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| Curried Chicken Fried Rice (Leftover curried chicken, leftover rice, grated carrots, shredded cabbage, roasted peanuts) |
January meal planning was a bit hit or miss, but, it is a new month and I am determined to do better this month.
As most of you know, I meal plan based on what I have on hand and that week's sales. I rarely make a meal plan and then, buy things specifically for that meal plan. That usually happens maybe twice each year - for Thanksgiving and for the almsgiving. The rest of the year, I meal plan based on what's available. I've heard it being called reverse meal planning, but, it's what I've done all along.
Chicken is usually the cheapest meat, so that's what I usually buy. Sometimes, I will buy pork if it is on a good sale, especially when daughter is home, as she has been told by her doctor to eat more red meat. I don't buy a lot of beef as it is very expensive.
However, ground beef was on "sale" for $4.99/lb., which is the cheapest I've seen in a long time, and so I bought a pound of it, last week. This week, beef chuck roast was on sale for $5.98/lb. and I purchased a 2 lb. chuck roast. The last time I had bought beef was on July 3, 2024, when I bought a 3 lb. chuck roast at $6.99/lb.
So, this week, I will be cooking both ground beef and the chuck roast and freezing some of it.
February Week 1 Meal Plan (2/1 - 2/7):
Brunches: Milkrice with sambols (Saturday and Sunday); eggs, sausages, toast; peanut butter sandwiches with bananas, French toast; oatmeal; pancakes with sausages
Dinners: Leftover fried rice (Saturday); beef curry with rice and vegetables; ground beef with potatoes and vegetables; beef stir fry with vegetables over rice; leftovers.
Snacks/Desserts: Fresh fruit; smoothies; bread pudding and/or banana muffins; cereal and milk; peanut butter toast; yogurt; cheetos
That's the plan; we shall see how it works out.
How about you? Do you have a meal plan for the first week of February?
I always have a meal plan that I usually blow apart the first or second day of the week. My meals plans are always based on what I have at home and rarely include a trip to the store unless I am out of something.
ReplyDeleteI enjoy reading about your planned meals and the actual meals you prepare. :) I am currently in my "I don't want to cook" mood, so, poor daughter was served a frozen chimichunga (warmed, up, of course) and a salad for dinner, tonight. She was pretty happy with it, though.
DeleteNo matter what you serve I bet your daughter is happy that she doesn't have to cook everything for herself these days.
DeleteThank you, June; yes, that's what she says, herself. The is thankful that she doesn't have to cook right now. And I just noticed that I had misspelled "chimichanga" in my previous reply!
DeleteAny attempt at a meal plan for me has ended in disaster. I just try and keep decent priced staples in and then rummage in the cupboards when I know who I'm feeding.
ReplyDeleteMeal planning doesn't always work for me, either, but, I like to have at least a list of suggestions to go by. Your way works well, too, since you keep the necessary items on hand to prepare the meals based on who you are feeding on a given day. :)
DeleteIt makes sense to plan around what is available and affordable. After all, that's the way people lived in the old days, no exotic, out of season foods then. I don't buy beef often either, now, but I did get a good deal on some ground beef a few weeks ago and portioned it out and froze some.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Bushlady; yes, eating seasonally is the way to go, especially now! I do have some of my summer fruits and vegetables preserved, so, that's a bonus. You did well to buy the ground beef on sale and freeze some of it. :)
DeleteI got to the end! I keep getting error messages and having to reload the page so I'm giving myself a pat on the back and, with that, will bid you good night!
ReplyDeleteElla
Yay! You are all caught up on your reading! Definitely give yourself a pat on the back and have a very good night. Hope you sleep well. :)
DeleteI had already read everything, but I can't always post a comment so I had fallen behind with that. I would have added more comments but as I said, I kept getting an error message and having to repeat ever and over, which was very frustrating for me - but possibly a relief to you ;o)
DeleteI'm sorry you keep getting error messages when you try to comment. That is very frustrating! I do appreciate you trying to comment and you know that I enjoy reading your comments. :)
DeleteI usually do a meal plan but after I've looked at sales. Though sometimes I do have an idea for a couple of meals and go from there. I do like having some sort of plan in the end as it's a lot easier than trying to work out what's for dinner every day!
ReplyDeleteMeal planning after you've looked at the sales ads and seeing what deals there are is the best way to do it. But, of course, sometimes, we want something specific, don't we? And that's fine too. Having even a vague idea of a plan makes it easy and helps us to remember to take something out of the freezer in time to thaw it, etc. :)
DeleteAs I'm always trying to lose weight we do meal plan altho' there are times when we decide we don't like the planned meal and have a quick bacon and eggs!
ReplyDeleteBacon and eggs is one of my favorite meals, Chris. I like to have "breakfast for dinner" every so often. :)
DeleteYour fried rice always looks so good.
ReplyDeleteI remember when you bought that roast last year. You really were creative with it and made it last a long time as I recall.
I see you will eat the breakfast sausage you bought last week at breakfast. I wondered if you might have it at dinner as well.
Stay tuned, right?
Thank you, Debra.
DeleteYes, I made that beef last a long time, didn't I? Not sure how long I can make this piece of beef last. :)
We have been enjoying the sausages at brunch (maybe I should call it a late lunch, because we usually eat our first meal of the day quite late). I might make breakfast for dinner, one day, next week. :)