|
Raising Arrows
Aug. 9, 2008
The Master Meal List
Part 2 of Once-A-Month-Shopping ~
The first crucial piece of this shopping once a month puzzle is the Master Meal List. There are several ways you can go about sculpting this bit of domestic art.
First, you should consider what categories you need. I have 3 categories: BREAKFAST, LUNCH/DINNER, MISCELLANEOUS/SIDES. Some of you may not need the Breakfast category, but I do. My brain simply does not work in the morning. I have long since resolved myself to this fact, yet I continue to stand in awe of those of you who are at the top of your game in the morning.
Some of you may prefer to categorize your meals by the day of the week. We live a rather "flexible" lifestyle, so that way does not work for us, but for many people it works quite well. If you choose this way of categorizing, your meal list would look something like this:
Day of the Week ~ breakfast, lunch & sides, dinner & sides
You could continue this on down your page and even throw in snacks and desserts if you wanted. You also have the ability to make this a repeating menu if your family doesn't mind repeating menus. That means EVERY Monday contains the same meals. There are many families out there who love this kind of menu (those of you who regularly read this blog will recognize them as your Scheduled Family.)
The reason I do a real general categorizing is because I like the flexibility of glancing at the list and picking and choosing from what sounds good to me or what I have time for that day. So, really what you are considering here is more personality type than anything. Do you like things set in place ahead of time or do you like things flexible?
Once you've determined your categories and how you'll be setting up your Meal List, you now must decide just how many meals you need. Once again, this is a personal thing. Does your family eat out? How often? Do you have a date night where you will need someone else to feed your children something simple? Do you have regular potlucks at church or days you consistantly spend elsewhere, like with friends or family? From this brainstorming, you will pull an approximate number of meals you eat in your home per month. Now, this is where it could get kind of hairy if I try to give you examples of every type of Meal List out there, so I am going to simply explain the way this works with our meal list.
My family does not mind repeating breakfasts, but I like to have a lot to choose from. We never eat breakfast out, so I have somewhere around 15 on my list.
I combined the lunch and dinner categories because my husband's hours can sometimes be rather random. He is occasionally home for lunch, but more often than not, he is not at home and our lunches are something fairly simple. However, I wanted to have the flexibility to choose simple or not-so-simple at a whim, thus the reason for the combined category. I tend to have somewhere between 30-40 meals listed there. We eat out fairly regularly (I say as I duck to avoid the flying frugal comments) and some of these meals will most definitely equal leftovers. Oh yeah! I forgot to mention the Leftovers Factor. I would HIGHLY encourage you to make enough food at your bigger meal of the day to have leftovers for your smaller meal several times a week.
Some of you may be a bit confused by my Miscellaneous/Sides category. This is where I put anything that doesn't fit into the previous two categories. This is dessert, bulk recipes, special sides that actually have to made and not simply opened (;o)), special snacks, things I need to make for a certain event or gathering. It's really my catch-all category. Once again...personal preference. This category for me does not need a specific number. You'll see in a moment how I gather these.
OK, you have a general idea of how many meals you need. Now comes the fun part...finding meals! You can simply pull from tried and true meals you know your family loves, you can poll the husband and children on what they would like to see on your meal list, or you can do what I do and randomly pull out a cookbook and write down what sounds good! (I imagine you are beginning to see a definite trend in my behavior, aren't you?) My Miscellaneous category is a direct result of these random gatherings. If I see something I want to try that doesn't belong in the Breakfast or the Lunch/Dinner categories, into the Miscellaneous slot it goes!
You will also need to somehow document where you've pulled the recipe from. This could possibly be an abbreviated cookbook name with page number or marked "card" if it is on an index card in your recipe box. Just some way for you to easily find the recipe.
Now you can neatly pull your Master Meal List together either by a word document or in your own handwritng on a sheet of paper or on a dry erase board. Mine is in a word document because I know my meal list will change. There will be recipes that too many members of the family dislike, or I will need a change of cookbooks, or the change of seasons will bring about my need to bake more or less...you get the idea. And since I am a rather visual person, my Meal List is in color and has pictures to go along with the season as well. (Boy, do I feel like a preschooler right about now! lol)
Also, because I am a visual person, I understand that there are some of you out there who are reading this and wishing I would just post a picture of my meal list and get on with it. Your wish is my command...
MY MASTER MEAL LIST
OK, now that we have a workable meal list, it's time to create our shopping list from this meal list. Next post...
|
| • Post A Comment! • Send to a Friend!
|
Comments
|
|
|
|
Aug. 11, 2008 - Untitled Comment
Thanks for posting this.