Meal Planning

Busy Men & Women can find managing the kitchen and meal planning and preparations a large challenge. The trend towards fast foods and convenience foods is common today as a solution to deal with this challenge. I walk into a nearby grocery store and find the freezer packed with hotdogs,french fries, chicken shamiannas....all junkies.

I am not so convinced that these types of helps for us are answers to prayers. The food is loaded with bad fats, MSG, sugar and poor quality ingredients in general. They add preservatives and coloring so it is shelf stable and looks appealing. Perhaps the answer lies more in improving the skills of managing the kitchen so as to give us the extra time we need in our days and to be able to feed our family better quality food. When you are looking at where to start in managing your kitchen remember that every homemaker must have a plan.

The first step is to make a menu. Make a grocery list from your recipes making sure to check your pantry for any of the needed items. Having a well stocked pantry is helpful for good kitchen management.If you have not done this before, begin by writing down all the meals that are your family's favorites. Keep this list posted somewhere (perhaps in a 3-ring organizer/binder, on the back of cupboard door, your computer, etc). Each week take out the list and pick about 5 meals from it. Pull out all the recipes for that week and put them in one place for easy access. Fill in your calendar with the meals you want to eat on their proper night. Make sure you consider what types of things are happening during the week. If you will be gone all day, don't plan a complicated meal. Pick an easy crock pot meal instead and prepare it before you leave. Save two nights each week for eating up leftovers, trying out a new recipe, having a sandwich night or a "cook's night off". Take time each evening to look at the next day's menu and see what needs to be done that night. Do you need to take anything out of the freezer? Do you need to cook some beans in the crockpot overnight so they will be ready the next morning?

If you feel you just don't have the time to spend to organize this area let me encourage you that as we look at our roles

and put the things of our lives into priority we realize the care and feeding of our family is pretty high on the list.