It’s a hard task trying to work out what’s for dinner at 5.30pm after a busy day. Kids are usually at their busiest, with homework, after school activities or younger ones are tired and ready to be feed and fussed over. It’s little wonder that we are so often scurrying out the door at 6.30pm for takeaway. Even if there is meat and veges in the fridge it’s still difficult at this time of day to decide on what to make for dinner. Organizing quick easy meals for the coming week could be easy, if you spend 15 minutes a a week on an organizing whats for dinner routine.
Plan the meals carefully, by including some dishes which you can cook in double quantities and you can cut your kitchen time down from 7 full nights meals to 5 or even 4. Organizing whats for dinner routine, should be a habit, you try and form, by consistently making a menu plan each week on the same day, at around about the same time.
Organizing dinner for the family each evening, is definitely a labor of love. Organizing dinner with the help of a menu planning routine habit is one that will save you loads of stress for the week ahead. By getting out a piece of paper each menu plan Monday and deciding on seven dinners for the coming week, the 5pm cries of “mum what’s for dinner?”. Will have you no longer staring blankly into the refrigerator, or diving for your car keys and racing out the door, yet again, for the nearest takeaway. Try an Organizing whats for dinner routine, habit, for your family for the week instead.
Why menu plan Monday?
Monday is the first day of the work week and the best day to decide on the weeks seven dinners. Menu planning might seem like a chore but it’s not, so long as you do it the easy way. Start with seven dinners you know are easy to make. You might need to shop for the ingredients, prior to shopping day which in my case is a Thursday. That means you do your planning on a Monday, but start your new weeks menu on a Friday.
Organizing your families dinners in advance has many benefits for you, the chef.
Advantage of Menu Planning Monday for Organizing dinners
1. Making the dinner decision each day is a thing of the past.
2. Save money racing to the corner store for missing ingredients.
3. Save money going out for takeaways. It also saves you time and petrol.
4. Stick to your plan and don’t let the I don’t like it’s, see you racing back into the kitchen to prepare a different meal for a fussy eater. It’s said children require seven tries of a food to get used to it’s taste. The fussy one should be given a tiny portion for their try and can then fill up on your side dish’s with the addition of some bread and perhaps some fruit with ice cream for dessert.
5. Never prepare an entirely different meal for different family members.
6. An organized family dinner each night requires the help of all the family. Little ones can set the table. Older siblings can help with the prep and husbands are great at drying up.
7. Be sure to have all your washing up from prior meals finished before you start organizing dinner.
8. As soon as you begin cooking any meal, fill the sink with hot soapy water so you can wash and rinse stuff as you go.
9. Make certain to wash up after the meal. It wont take long to turn this into a routine habit.
10. Stick to organizing quick easy meals for your menu planning when you first begin.
Organizing whats for dinner routine “Seven Nights Dinners 13.08.12 to 19.08.12 Menu Plan”
Monday. Beef Stroganoff with rice and vegetables
Tuesday: Chicken marinaded in Cajun marinade with peas and corn
Wednesday: Assorted open grilled sandwiches and fresh fruit salad and ice cream
Thursday: Pizza
Friday: Steak and Chips with Salad
Saturday: Chicken korma curry with rice and nan bread
Sunday: Bacon, eggs, baked beans, toast
For some great recipes you could check out these sites:
Quick week night dinners for $3.00 or less
These guys are a US magazine website, that focus on eating. eatingwell.com
delish.com easy weeknight dinners
100 plus quick fixes including no cook dinners, delish.com
Call to action
Your turn. I love to hear what’s for dinner at my readers homes. You can leave me a comment and tell us what your next seven dinners will be. Don’t forget to join our face book page and you’ll never miss a post, if you subscribe to routine habit by email or RSS. Good luck with your organizing whats for dinner routine and make sure to call back here each week to check out our menu plan and share yours.
As always, thanks for reading,
by: Sharon Thoms
