Short Cuts In Planning Your Weeks Menu

Hello Followers,


Another weekend shot in the foot!!!! I went and visited my mum over the weekend and a break from cooking I did not have. Mum feels not confident enough to cook meals that are sugar free so has me do all the cooking. Honestly I think this is a big cop-out as if anyone ever cooks using only fresh/ natural ingredients, it is my mum. Having been bought up on a farm miles from any shops (and in the good old days), her main meal recipes usually involve home grown or fresh vegetables, meats, fish, and chicken. There definitely are no tinned/bottled/ packeted products of any kind added to her cooking. Everything is from scratch. Mind you the afternoon teas and desserts she is also famous for are a definite no-no sugar wise. But that is a whole bottled other story. Living on her own, I really think she just loves someone else cooking and knows that my meals are centred around what she likes. Oh well...... but it would be nice to have a break from the cooking sometimes (whinge, whinge!!!!).


Now in the last post I suggested to you all that I would give some hints on how to plan the weeks meals so that not so much planning/ cooking is required especially if you work. Granted that in my household there is only Ralphy and I, but we both do shift work and often have opposing shifts. So I find myself having to prepare/cook meals ahead of time especially when I have a late followed by an early shift and Ralphy is on the opposite time schedule.....and he doesn't cook full stop!!! He is a great washer-upper and will warm up meals in the microwave, but that is where he draws the line. So what do I do.... well........

Before we get into the guts of it....yuck....what a horrible word!!!!........I suggest you start with a blank meal planning calendar. Make a list of what you have on hand in the freezer, fridge and pantry. This way when you plan you can add to your plan some make-ahead meals or preparations as you go. At this stage, it is a good idea to check with your family what is happening in their lives for the week that may interfer with your well laid plans!!! Do you need to make a meal in 15 minutes for example versus 30 minutes and what days work best for you for baking and meal preparation. And don't forget to plan around leftovers. They always seem to get a bad rap but with a little imagination to 'spice' things up, leftovers can be a very handy resource especially on busy nights...... and a saving. I so hate wasting good food by having to throw it out.


Below is an example of the sort of week I usually plan for Ralphy and I. It is by no means set in concrete as there is always the inevitable event happening in our lives, not to mention changes in our shifts. But it should give you a heads up and help you 'connect the dots' especially when you read some of the hints that follow this menu plan. 

	SUNDAY	MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY	SATURDAY
Lunch	Grilled Foccacia (may use some of the grilled left-over vegetables from roast dinner Saturday night), grill eggplant.	Rice salad (use frozen rice from previous week and defrosted meatballs) or quick omelets in microwave, parsley, some left over  roasted vegetables).	Salsa of tomatoes, capsicum, chives basil, fetta cheese, olives, diced beef (from previous weeks roast beef) on slice of toast	Left over Pizza	Pasta (defrosted) with diced grilled chicken. Add freshly diced salad vegetables….tomatoes, capsicum, capers, microwaved sliced broccolini, greek yoghurt, Dijon mustard.	Potato wedges with greek yoghurt, fish cakes (defrosted from previous week), fresh green salad	Lamb jaffels (use left over lamb casserole)
Dinner	Pasta with steamed broccoli, mushrooms, and grilled bacon. (Cook extra pasta and freeze)	Lamb casserole with mashed potatoes and buttered French beans (freeze leftovers)	Pizza night (use vegetables leftover from Sunday) with some grilled chicken (double for next day)	Steak and vegetables	Grilled fish with home made potato wedges (double up)and fresh salad	Spaghetti with meatballs, Garlic bread or rolls (freeze extra meatballs)	Roasted Chicken (double, freeze leftovers.) roasted vegetables (double, smaller  dice, freeze)

Hint 1. Purchase a huge piece of beef/ lamb and roast it. When cooked, cut into several segments. One segment I will use for dinner that night as a lovely roast dinner. Another piece I usually finely dice and place in a container in the fridge (this I use for lunches...see hint 4 below). Another piece I will cut up into slightly larger pieces and place in a container in the freezer. This container I will use later in the week to make a curry or pasta meal (see 5 below).


Hint 2. After removing the roast meat from the baking tray, add some water to the dish and bring back to the boil (I do this on the top of the stove on a coil) to dissolve all the lovely meat juices. I then decanter some of this liquid into a jug leaving only enough in the baking dish to make a lovely gravy for the night meal. I won't tell you how to make a gravy here as I know you have this under you belt already....right????


When the liquid in the jug has cooled, I pour this into several of those lovely little silicone cupcake containers that are so popular nowadays and freeze. Make sure you place these cupcake containers on a tray before filling with the cooled meat juice as it is much easier to handle. Once frozen, they are very easy to demould and then place in a freezer bag for later use in flavouring meals.


Hint 3. When cooking the roast over several hours, prepare lots of vegetables. And I mean lots of all sorts of vegetables. Potatoes, pumpkin, onions, celery, garlic, carrots, sweet potatoes, beetroot, parsnips, mushrooms, capsicums.....whatever you like or have. Usually for the dinner that night with the roast beef, I will select some of the potatoes, sweet potatoes, onions, pumpkin, and carrots and leave in roast dinner sized pieces. The remainder of the vegetables I cut into much smaller pieces (about 2cm) and mix together in a big bowl with some olive oil, fresh rosemary and paprika. I then place these vegetables on a tray (or two) that has been covered with baking/non-stick paper and pop into the oven to cook with the roasting meat that should be merrily cooking away. Keep an eye on these vegetables and stir after 20 minutes or so to cook evenly. Usually these vegetables are ready after around 40 minutes depending on the heat of your oven. When cooked, remove from oven and allow to cool. Place in a sealed container in the refrigerator. Then I place the remaining vegetables (cut into the bigger pieces) in the oven for the dinner that night.


Hint 4. When you need to cook rice (hopefully brown rice!!!!), make sure you cook up heaps of it. Take what you require for your dinner that night and place the remainder into sealed containers and freeze for later use. You can do the same with pastas especially the shells and penne, tubes, and bows.


Hint 5. Grow in pots near your back door (or on the kitchen sill if you gets lots of sunlight), herbs for flavouring your dishes. Because you are not using lots of sugar-laden sauces, herbs are a great food enhancer. Of course, there is always the supermarket until these herbs get growing!!! And don't forget a bowl of lemons kept on the kitchen bench for that quick squeeze of fresh lemon juice to finish a dish....it's a must have and allowable.


I also always have available in the refrigerator fresh Parmesan cheese (for grating on my dishes), feta cheese, mozzarella cheese, natural greek yogurt, kalamata olives, a bottle of capers, and some Dijon mustard.


Hint 5. For a lunch or light dinner, combine a defrosted container of rice or pasta with some of the roasted chopped up vegetables you had already cooked (hint 3), the diced roast meat (hint 1), perhaps some additional pieces of diced feta cheese, a few thinly sliced sun-dried tomatoes, fresh basil leaves, and some yummy sliced kalamata olives. Or save the meat for another meal and instead quickly place some bacon rashers in the microwave on absorbent paper and zap for a minute or so until cooked and then dice and add to the dish...... or open a tin of your favourite fish.... or break a couple of eggs in a microwave safe bowl and mix with some salt and a dash of milk and cook for a minute (according to your microwave instructions), then chop up and add to rice or pasta dish....or if wanting a nice hot meal, don't forget to use one of the roast meat 'stock cubes' you made in hint 2.......... or....


Do you see what I am suggesting here. By thinking ahead and having some of the meals already partly prepared, it is not that time consuming or difficult to make entirely different dishes by just adding a few optional ingredients each time. And don't forget the herbs in these options. Basil, parsley, chives really add lots of flavour as does a squeeze of lemon juice and a dash of good olive oil.


I hope these few helpful suggestions have started you thinking of a more healthy, and enjoyable way of cooking that isn't too labour intensive or brain zapping and free of sugar, in particular fructose!!! It will take a bit of getting used to initially I am sure (as does anything new) but with a little practise, planning, and patience, you will reap the rewards in no time. Meals will be so healthy, inviting and tasty...... and you will actually find that your grocery bill won't be that bad either. 


Most of your shopping will be around the periphery of the supermarket with only occasionalvisits to the rice, pasta, and flour lanes. Someone once told me to commence my weeks plan at the end of the week after the weeks supermarket specials come out. Hey, if this works for you and your family is on a budget or if you simply want to cut back on your spending, then go for it. 


Oh...and I almost forgot to give you the best hint of all time.....POST YOUR MEAL PLAN. Stick it on the fridge. This way, your whole family know what they'll be having for dinner and can help out by commencing dinner if you are running late or take something out of the freezer. Of course if you are married to someone like my Ralphy, then you may just starve....or have to resort to vegamite on toast!!!!


So good luck my cherubs in your menu planning..... and don't forget....
..........sleep tight and don't let the bed bugs bite..........Noels