Meal Planning, if you’ve never had to do it before, can be mysterious and time consuming.
Don’t Panic!
My first try at meal planning was for a 2 week stint into the desert for a Star Party – if I didn’t pack it, I didn’t have it. Space was limited so I pre packaged serving sizes of dry pasta and packets of spices for different meals. Estimated how much water (2 gallons a day per person) and alcohol (not sharing those stats :-)) we would need.
I spent weeks (okay, it was months) reading about what items would last longer, discovering we refrigerate way too much and many things last much longer that you would expect. And looking for recipes with overlapping ingredients.
- Chili – onion, bell pepper, and serrano peppers,
- Spaghetti – onion, bell pepper, mushrooms, olives
- Omelette – onion, spinach, mushrooms
You get the idea… oh, and serranos, avocado, lime (also for margaritas), onions for guacamole with Kiwi Salsa…. on the second to the last day in the desert… yumm!
Everything overlaps when you Meal Plan.
That said – the basics are easy.
Everyone has a group of dishes that they make on a regular basis, unless you subsist on take out, so start with them.
List the components in order:
- Protein
- Veggies
- Carbs
- Dairy
- Spices
If you are relying on prepackaged meals or meal components like pasta or bread, check out serving sizes. If you are planning for 14 days – you might want to work out 16 with the last two being things you can pull from the freezer (pizza) or the pantry (chili).
In of my favorite episodes of Antony Bourdain’s Parts Unknown, he goes to Antartica and we are introduced to some amazing meal planning. Watch it and you’ll learn all about “freshies” and how they prioritize when they eat what.
R and I are doing soups, rice bowls and leftovers for lunches.
I also grabbed my fav Bubbies Pickles for tuna fish sandwiches… I know, plebeian, but my comfort food.
Dinners, I focused on protein (frozen fish, a roast, plenty of chicken breasts, ground turkey and beef, and tofu), lots veggies (for salads, steamed, and stir-fired), and we have frozen GF/Corn free pizza dough, rice and potatoes.
Breakfast is the usual – eggs (omelettes if there is time) and frozen hash browns, or toast.
Home made treats? Think easy or fun – make cookies or bake your favorite quick bread. Although R could live on chips and salsa.
If you are cooking don’t forget the basics: Milk, Butter, Eggs, Flour (GF?), Sugar, lemons, limes, coffee or tea, baking soda/powder, cooking oils and condiments – check your spice cabinet for anything that is low.
If you really don’t want to go out again for 2 weeks – don’t assume.
And, don’t just stock up on comfort food. You will eat it first, you will eat it fast, and then you will be left with all the boring things you bought because you were focused on your treats. And, depending on your comfort food of choice (mine was goldfish crackers in my 20s and scotch in my 30’s) you may feel decidedly ill.
Don’t change too much!
This is not the time to try that complicated dish you’ve always wanted (unless you are way more organized than I am – I would forget something that couldn’t be substituted and find myself back in the hot zone) or think that just because you are working from home you will have time. It amazes me how much time “fun” cooking can take out of my day, let alone just getting the basic three meals done.
Be flexible!
The internet is your friend, there are tons of sites that will help you find substitutions. Forgot the eggs for baking cookies? You can use flax seed. Lemon juice subs for vinegar (or vice versa). Tomato past and water for tomato sauce (if desperate)
If you are freaked out about buying too much “fresh” veggies/fruits divide your list into fresh/frozen/canned.
Sex it up!
That can of chili mentioned above can be augmented with some hot peppers, grated cheese, blue cheese dressing (an R favorite), and additional spices to make it pop. R loves it over GF rotini.
Take your sanitizer, gloves, mask… what every else makes you feel safe and based on your personal level of risk. Some grocery stores have special hours for seniors, the immunocompromised and those pregnant. The link is for Portland, OR but I’m hoping other parts of the country are following suit.
The key is to be prepared so before you go…
Wander through you house and make a list. Is your can opener broken? Do you need foil or parchment paper? Do you have batteries? Magazines? Coloring books? What about paper towels and that harder to find than gold… toilet paper.
And finally….
Don’t forget the Meds!
Check your meds, supplements, alcohol and cannabis* supplies and make sure you have enough for 14+ days. Your health and relationship may depend on this.
Don’t forget the pets!
Make sure you have enough meds, food and litter.
They may need a treat too – something to distract them so they don’t drive you crazy while you try to work!
~ The Raven & the Hummingbird
*Where legal of course 🙂
The Raven and the Hummingbird 