We’ve decided that our easiest form of meal planning is to come up with the next three meals, suppers mainly. We consider variety – not only with the meats we choose, but also the ethnicity of the meal, as well as “leftover” potential for lunches. We back up the meats with a good variety of vegetables and fruits. A quick check of our staple pantry items, and we’re good to go.
Other things we consider during this planning stage of the next three meals are:
Our eating habits. We’re not big on sandwiches, we require a lot of variety (unless it’s leftovers!), if we purchase whole fruit like apples or pears, we never seem to finish them, but if we buy a couple types of melon/fruit and cut it up in a bowl in the fridge – we eat it all;
What we require from each meal. What do we know will make enough for 2 supper portions and 2 lunch portions, and what’s the backup plan? How ‘heavy’ is our day and how long will this need to last us. We also try to have a good balance of what will hold us until the next snack or meal, but not sit heavy in our stomachs and make us tired and sluggish in the afternoon;
Then we look at how much time is required and how long we really have. Sometimes we know our days are going to be a little more hectic than others. On these days we want healthy, quick, and fantastic flavours, and whether we need to get some prep work done either the evening before or the morning of. If I know (should all go well on that particular day!) that I’ll be home earlier than normal, then that’s when I like to plan a meal that we really enjoy but takes a little more time.
For breakfast, we’re breakfast shake people. Mike chooses a whey protein shake, and I love love love my Isagenix Isalean shake. For my menu business, I like to include breakfast smoothie recipes. Shakes and smoothies are just perfect for people heading out to work, or people who aren’t big on breakfast. Don’t forget that breakfast is the most important meal of the day.
For lunch, we like leftovers. We will tend to choose dishes that will taste delicious when heated (or not) the next day. Dishes we enjoy that don’t bode well for reheating, we save for weekend cooking. We have been known to cart either a toaster oven or microwave off to work with us! Hey, whatever it takes!
I guess the only other thing we consider when choosing our supper dishes is the season. Aside from a nice roast, we would rarely have a winter dish in the summer. But who knows, we’re in Calgary now and we’ve had snow over the last three days!
Filed under: The Food Issue Tagged: | breakfast, dinner, how to grocery shop, leftovers, lunch, meal plan, meal planning, meals, next three meals
