I completely fell off the wagon last week. Work was killing me, and I couldn't motivate to face the kitchen after really long, stressful days. I ended up not cooking at all. I can barely even remember what we ate. I think we had a salad on Monday and then quesadillas on Tuesday and then I skipped dinner altogether on Wednesday and D picked up takeout on Thursday and we went out with friends on Friday to celebrate the week finally being over. It isn't too big a deal in terms of wasted groceries because the salmon was already frozen, so I just left it in the freezer and then I stuck the andouille sausage in there as well so we can use it later. The other ingredients (bell peppers, broccoli, etc) will get used up in meals this week.
Edit - just realized that isn't true! I tried this new saag recipe and liked it way more than the previous one I tested. I 100% forgot to put any milk or cream in at the end and it was still delicious. I do hate having to haul out the blender for a side dish, but I might have to accept that it's just necessary for this. I might still test out the Chowhound recipe though, just to see how it goes, because it doesn't require blending.
I've tried meal planning for years and it never stuck but finally I realized our downfall was a) trying to plan for what meal would be eaten on which specific day and b) my weird guilt ridden need to make something different every day of the month. I recently abandoned both of those and just created a list of 6-7 meals (weekly repeats of pizza night, pasta night, etc) and we pick and choose on the day of what sounds best and BOOM. We are nailing it. We still have the "what's for dinner?" conversation on a daily basis but now it's "well this is what's left on the menu, let's have X" and it's so much easier. Plus our weekly grocery trips have gone from 4-5 to 1 and our bill has gone down by a third! Consider me a convert!
ReplyDeleteKnowing your patterns and preferences is key to successful meal planning, I think! Having a list of weeknight meals is such a good plan.
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