What’s for Dinner?

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My husband always has dinner (or meal planning in general) on his mind.  I always seem to think of it at the last-minute.  His way is right; mine is way wrong!  Think about it.  When meal planning is last-minute, it’s likely going to be something convenient, and it is likely going to be processed.

Does this only apply to me?  I know; if it wasn’t in my pantry to begin with, then I wouldn’t have it as an option.  Spaghetti and sauce, however, is always in my pantry.  Hey, at least I no longer store Hamburger Helper in there!

If we remember, my husband and I will make a menu for the week.  That usually lasts for one week and then we forget (read: we get too busy and the menu gets neglected).  This month, I made a monthly menu.  I went through my favorite recipes and also sneaked in a few new ones to try.  We’ve already discovered one of the “new ones” to throw out of the mix…

My March menu - my husband cooks on the weekends and I let him plan that!

This new system (I’ve done this once before and it only lasted a month, but it was a great month of meal planning) has helped tremendously.  Each Monday morning, I go to the grocery store with my list of ingredients that I’ll need for the week.  My mother-in-law introduced me to a phrase that her father used to say: “A high grocery bill is better than a high medical bill.”  I’ve been pleasantly surprised with the cost efficiency of my healthy and unprocessed meals.

So, why not give it a try?  You don’t have to have a different meal for each day of the month.  Some of our favorites are included once a week for the entire month.  It’s so easy this way.  The only glitch is to make sure I pull out any frozen protein in time to actually marinate and/or cook the meal…it’s a work in progress!