Tuesday, November 19, 2024

Meal Planning Again

I didn't make a meal plan for the first two weeks of November, and that worked out fine, with the excitement of daughter coming home for a visit and my birthday celebrations.  My daughter had requested my chicken curry and rice and I cooked salmon fillet, that first week, along with a chicken and vegetable stew for when one of daughter's friends came to dinner mid-week.  The second week, my daughter and my friend R treated me to a variety of Thai and Mexican food, with plenty of leftovers for the rest of the week!

That worked out very well, but, now, it is time to go back to having somewhat of a meal plan, even if it is just a list of dinner options.  

Brunches: This week's brunches will be mostly leftovers and/or salads and sandwiches.  I might make us some French toast or waffles over the weekend, however.

Dinner Options:

Monday - Sauteed salmon with onions and tomatoes, rice,  tomato chutney, and cucumber salad
Tuesday - Leftover salmon and rice, with sauteed green beans, and chutney
Wednesday - Meatball curry and rice, with leftover green beans and maybe dhal
Thursday - Leftover meatball curry, dhal, and rice, cucumber salad
Friday - Japanese take out
Saturday - Leftovers or hot dogs
Sunday - Baked breaded shrimp, seasoned potato wedges, salad

Snacks/Desserts: The house is full of snacks and desserts as neighbor S brought another plateful of chocolates and gata (Armenian pastries) over on Monday evening.  Plus there's fresh fruit, home canned peaches, and ice cream (and yogurt for me).  I might make some bread pudding, too, to use up some bread ends/crusts.

That is the plan for the week.  We'll see how well it works!

How about you?  Are you meal planning?  

10 comments:

  1. You have certainly been eating well!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That is very true, June. In fact, we have been feasting! :)

      Delete
  2. It's extraordinary, I actually have made a meal plan for this time while DH is away, mainly so I don't forget any good single portion leftovers in the freezer. I seem to have every day covered. Usually there are certain days when DH and I seem to have the same as the week before, like fish on Friday, for example. I suppose I could get into the habit of making a meal plan, it's high time!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You did well to have a meal plan in place for this week (and freezing leftovers for the purpose). I like having some planned meal options so I know what I will be cooking and can thaw things in time, etc. Fish on Friday can be a starting point for the meal plan. :)

      Delete
  3. I haven't done this in a couple of months, but once a week I'll create a menu of 6-10 items to cook on one day for the entire week: curries, biriyanis, veggies, maybe a pasta dish, and dessert or two. Cooking like this makes every meal so good because I enjoy variety, and this lasts us a full week a while feeling like such a feast all week and enabling Plant 30 success.

    As you can imagine, however, the menu creation (with recipe research) and shopping take a few hours, and the cooking can take an additional 5-8 hours, including prep. Yet, it was so delicious and convenient when I did this. I've been so busy and a bit burned out that I haven't done it in a while, but I plan to get back to it next week!

    I won't ask about your decluttering as I feel like birthday festivities and time with your daughter should take precedence, but I've been doing well with it. I'm in the 4 figures of decluttered items thus far for November (mind-boggling), but most are small items and from years of overwhelm when things should have been decluttered sooner. I'm pleased with getting rid of so much, even if they were mostly small things.

    Enjoy the precious with your daughter. Does she have an alias - Bless(ed) II, perhaps? 😊

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nia, your meal planning for the week and batch cooking sounds wonderful! It's a lot of work, though! I've done something a little similar in the past, cooking fewer items at a time, but, I don't have the energy to do so now! I will, however, cook a whole tray of chicken at one time, or brown a package of ground meat, and freeze portions of it for later meals.

      I'd love to hear what you make the next time you make a week's worth of meals, though. :)

      Wow! Look at you go with the decluttering! You are going to be decluttering star of the month, again! It doesn't matter if they are small items or you count a pair of socks as two socks, in my opinion! What matters is you are going through and getting rid of the items you don't need or want and gaining more space for the things that do matter.

      You are right, with my daughter being here and my birthday, etc., I haven't been giving much attention to decluttering. My goal this month is 30 items decluttered and I will post my totals at the end of the month. So far, the decluttered items include 3 old remotes to devices I no longer have, some expired medications, and a couple of really old pantry items.

      Daughter doesn't have an alias, as such, but, some people have called her "Little Bless". :D

      Delete
  4. Well done with the meal plan! Meal planning is one area I have been doing really well on. I find it so much better to have a plan in place as I don't keep wondering what's for dinner. It also helps with the budget as I am not making multiple visits to the shops to pick up food items!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Sharon. That's wonderful that you've been keeping up with the meal planning and find it helpful and easier on the budget, too. I've been shopping a bit more frequently this month, but, I think I have everything I need for this week's meals. I will have to shop again, next week, for Thanksgiving dinner items, especially if I am hosting it!

      Delete
  5. You've chosen some delicious meal ideas, Bless. I'm semi-planning mine at the moment. Three days at a time is all I can think about just now. I'm going to try and get back to it again at the weekend. Xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Jules. You are doing well to meal plan for three days at a time, with all that you have going on right now. Sometimes, I, too, find it easier to plan for just a couple of days. :)

      Delete

Thank you for visiting my blog and commenting. Your comments are much appreciated. Please comment in English. No Anonymous comments, please. Thank you.