Menu Planning Learning Curve

Menu planning is still going great! I get excited each day to cook and eat dinner. But, there is definitley a learning curve!

Things I'm learning:

1. Stick to the shopping list unless you can't find what you need: I bought way too many vegis this week. Even though I did use the recipes to build my shopping list - at the grocery store I still popped extra produce in my cart. I couldn't resist - some of it looked so delicious. That may prove to be a mistake as I'm betting we might have to toss some vegis. Luckily, I can use some to incorporate into next week. The second part of this lesson is the "unless" part. If I can't find certain ingredients or other ones are better priced, I need to be flexible. Sometimes I'll have to swap out recipes or try substitutes.

 

2. Create a leftover day or fridge clean-out day: Fortunately we've been eating the meal leftovers for lunch or sharing with family. But, with the leftover ingredients it would be smart to reserve a day to make a "shipwreck" of the vegis and ingredients that remain. I'm definitely going to do that this weekend by making a scramble or stir fry.

 

3. Learn the food seasons: I think I need to brush up a bit on my gardening knowledge and learn which produce will be available/best at certain times. For instance, My CA veggie sandwich recipe calls for alfalfa sprouts. I can't find those right now. I'm sure I would if I went to Whole Foods. Interestingly, I looked it up and found that sprouts can be grown year-around. I'm not sure why I can't find them. Anyone know whats up with that?

 

4. Plan better: Hmm, I wasn't sure how to word that lesson. I just need to do better. haha. Basically, I need to gain better grocery wisdom and choose recipes that correlate well. For instance, I can always find a way to use up tomatoes, but all that parsley and cilantro in the fridge? nope, not sure what to do with it. So I need to tie together recipes linked by the rarer/lesser used ingredients. I read a tip about freezing fresh herbs in olive oil in an ice tray. Maybe I'm silly, but I thought oil didn't freeze well...? Anyone have experience with that? If not - I'll be making some salsa and umm still not sure what to do with the parsley. And all that ginger root?

 

5. Budget: yep, budgeting is the obvious tie-in to menu planning. I'm learning all these fun recipes can get pricey. It's time to get strict and map out my spending. That will lead to better planning and it all wraps together for domestic efficiency!

 

6. I have the best boyfriend/cooking partner: My boyfriend helps me out for dinner by prepping with me. But more than that, he makes cleanup a breeze!! After we are done eating all that's left to clean are the serving dishes, our plates and the utensils! While I cook, he's whisking behind me in the kitchen cleaning up my spills, tossing the produce remains, and doing the dishes. He was even vacuuming the floor as I was stirring the fried rice tonight. He is amazing!! I'm so grateful for him. He's also willing to eat anything I make however exotic or strange. We're a perfect pair. :)

 

The quinoa fried rice turned out delicious tonight! I halved the recipe, and it still made 4 servings or more. I added bean sprouts, red bell pepper, cauliflower and radishes. I also used two eggs instead of one. I scrambled the eggs into the mix at the end instead of frying them. It was so wonderful! (sorry I forgot to add pictures, the original link has great photos though). I overate a tad because it was so good. Fortunately I had time to squeeze in a tough workout today and taught a fun teen yoga class. Life is great today!

Happy Wednesday, readers! Hope you're eating well and smiling lots.

 

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