For a long time, now, I have been trying to get organized with a meal plan. Last year I found this book called More Time Mom's Family Meals. It has 6 weeks of meals with a shopping list for each week. This worked for a while but it just didn't fit out family's needs. I'm a vegetarian (the rest of the family eats both kinds of meals), and most of the meals have meat in them and I am not that good at translating the recipes into meat-free.
Since finding that book, I have decided to eat more "clean" diet. No refined sugar, very little processed/pre-packaged foods and no artificial preservatives. On top of that, my husband is making HUGE changes to his eating habits and for the next little while we need to avoid pasta (as the main dish), casseroles and heavy sauces. Quite simply the perfectly organized meal plan I want to create has a whole lot of random restrictions!
So, for now, I am going to try to break down what I want to accomplish and work on each goal separately:
1. Use every leftover.
2. Double 1 meal every 2 weeks so it can be frozen for a later date.
3. Start a "Freezer Meal Exchange" group.
4. Come up with a meal plan every week, for 6 weeks.
5. Create a ready made shopping list for each of the 6 weeks.
Task #1 (and #4)
Freezer soup.
One of my friends showed me how she adds leftovers to a container that is left in the freezer. I thought that was a great idea but at the time I was intimidated by cooking so the idea was stored away. Now, I think I am ready to do it - I mean it can't be any worse then it is right now! If the soup turns out gross then it gets thrown out - just the same as all those leftovers getting thrown out now...
On the menu this week:
- Moroccan Chickpea Stew with couscous {recipe from a good friend}
- Broccoli, whole roasted chicken/pan fried tofu with salt and pepper, carrots, butternut squash and potato
- Orange marinated salmon, mixed salad (with homemade dressing), rice {recipe: More Time Mom's}
- Beef/tofu stir fry with peppers and rice noddles {recipe: More Time Mom's}
- Asparagus and cheese quiche with whole wheat pie crust and salad{pie crust recipe}
As for the soup...
I feel like I still need a plan so I started with some veggie broth and added the leftover carrots, broccoli and chicken. I will add either some leftover rice or rice noodles (depending how the stir fry is made). I usually just make veggie puree soups but this one will be more like a chicken noodle with chunks of veggies. Not sure if that is enough for 2 3/4 servings of soup but we will see!
p.s. Just in case you are curious: I don't eat chicken but I try to have a serving of fish twice a month. This will be the first time, in a long time, that I have had meat in my soup...
