Fridays are, usually, my days to myself. (Except for days like today, when Finn wakes up, pukes all over me, and must stay home.) I don’t ever teach on Fridays and, while I sometimes have work-related meetings, I usually have a free calendar. I think that any working parent will tell you that having a day off while your child is lovingly cared for at daycare is an unrivaled luxury. (In fact, we’ve already decided that next year, we’ll make sure Sona’s schedule allows for one Friday together each month.)
On Fridays, I usually do a few things: enjoy a quiet breakfast to myself while catching up on some DVR’d daytime TV (like The Chew), clean the house, edit some photos from the week, and meal plan for the following week, which enables me to put together a grocery list or order groceries over the weekend. (I do more of the latter during the school year.)
I get a lot of questions–both from friends in real life and online friends–about what we are cooking, recipes, how I cook so much, etc. So, I thought it’d be fun to do a post that walks through the method to my meal-planning madness.
I should start here, though: I love food. I love to cook. This is a central part of my character, and it is a passion that I’ve fed (I crack myself up) since I was little. I think it’s important to recognize that not everyone cries over a barrel of fresh olives (something I have actually done). And it’s okay if making dinner for your family doesn’t get you all fired up. But know that, because it DOES get me all fired up, this whole meal-planning thing is a lot less burdensome.
Because weekdays are crazy busy for us, and we often buzz like drugged-up bees until Finn’s bedtime, it is absolutely essential that we have a game-plan for dinner. If I haven’t already decided what to cook–and purchased the stuff necessary to cook it–we will end up ordering take-out, which is never as yummy as we expect it to be and which is much more expensive. That hardly ever happens, anymore.
When trying to figure out what to cook the following week, here are the questions I ask myself:
What’s next week’s schedule like? For instance, I know that I have a work meeting this coming Monday, and I likely won’t be home until 5:00. So, I’m going to need a quick meal. On Tuesday, Finn has swim lessons from 5:30-6:00. He’s STARVING by the time he is done. For several weeks, we’ve been going out to eat afterwards, but we are kind of sick of eating junk and spending money on junk. That means, on Tuesday, I need to make something before swim–something that I can easily feed him in the car and that will stay good long enough for Sona and I to eat after we put him to bed.
What recipes did I flag during the week? I follow A LOT of food bloggers. My favorites are What’s Gaby Cooking?, How Sweet Eats, Half Baked Harvest, Smitten Kitchen, and Pinch of Yum. They’re all on social media: Insta, FB, Twitter, etc. So, throughout the week, I usually come across 2-3 recipes that spark my interest, and I just flag them. On Fridays, I look back on the stuff I pinned on Pinterest or saved on Instagram, and I add a couple to my must-cook list.
What’s something easy? Something fast? Something basic (roasted chicken and green beans)? Something healthy? Something meat-free? Something a little exotic? Variety is key.
What do I have in the fridge or pantry that I need to use up? I used to SUCK at this, and we’d have 27 cans of garbanzo beans in the pantry. I’ve been really good at using up stuff we have on-hand, lately.
What’s in season? I plan for farmers markets in summer and fall, as we usually go once or twice a week. If I know that I want to buy some fresh corn, I plan a meal that will incorporate that ingredient.
Considering all of those questions, here is the meal plan for this coming week:
SUNDAY: breakfast–burrito bowls (everything in a typical breakfast burrito, minus the tortilla); dinner–matzo ball soup (we’ve entered soup-every-Sunday season)
MONDAY: this fish dish, but we may use a white fish instead of salmon, depending on what looks good at the market, green beans, cous cous
TUESDAY: penne with fresh corn, zucchini, basil, and parmesan–inspired by a pasta dish they made on The Chew this week
WEDNESDAY: quick chicken parmesan (will make the marinara on Sunday) with zucchini noodles
THURSDAY: this summertime curry recipe over sweet potato noodles (I just got a spiralizer, and I want to play with it a bit next week, obviously)
FRIDAY: homemade pizza (our usual)