee and a piece of paper and plan your meals for the week. This is a simple thing that can change the tone of your week completely. Just knowing that you have a meal schedule in place can lighten your mood for the whole week. If you have events scheduled during the week, take these into consideration when creating your meal plan. Perhaps you will be coming home late one day, or have a birthday party or hockey practice to attend. The nights you are busy will require a pre-made meal. If you plan ahead you can cook for these nights on the weekend and then freeze the meals.
Decide what advance preparation needs to be done and make a list for the week. Slow cooker recipes are great for the busy family because everything can be prepared in advance, and then combined together in the cooker in the morning so that the meal is ready for you in the evening. Things like chili and pasta sauce can be made the night before or even on the weekend and refrigerated. Make big batches of your favourites and freeze them, or plan on having the same meal twice during the week if you really love it.
A little planning goes a long way when you are feeding your family. Advance planning ensures you have all your ingredients in the house and you can enjoy the cooking process. A magazine for women or Canadian magazines are great places to find family recipes. The internet is also a great resource for the most popular family recipes. Once you have found your recipes and made a plan, you are well on your way to a week of healthy nutritious meals for your family.
