I am not too familiar with Steve Jobs, or whether or not he participated in the meal planning at his household. I do know, however, according to the articles that I have read, that he along with several other intelligent people, chose to wear the same outfit every day, to cut down on the day to day question, “What do I wear?” Steve Jobs recognized that he had many important decisions to make as a leader of a successful company and did not want to waste precious time on something as insignificant as what to where.
When we have high-stress jobs in which we have to make many decisions, we can suffer from decision fatigue if we inundate ourselves with too many decisions and not enough time to relax.
I’m going to be honest here, I did not know how to cook anything, other than macaroni and cheese and microwave meals until I was about 20. I used to be terrified of the kitchen, keeping it clean, planning meals, and making meals. In my early 20s, it all felt like some impossible tasks that I would never be able to master. Yet, combined with the component that my groceries are on my assigned expenditures, grocery shopping is one of my chores, and I am off earlier in the afternoon…
I am now the meal planner, grocery shopper, and I normally make 5 dinners a week.
After years down the road of fine-tuning the process and feeling a little bit more comfortable in the kitchen, and although I would not say that I love any of those tasks, they are also not my least favorite tasks either… that would be doing laundry. I will share with you some of the tips that have really helped me get my feet wet, so to speak.
I Meal Plan/Grocery Shop Two Weeks at a Time
I have been planning out our meals for at least 8 years now and I can honestly say that it has significantly benefited my marriage. When my husband and I first lived together, we would have a list of some basic items that we needed: eggs, cat food, coffee, milk, cereal. We may have one meal specifically planned out, but for the most part, when we would go to the grocery store, we would just grab 10 different meats, 10 different sides, and 10 different vegetables for our meals.
This resulted in 2 problems for us: 1) we ended up buying more food than we needed and wasting money and 2) for us, there was nothing worse than trying to figure out what to make for dinner when we were home, hungry, and tired for work. No combination of food ever sounded right and would often result in us giving in and going out to eat.
For my family, a “Steve Jobs” approach to meals has been life-changing. I sit down a few nights before I am going to go grocery shopping with my calendar in hand to get an idea of what kind of schedule I am working with. I ask my husband and oldest son if they have any requests for dinners or groceries in general. More often than not, they don’t have any suggestions, so I am left to my own devices with the grocery list (so nobody better complain when I make kielbasa and sour kraut for dinner!)
A rough sample of one of my meal plans could be:
- Tacos (ground turkey, whole wheat wraps), Spanish rice, and corn
- Kielbasa, sour kraut, macaroni & cheese, and peas
- Crock pot pulled chicken and buns, cottage cheese, and green beans
- Leftovers
- Frozen pizza and broccoli
- Fish, couscous, lima beans
We assign meals to days, but it’s okay if we switch it up here and there, as long as we keep the whole meal together. (we may eat the fish meal planned on March 4th instead of the 6th, but whenever we eat the fish dinner, we also eat the couscous and lima beans). I plan out all specifics to the meal so there is no planning involved the day of the meal.
I do, at times, have to run to the store more frequently than every two weeks, but it is often a quick run in to grab more produce or some other perishable item.
Lazy Meals
I have “lazy meals” planned at least once a week for the days when my husband and kids will be getting home later and I will not be home in time for dinner. I labeled them lazy meals because they require little effort and can be done one-handed if necessary. Our “lazy meals” are normally frozen pizza, chicken nuggets and fries, hot dogs, or leftovers. Normally we only have lazy meals on those infrequent solitary parent nights unless I was able to set up a Crock Pot meal that morning.
“If it ain’t broken, don’t fix it” aka Repeat Meals
Before I had kids, I had an issue with repeating a meal more than once in a month or two. I needed variety. Now that I work full time and have kids, I just want food that is generally healthy and that my kids will eat. One of those dinners is tacos. We buy small store brand whole wheat tortillas, cook ground turkey, and bring out some assorted toppings for the tacos. I usually make Spanish rice, and once in while, I may make vegetarian refried beans. We eat this meal usually at least every two weeks.
I consistently make this meal so much that there has been an ongoing well-meaning joke with my in-laws that every time we have my brother or sister-in-law over for dinner, I make tacos. Two years ago, it just so happened that about 3 times in a row, each time that I happened to invite them over, tacos happened to be for dinner that night. It was a few months apart and I did not even realize that had happened till the third time. But there is no denying it, our family loves to eat tacos. We have young kids, so I figure that if it is something that I can count on them to eat more often then not, then why not make it at least once every two weeks?
10 or More Ingredients is Not for Me
I like to make new recipes here and there, often found on Pinterest. Usually I make these meals on a Sunday when we are not in a rush to make dinner. 10 ingredients exactly may not be a completely hard and fast rule for me, but I know that if I see a list of ingredients or steps that seems incredibly long, I listen to my inner voice and do not plan to make that meal.
My Crock Pot is Magic
Ok, well my Crock Pot may not be able to summon a patreonous (Harry Potter reference), however, I do think that it is pretty magical. I love how I can throw a frozen meat and a few random items in my Crock pot in the morning and when I come home that afternoon, dinner is ready to be served and the house smells awesome. If you don’t love Crock pots, I recommend that you find some other small kitchen appliance that you feel speeds up the dinner process for you. I have heard great thinks about Instant Pots, although I have not tried one myself.
Taking this approach has saved me much time and many headaches. What is your approach to meal planning?
