Strategic Sunday

Sunday, being the day of rest it is and all, also happens to be the day I end up with a largish block of free time to plan our strategy for the upcoming week.  Just like an expert chess player needs to think at least five moves ahead (or so the expert chess players tell me), a real food, thrifty mama needs to think at least five dinners ahead, so as not to be left at 5:00 PM staring blankly at the refrigerator.  I am unfortunately all too familiar with that blank refrigerator stare.   Those are the nights we either end up with a convenience food (but I gave those up..remember) or I end up rushing and cooking something that nobody (not even me) likes.

In the past, I have always resisted meal planning.  After all....how should I know on Sunday, what I'm going to *feel* like eating on Thursday?.Since I am the cook, I should get to choose to cook whatever I feel like eating on any given night, right? Some days I feel all healthy, crunchy, granola and am happy with curried lentils, or tofu stir-fry or quinoa and tabouli salad, other days I feel primal and want meat, and then of course there are the days I want nothing other than childhood comfort foods, pizza, macaroni and cheese, spaghetti and meatballs.  However, not planning ahead leads to that blank 5:00 PM stare and grumpy, over-hungry children who are simply staaaaarrrrrrviiiing.

Anyway, to solve that problem I have started planning dinners in blocks of seven, so I have a week's worth of meals planned, but don't necessarily assign any dinner to any particular day.   I am finding that meal planning is essential to real-food eating, especially since it involves doing things like making my own tortillas or cooking dried beans as opposed to buying canned.   I also find that meal planning really helps us balance our meals and nutrients better....so we're not eating macaoni and cheese and then pizza and then lasanga all  in the same week....but balancing the pizza out with the curried lentils or sausage/potato/kale soup. It is also imporant, in preventing food spoilage...knowing that the tomatoes should be eaten by Wed. or the lettuce/spinach by Thurs.

So...without further ado...here is my schedule of the following seven night's dinners.

- roast chicken, baked sweet potatoes and green beans(to do today...take chicken out of freezer).
- bean, potato and sausage soup (to do ahead of time...soak and cook beans, make broth out of chicken bones, take sausage out of freezer), homemade drop biscuits, cooked carrots
- beans and rice, take chicken broth out of freezer (I cook rice in chicken broth),  swiss chard
-meatloaf, baked potatoes and swiss chard  (to do ahead of time, take beef out of freezer)
-bean quesadillas (to do ahead of time, soak and cook beans, make tortillas), swiss chard
-crustless spinach quiche, brocolli
-pizza (with home-made whole-wheat crust), yellow squash

Also, on my do-ahead tasks.....soak and cook dried chickpeas.  I love having chickpeas around to make hummus  or roasted chickpeas...both foods we commonly eat for lunch or snacks.

Of course, when planning this, I have to keep in mind that only the pizza, quiche and quiesadillas are suitable for Lenten Fridays, so I do have to work around that restriction.

I don't generally plan other meals, since breakfast is basically a choice of eggs, oatmeal, nut-butter sandwich, fruit, homemade muffins/bread or plain yogurt.  Lunches are either dinner leftovers,  nut-butter sandwiches, home-made muffins, salads, hummus/carrots, yogurt, nuts, seeds or dried or fresh fruits.

In later posts I will share more recipies with cost-analysis'...not to mention I will soon be delving into the hazards of cooking meals for picky eaters (both husbands and children)...so stay tuned!