Last week my family and I spent ski week in a house with a couple of other families. I had planned out the week’s meals and everyone took turns cooking. My friend, Valerie, (in the photo with me) asked me if I regularly planned meals. I told her that I only do large shopping every other week and once a week pick up fresh food as needed. I am able to do this because I plan 2 weeks worth of meals at a time. Yes, it takes a little effort, but once you get started and in a routine, you can plan 2 weeks of meals in about an hour at the most. She loved the idea and suggested that I share my meal plans with everyone. So, here you go. Here is what my family is eating for the next 2 weeks. We use the leftovers for lunches a couple of times a week as well.
Basic instructions. Most of my recipes come from my favorite cook books. They are on my resources page with links to Amazon to buy them. Many of the recipes have my hand written notes on how I change them. I do use some frozen dinners from time to time. Mostly when my husband is traveling and my son is home with a sitter. I don’t like teenagers using a gas range. I also use some frozen convenience foods on the nights my husband is cooking. He’s not a cook and he usually has to put something on the table within 30 minutes. When you are choosing convenient options, read the labels. Stay away from Canola oil unless it’s organic. Try to buy things with as little ingredients as possible.
Take my plan and use it. Go through the recipes and write out your shopping list. If you’ve never done meal planning in the past, start with just planning 2 or 3 meals per week. Once you get started, you’ll see how easy it is. I’ll be sharing my 2 week meal plans every other week and you’ll see how the recipes change with the seasons. I hope you find this helpful and enjoy the process as well as the joy of knowing what’s for dinner.
Menu 2:27 (click on this link to view a PDF of the 2 week plan)
Cajun Red Beans and Quinoa Cajun Red beans
Lentils and Spinach Dal Lentils:Spinach Dal
Chickpea Pasta Chickpea Pasta
Sweet Potato Fries Sweet Potato Fries
Fish Sticks Fish sticks
Coconut Soup Coconut Soup
Salmon Salmon
