Anneke Haggen:: Meal Planning

Last week we had the pleasure of hearing from Anneke Haggen, whose experience with meal planning and budgeting helped facilitate the discussion we all wanted to have: why and how do we meal plan?

Why meal plan?

• Helps you stay on budget
• You can be more creative with meals a couple of times per week if you're prepared to be
• There's freedom in the time you have before dinnertime because you're not worried about "what's for dinner?"
• Less trips to the store with kids!

What often are the "decision drivers" for your menu?

• the need for variety
• different dietary preferences
• the weekly schedule--what you eat depends on activities and how much time there is to cook
• what's spoiling in the fridge
• what's in the house
• the degree of difficulty
• cost
• what's in season
• kid's preferences...

Now, this last one was a big one. It invited suggestions from the group as to how to manage the kiddo's say in meals, such as:

• Try to make at least one thing per meal or one meal per day that they'll eat
• Consider the philosophy "Today might be the day you like it! And you don't want to let that day go by!" (i.e. less parenting, more marketing)
• Involve kids in the choosing/planning of a meal, then praise their effort
• Serve meals family-style--they could surprise you with how much they serve themselves!
• Cut out the snack in the afternoon

What are some strategies to help make this work?

• Have a plan--write it out and display so it's easily seen and referenced
• Make a grocery list
• Find/steal time throughout the day to prep for dinner (5 minutes here, 10 minutes there...) OR on the weekend, prep for the entire week
• Invite kids to help with the prep--hand them their own little cutting board, a butter knife, and the veggies and let your little sous chef go to town.
• Crock pots!
• Use your freezer--make double the soup or pasta sauce and freeze the other half (and perhaps even keep an inventory of what's in there so you know what you have and use it!)
• Designate one night per week "_______ night"--taco night, pizza night, spaghetti night. 

Some group-suggested Favorite Family Meals:

• Teriyaki bowl 
• Grilled cheese/tuna melts with tomato soup
• Homemade pizza w/ Trader Joe's pizza dough
• Meatloaf w/ a little (or a lot) of brown sugar
• Baked chicken w/ goat cheese under the skin and a side green salad
• Yam + black bean burritos
• Pesto shrimp w/ rice or pasta
• Fried rice with your choice of protein (chicken, tofu, etc.)
• Mini pizzas on tortillas or flatbread
• Breakfast for dinner
• soup + salad + bread 

Baby Steps...

• Name one step you can take to better plan your family's dinners.
• Write down (a.k.a. "plan") two dinners your family can eat during the coming week. Include main dish and sides.
• Name a food prep shortcut or time-saver you could take that would help.

Resources--Websites
Gathered Table
eMeals
Cookus Interruptus
Dinner: A Love Story

Resources--Cookbooks
Feeding the Whole Family
Dinner: A Love Story

Others
Phone apps
Ordering groceries online
CSA local produce delivery (there are often Groupon deals available or refer-a-friend discounts when signing up)