A Few Random Thoughts

It feels like we have been quite busy. It's odd, because I quite often get a mid summer sense of "what's all the fuss about?" and am lulled into thinking I can handle the workload of an entire acreage, two kids, garden, sheep, chickens and pigs all by myself. This cockiness returns every year, you see, and once I've forgotten the frantic rush to get ready for winter, to bring in wood, put the garden to bed, tidy the garage and clean the house...it becomes February and I feel like there's nothing to do and by spring I am rarin' to go on a new venture or a bigger garden or a new rock wall....well, you see where this is going. Twice a year I fool myself into thinking I can do everything that needs done, and twice a year I fail, then forget, then do it all over again.

This year is different in that I have a 6 year old in school every day. Oh, how this has changed my life! I feel like I can do anything with just one little helper plodding along behind me. It's the lack of fighting, see. With only one boy here during the day he chatters my ear off and it exhausts me, but it is ever so different than listening to kids fight. Oh, so different!

We are out and about more, and this tires me. I have always liked to be alone. So being at the skating rink twice a week and helping at the school once a week has me very much all chatted out. I am also taking in two sweet little boys on a very part time basis! This will give poor little O something to do as he is very lonely without J most days. He's excited, and I'm happy for him. So this also gives us a couple of busy mornings per week and gives me some incentive to be more organized with my time.

The pigs. Oh, the pigs. They are growing nicely but I am the first to admit I didn't realize what I was getting into. I've been working my way through my mom's garden plus a couple aunt's and my neighbours. It all helps so much but three pigs eat. so. much. If you ever consider fattening pigs, arrange to get the wasted food from a bakery, grocery store or restaurant first. If I can ever secure a food source like that I might try pigs again. I plan to leave the pen as-is for future consideration. But I tell you, without a grain bin here and a way to haul and roll my own grain, it has been a lot of work to bring big tubs of grain from my parent's farm and keep these pigs happy. The whole other issue is going to be loading them. I need to build a ramp and the whole thing just stresses me out. My eye has been twitching for a week.

Husband has been away since July and we are all weary of this. Last night J pinned it all on me, and I can actually understand how he might think I am happy daddy is away. For one, I outright refuse to complain that my man is off making oodles of money while the whole area has ground to a halt and families have faced outrageously stressful decisions over the last two years. I try to keep my conversations grateful and optimistic in front of the kids. So maybe from that they are getting the sense that as long as there's money coming in, mom is happy. And in one way that is true, sorry to say. We are quite accustomed to there being a month or two (or three!) every year where there is simply no income. For that reason I am a saver and a planner and every day of work is a blessing that gives us stability.

That said, I am tuckered right out with single parenting and keeping up to the pigs and running the house. I very much need a break. It doesn't help that I now have the cold that my kids suffered with for a week. I am also coming off a more social than usual weekend, so I'm contemplating going and hiding under the bed rather than going door to door tonight asking for treats with my kids. There really are days that I wish I could phone it in. On the other hand, I am being self-indulgent and just wish Husband was here to do some heavy lifting. I know he wishes he was too.

On the bright side, we have been slowly cleaning each room in the house. I feel much better doing it now. I normally leave it until February thinking that it will give me something to do in my least favorite month of the year. But being tasked with one of my least favorite jobs at my least favorite times has not been working out that well. I feel happy seeing neat and tidy rooms (upstairs, at least. Somehow the main floor is getting increasingly cluttered as I clean!) and I know that our busier schedule is going to pull me through the winter months. The other moms at skating are very friendly and welcoming and it is, so far, a refreshing hour for me on both Mondays and Wednesdays. So, it appears, my little family is growing up and we now have to set foot out in the real world. I am doing my best and enjoying it so far. The introvert in me very much needs to regroup quietly, so I am planning that into my week and being as gentle on myself as I can. I had high hopes to clean more house today but it simply wasn't in me. I am getting better at recognizing the need to balance time out with therapeutic writing, sewing or tidying.

I hope everyone is having a lovely fall day. If Halloween is your thing, I hope it's a good one!

Weekly Column: Menu-planning for busy weeknights

Menu-planning for busy weeknights

School’s in. By now parents are adapting to whatever the kids’ new schedules will bring. For many, extra-curricular activities and homework are making weeknight evenings a challenge. Many parents juggle employment with childcare and shuttling kids back and forth to their commitments. It’s no wonder, really, that families don’t have time to eat at home. But who can afford not to, nowadays? Even if you don’t have kids or a hectic schedule, planning your weekly menu can save you time, money and stress while ensuring you eat good healthy meals.

Scheduling ways to eat at home

This might be an opportune time to remind two-parent households that the burden of saving money on food should not fall on one partner alone. One exhausted, overwhelmed, time-challenged adult cannot be expected to turn the kitchen budget around single-handedly. It might work for awhile but, without help from all members of the family, it is sure to slide back into ordering take-out and overspending at the drive thru.

Set yourselves up for success by assigning age-appropriate kitchen chores to every family member. But there’s homework and bedtime, you say? Set a timer and see how many minutes it takes your family to clear the table and do the dishes. Schedule that amount of time into your evening routine every night. Don’t allow anyone TV or screen time until they’ve completed their chores.

Anyone working shifts can tell you how hard it is to maintain consistency. Sit down with your weekly schedule. This schedule should show everyone’s work hours, school and childcare pick-ups and drop offs, sports, activities and other commitments. Let’s hope there is at least one day at home per week for the family. Although you may not want to spend your one quiet day preparing weekly meals, there isn’t a choice if you can’t afford to eat out.

The question is, can you be more organized and cut down on food preparation, spend more time enjoying your family, and save money all at once?

Plan for hell night

Most families have a night (or two) that is busier and more hectic than others. Prepare for this night by cooking double the night before or freezing an entre ahead of time. Breakfast for supper or beans and toast works in a pinch. Cut yourself some slack by keeping a few ready to serve options in the freezer. Although more expensive than cooking from scratch, this is still cheaper than restaurant food.

Batch cook on prep day

Sit down with a grocery store flyer and plan what to buy according to what is on special. Next, consider what meals you can make with that week’s ingredients. Then, do as much to prepare as possible.

Plan around your schedule and use a slow cooker on busy days to arrive home to a prepared meal. Leave yourself a note which day to take out meat to thaw or chop vegetables for the following day. Keep a list and gather frugal recipe ideas. Get creative with tuna. At 88 cents/can on sale, you can save significantly with a casserole and some sandwiches or wraps every week.

Cooking in batches means you might prepare one lasagna and freeze another for later. While you are at it, you could cook extra and freeze some meat sauce to serve on pasta on a busy night. If you are preparing meat for a meal, cook double and have it again tomorrow with different side dishes. A roast might do two meals plus several lunches. Got leftovers? Don’t let them go to waste. Have a weekly fridge clean-out where you make either a casserole or soup with odds and ends that need used up.

Make every move count. If you are chopping vegetables for a salad, rinse and chop double for tomorrow. Do the same for stir fries and steamed veggies. Store chopped vegetables in water to keep them fresh. Don’t add ingredients that will spoil the dish on day two--keep cheese, cucumber, avocado, apple etc separate from your salad so they don’t turn brown or go mushy. Add these when serving so they are fresh and at their best without spoiling the pre-made salad.

Save your sanity

You might think that spending a few hours preparing food on a weekend won’t save you much, but go through last month’s credit card and bank statements. Did you spend much on eating out? Where you eating out because you don’t have time to eat at home? How much money might you have saved by being prepared for the hectic nights you know are coming? Menu-planning allows you to control your budget and hopefully get everyone home eating around the table more often. Give it a try and see how much time and money you can save this winter.

Menu-Plan Series: 2 Hours of Cooking

I have sick kids today and, since I'm preparing for some busy weeknights through the winter, I took the opportunity to cook and freeze some meals ahead.

I started with two 2 lb packages of ground beef. This is meat I receive free from my parent's farm but for the sake of those interested in budgeting, I just checked my local Superstore flyer and lean ground beef is $3.77/lb. So for the purpose of this post I am starting out with 4 lbs of ground beef worth approximately $15.08.

2 lbs each of ground beef

For curiosity's sake, I took note of the time so I could show how long it took for me to cook several meals for my family. I began at 9:40 this morning, intending to bake and freeze 2 lb meatballs and make a lasagna and extra meat sauce to freeze.

On the left, scramble frying hamburger. In the bowl on the right,
preparing to mix up meatballs. It is 9:56.

 In the first 15 minutes I have 2 lbs hamburger fried and ready to be made into a basic meat sauce. I have also assembled what I need to make meatballs and set my kids up working in their little school workbooks at the coffee table. I think by this time O has lost interest and is running head first into the couch.

Fried beef is seasoned with fresh and powdered garlic and  dried oregano.
Meat mixture is ready to be rolled into balls, portioned into burgers or
pressed into a loaf pan for meatloaf. Today I choose meatballs.
Note that the oven is preheating.

 By 10:07 I have mixed up the meatballs with bread crumbs, 2 eggs mixed with onion soup mix, Worcestershire and homemade seasoning salt and a splash of milk.

Meat balls ready for the oven. 

 By 10:19 the meatballs are ready for the oven. My meat sauce will use up one large Ziploc bag of baked tomatoes from my garden. This homemade sauce included zucchini, celery, onion, garlic and peppers from my garden so I did not have to do any chopping of vegetables for today. I am glad to know my kids are getting an extra pop of garden vegetables with out realizing it ;)

Meatballs are in the oven.
To the right of the stove I have reserved a small amount of fried beef to season for taco salads.
Lasagna noodles are cooking and my cottage cheese filling awaits being layered into a lasagna.

 By 10:41 (one hour from when I started) I am assembling a lasagna to freeze and the meatballs are cooking in the oven. The kids have now moved onto the computer where J is working on his school literacy program.

At the last minute, I decide I will reserve some meat sauce to make chili.

 By 11:28, the lasagna is assembled and cooling on the counter along with a portion of taco meat for salads. I have reserved enough straight meat sauce to be served over spaghetti once Husband is home. There will likely be enough for a full supper plus lunch for myself and the kids. The meatballs are baked and cooling. I also have enough chili simmering to feed us two meals (we like it with fresh buns or over fries with cheese on top).

In one hour and 48 minutes, all of this food was prepared, cooked and cooling.
I then sat to have a bowl of chili and play crazy 8's with the kids. 

From top left: meat sauce (2 meals for 3-4 people),
lasagna (1 full meal for 4 plus a bit leftover, I'm guessing), meatballs
portioned into bags (2 meals for me and the kids, one for Husband, the kids and I),
2 full meals of chili,
one small portion of taco meat for a salad for myself and baked tacos for the kids.

 By 12:18 I had the dishes done, tea made and was sitting down to write this post. I am a fairly quick and organized cook as I have been cooking for many years and have always enjoyed it. Some might prepare this number of meals faster, some slower. The main thing is that the food is ready when I need it, as long as I am organized enough to remove it from the freezer the day before or morning of.

Cost Breakdown:
$15.08 meat
$1.50 can of 6 bean medley beans
$1 pork and beans
$1 can of crushed tomatoes
1 large plus 1 small bag homegrown baked tomatoes (priceless!)
$2 cottage cheese (guessing)
.50 cents -2 eggs (free from mom but probably .25 cents each?)
$2 mozzarella cheese (a high estimate)
$1 breadcrumbs and spices

I think I remembered everything I used, for a grand total of $24.08 for what I'm estimating will be 8 meals. This works out to $3.01 per meal for a family of 3 or 4 depending if Husband is home.

Admittedly, you would add a salad or garlic bread, fries or baked potatoes etc to your meals. Some fast options to go with meatballs are rice with roasted vegetables or a pasta with salad. So this would be a couple dollars more for that entire meal. Still...it seems likely that you could serve up a good home cooked meal in 20 minutes for around $6 or less. Compare that to being tired on your way home from work and spending $40-50 on a meal for four that does not even provide leftovers. I prepared 8 meals for under $25 in less than 2 hours this morning.

Now when I do up next week's menu-plan I have some ready-made meals to use on Monday and Wednesday, my busiest evenings. Also, if I run into trouble and need a quick meal at any time I won't give in to the urge to grab something quick for us to eat. Having these meals on hand saves us an incredible amount of money while ensuring we eat healthy even on busy nights.

I hope this example encourages you to give batch-cooking and menu-planning a try!

Weekly Column: Prepare for Christmas Early

There is always a delay of a week or two between my column going to print and me actually posting it here. So there are actually only 9 weeks until Christmas Eve...yikes!!

Prepare for Christmas early

There are less than 3 months until Christmas (don’t shoot the messenger!). If you’re paid weekly, that means you have 11 pay days to set aside money for the biggest holiday of the year. If it’s been a hard year, are you stressed about how you will manage? Do you plan to put it all on your credit card and worry about it in the new year?

Over the last several weeks we’ve been looking at how debilitating credit card debt can be. What you charge now might not be paid off by next Christmas, when it’s time to do it all over again. Isn’t it time to stop the madness?

Consider going gift-free

You are not Ebeneezer Scrooge if you simply can’t do it this year. Let loved ones off the hook if they have been out of work. Tell them you are all grown up and you will take your gift in the form of babysitting, snow shoveling, or a simple meal together with some games and Christmas movies. It’s understandable if you refuse to cancel Christmas on your kids. But maybe it’s time to sit them down and talk about expectations and the reality that you are facing. A simple philosophy is “something you want, something you need, something to wear and something to read”.

Set new traditions, and be considerate

Every tradition had its start somewhere. Rather than family shopping days, try a family baking day instead. With regards to social media, we’re all familiar with the Facebook pictures of trees almost eclipsed by the stacks of surrounding gifts. What are we trying to show each other? How are kids and families supposed to feel when faced with such extravagance? Take the picture for posterity, by all means, but consider leaving it off social media. Or how about you post pictures of your joy-filled, affordable, bought-and-paid-for Christmas, and invite friends and family to do the same? Christmas is for kids. Let everyone feel theirs was the best one yet and leave the competition out of it. Also, remember you have the ability to take a social media break over the holidays and truly pay attention to your loved ones.

Draw names, set a price limit, donate instead

If you can’t talk the grown-ups out of exchanging gifts, perhaps you can convince them to pick names from a hat, or ask around about other gift exchange ideas. Set an agreed upon price limit and then actually stick to it. Don’t let emotion rule you when you are shopping! Yes, you love your family. The amount you spend has nothing to do with that. So stick to the budget. Maybe you should fund-raise or donate gifts as a family rather than exchanging them. You will soon be hearing ads for local gift drives, and don’t forget the food bank.

Buy your Christmas turkey on sale, now

After Thanksgiving you can quite often find young turkeys for around $10. Unless you expect to get a free turkey with your groceries nearer to Christmas, purchase one on sale now if you can—even if it means storing it in a friend’s deep freeze. This will help your grocery budget come December.

Downsize

If you normally go all-out entertaining during the holiday season, this might be the year you ask guests to bring a potluck item and their own alcohol. Or plan for a card game and drinks after supper rather than feeding everyone. When you are feeding a group, switch to the most in-season (aka affordable) produce you can find. Serve the meat personally to ensure that everyone gets a piece and you don’t run out.

Focus on people and experiences

Often the most special Christmas memories are those of the smallest gifts, the kind gestures, and the time spent together. Go for walks or drive around to see the Christmas lights. Take part in community meals and events. Get in the spirit; it really doesn’t have much to do with the gifts, after all. Welcome into your home a person or family who might be alone this season. Making their day is sure to make yours, as well.

Shop on Boxing Day, instead

While lacking in suspense, doesn’t it make sense to do some of your shopping on blowout sales on Boxing Day? If you can handle the crowds and know that what you want will be on sale, it is an easy way to save some money. Surprise your teen with cash and a day out together, if they wouldn’t be disappointed. Probably, most teenagers would be delighted.

Christmas is a time for giving, yes. But remember to give your time and attention and take the focus off the commercial craziness. Don’t overspend and you might find more joy and less stress this holiday season.

Menu-Plan Series: Quick Emergency Meals

Okay, so you wrote the plan and a few days into the week something derailed and you don't have your meat thawed, you didn't pre-make your soup or salad, and you are itching to dial in a pizza. Who can blame you? If they delivered pizza to the boonies you can bet I would give in to temptation a lot more.

The inability to order in food has really helped me be more organized and has also prompted me to have a go-to list of meals that can be made in a rush. Anyone that has tried to cook a meal with two hungry toddlers wailing in the background can understand the urgency to get food on the table quick. Here are some of my favorite fast-food-from-home options:

1. Pancakes and bacon, or any variation of breakfast for supper.

Pancakes from scratch takes literally 5 minutes to make. I suppose that can be improved upon by keeping a pancake batter mix on hand, but if I need it in faster than 5 minutes I'm in trouble.

Pancakes

1 cup all purpose flour
1tsp baking powder
2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt

mix dry ingredients in large measuring cup. Beat one egg separately, then add along with 1 cup milk.

Whisk together your batter until all flour is moistened and the largest lumps are incorporated. It does not need to be smooth. Allow your griddle or pan to heat on medium-high to the point that water "dances" when a few drops are tossed on the surface. At this point I turn it down to medium to avoid smoking us out of the house.

Use a scant bit of oil or cooking spray for your first pan of pancakes. After the first round, your pan should be hot enough and the cakes should flip nicely. This recipe makes about 6 medium sized pancakes for my kids, usually leaving one or two to freeze for a quick breakfast. Most often, I double the batch so I have more to freeze. To use later I just thaw each pancake individually in the microwave and then toast so it's nice and fresh seeming. You can add banana or blueberries, saskatoons, etc to your batter as desired.

Other breakfast for supper ideas are: toast and eggs, hashbrowns, sausage and eggs, and as Pru suggested in a previous post, omelettes are great for cleaning out the fridge too. Obviously you want to round out a hasty meal like this with some fruit or a vegetable. You might not want to be throwing down bacon for supper all the time but it does get you out of a pinch when needed. The key is to have some of these things stashed in the freezer when needed!

2. Sausage and Perogies

Both of these cook fast and it always seems like a lot more planning went into the meal than actually did. Serve with peas or a can of corn, a bagged salad, a bit of greek yogurt and green onion. So yummy and ready in less that 30 minutes!

3. Tacos

The beauty of ground meat is that you can thaw it as it cooks. Ideally, you would always have things thawed and yada-yada, but that quite often doesn't happen and tacos have bailed me out of a pinch many times. I get the kids busy tidying the porches or getting into their pjs and while the meat cooks I chop the salad and vegetables, grate cheese etc.

4. Chicken breast and....anything

Chicken cooks quite fast. So don't microwave it for too long or you will have a raw, rubber, overcooked mess. But a minute or so on each side and then chopped up and thrown into a pan will get you started on a fast meal. If you are going with pasta or rice, be sure to start your water boiling while the meat is in the microwave. Microwave some veggies or throw them in as the meat is almost cooked. Add sauce and heat through or serve as is, making sure of course that everything is thoroughly cooked.

5. Stir-fry

Prepare basically as above. You can purchase a stir-fry sauce to add as everything is cooked or make your own with some soya sauce, hoisin or other flavorful sauce, a bit of water or chicken stock, corn starch to thicken. Do some googling to find a recipe you like that can be made with on-hand ingredients in a pinch.

6. Bags of cooked shrimp, canned meat, sandwiches, soup or beans and toast

Shrimp thaws and cooks super fast if you like it. I can quickly throw it in a stir-fry or some pasta and we love it. Sandwhiches: self-explanatory! Soup or beans is not my favorite for supper but it sure beats going to bed hungry! I don't fall back on this option because my kids won't eat it, but if it works for you--great!.

7. Shop Your Freezer

You should know by that morning if you are flaking out on your menu-plan. Don't be discouraged! I do it all the time! There is not usually a week goes by where I don't divert from the plan in one way or another. Sometimes we eat more than I expected and we are a meal short. Sometimes I just plain drop the ball. No worries. I make double and keep frozen meals just for these occasions. I am also not the least bit ashamed to admit that I keep a bag of fries and chicken nuggets on hand for nights that have just seriously fallen apart. It happens. I can fix myself something out of whatever this around and the kids are over the moon with this once in awhile treat. Add some veggies and a smoothy and I'm sure they will live til morning. The key, here, is to decide in the morning that you need to use your backup inventory and take it out to thaw. If you take out a frozen meatloaf and attempt to bake it for supper you will be eating it for breakfast. But if you have things ready for the oven when you get home you have a much better chance of averting a hunger-induced meltdown.


 8. If all else fails, go as healthy and as cheap as you can!

No one wants to eat quick, emergency food all the time but I do believe we all run into those instances where we are tempted to go easy (and expensive) when we are in a rush. I am not recommending this food as ultra-healthy but only making suggestions to get you through busy times in as healthy and affordable a way possible.

If you absolutely must pick up a meal on your way home from work, ripping into the grocery store for a ready made chicken and salad will cost a fraction of what a pizza or chinese, etc will cost. Be wary though! I brought home a lovely cobb salad (that cost $9!) from the grocery store and the eggs on it were mouldy. Super not impressed. Because we are out in the country I didn't return the salad, and only got an answering machine when I called the store about it. So try to get as fresh as you can, and good luck!

Menu-Plan Series: Writing the Plan

I have a reader request to do a few menu-plan ideas for busy weeknight schedules. The reality for many people is they are arriving home from work at meal time with kids in evening activities and no time to cook. So while in an ideal world there would be an adult home to prepare at least a few of these meal ideas fresh, I am planning a week's menu under the assumption that there is only one day to prepare most of what will be consumed.

Step One: Consult Your Grocery Flyer
Why not save as much as you can? I quickly browsed through my Superstore flyer online as though I would be shopping today for the week's groceries. (We are in a total ice storm at the moment so mama ain't going anywhere. But we can pretend!) The goal is to plan this week's meals around what is on special. I found:

• pork loins $1.87/lb (limit 4). This is a good price so I would buy 4.
• imperfect apples $5 for 8 lb bag. Compare at $5 for a 3 lb bag regular apples. Bring on the worm holes, people!
• beef roast $4/lb. This might seem costly. But compare to salmon at $12/lb or tilapia at $8/lb, or steak at $10/lb.
• bagels 2 bags of 6 for $3.
• PC frozen vegetables $2.50/bag.

Other things I would normally buy or have on hand is basmati rice, generic pasta, potatoes, fridge stocked with celery, carrots, cauliflower and broccoli along with fruit. If any of these are on special I buy extra. Likewise, if anything is suddenly too expensive we get more of something else and do without what has spiked in price. I can't stress it enough how you save by knowing the usual price of things!

As meat eaters I would also purchase lean ground beef and chicken legs or boneless thighs. These are generally the least costly cut of chicken but I do splurge on a box of frozen chicken breasts from time to time as well as bulk packaged wings. You will note that I buy most things in large quantities. I have a freezer and keep it stocked with frozen things I buy on special. We save a lot by purchasing ahead.

I am a fan of chickpeas instead of meat. I also use quinoa quite a bit but I'm thinking at the moment it is more expensive than steak. Feel free to substitute into the plan whatever you have on hand or is on special in your neighborhood. I apologize for the meat laden plan. If you can help me out with some vegetarian ideas please do! I will note in red what I will be doing each morning or evening to prepare food for the following day. Because I am a morning person I prefer to get up before the kids and do some prep work for the day. That way I know it is done in case I am too tired that night. For you night owls, it might be just as good to plan to do some precooking in the evenings while you do your nightly routines.

lasagna and chili, pre-made and ready for the freezer. Because they start out with the same basic
ingredients, these meals are ideal for preparation in a "batch" 

Step Two: Write the Plan

I will provide you with my schedule for the week and the pretend meals that I have come up with. You will need to tweak this according to your own needs but it is mainly to illustrate how to keep on top of meal prep during a hectic schedule.

• Sunday: PREP DAY

On Sundays or Mondays I usually do all my baking for the week and freeze it. You might rather put that time towards preparing meals. It may not be on Sunday, but you get the drift! 

If I was expecting a rushed Monday and Tuesday evening, I would divide my beef roast in 1/3 for stirfry (which I would slice and dice and put in a marinade in a bowl for Monday's quick supper. It is also an option to cook Monday's rice and eat some of it on Sunday with beans or curry. Leave the remaining 2/3 roast thawed to go in slow cooker or oven on Tuesday.

On a prep day I would divide my ground beef into portions for whatever I have planned that week: in this case I plan to make meatballs so would do that and possibly bake them before allowing to cool and freeze. Because my meatball and meatloaf recipe are the same, I could easily double the batch and freeze a meatloaf for another quick meal next week. If you start accumulating a lot of premade meals, make sure you mark them with the date and use the oldest first. It might also help to keep a little inventory list where you can see it for planning your menus. 

I would also scramble fry and season my meat for the coming Sunday's taco night--freeze this and remember to take it out of the freezer Saturday night. 

Freeze things like pork loin that you won't be using til later. Remember to leave yourself a note what day you need to thaw these for use (this week it will be Friday).

• Monday: NO SCHOOL, NO SKATING (depending on roads I'm not sure what day I will actually get to town for groceries)

BKFST: bagels, apple slices, yogurt

SNACK: fruit smoothy using frozen fruit, banana and skim milk

LUNCH: grilled cheese sandwiches, veggies and dip, salad for myself

SUPPER: Stir-fry beef and vegetables with rice. Fruit for dessert

Evening prep: douse your roast with whatever your prefered spices are, some Worcestershire sauce and brown each side in a frying pan. Transfer meat to slow cooker or roasting pan. Add a smidge of butter and a chopped onion to your drippings in the frying pan and brown. Add a cup of beef bouillon or onion soup mix and get all the goodies out of the pan. Add this to your roast and refrigerate until the next day when you either roast in oven or turn on your slow cooker before leaving for work. Also, chop up 2 days worth of salad fixins while your roast is browning.

• Tuesday: SCC Meeting at noon at school (It is looking like I'll go for groceries after the meeting)

BKFST: pancakes (make a double batch and freeze) fruit

SNACK: fruit smoothy as above

LUNCH: salads (make 2 days worth) and leftover stir-fry for O and myself (he is such a good eater!) Bagel and fruit in J's lunchbox

SUPPER: beef roast with mashed potatoes and gravy, salad and vegetables

• Wednesday: Playschool 9-11, Skating 4:30-5:30

This is the equivalent of hell day for me. Veteran moms will scoff at my weak knees. But I digress.

BKFST: toast and fruit, yogurt

SCHOOL LUNCHES: O only gets time for a wee snack of fruit and a treat then we come home for our dinner. I'm expecting we would have salad and a bun with a piece of meat each. J doesn't do meat, if he can help it. I will send him a cheese or jam bun.

SUPPER: leftovers that can be microwaved when we get home.

This is basically a night off from prep so be sure to do your dishes and leave your kitchen how you want to find it in the morning. That is the reward of menu-planning. While doing your dishes (or eating), simmer pot barley in 1-2 cups of water. Once your barley is tender add leftover gravy, meat and veg from your meal. Frozen veg like corn, carrots and peas also help "beef up" a soup. Add beef stock or seasoning to taste. Your soup should be finished by the time you are done in the kitchen for the day. Allow to cool and transfer to containers to take to work or leave it in the pot for tomorrow's lunch/supper. 

Remove meatballs from freezer for tomorrow.

• Thursday: O and I usually go to the farm for part of the day

BKFST: pancakes and apple slices

LUNCH: Leftovers made into soup, buns, salad

SUPPER: Pre-frozen meatballs with pasta and sauce (freeze leftovers in casserole for next Wednesday)

• Friday: hosting a playdate, will make pizza for kids, cauliflower pizza crust for myself

BKFST: Variation of things mentioned above

LUNCH: pizza

SUPPER: meatballs with rice (make enough for tomorrow too!), steamed or roasted vegetables

Take pork loin out of freezer to thaw.

• Saturday: NO SCHOOL

Unless you have a big pork loin, it is going to over cook all to heck in a slowcooker if left all day. I would cut into medallions and fry. This would take you literally only a few minutes, particularly if you have the rice and veg already cooked from the night before. 

BKFST: cereal or pancakes, if I'm running low make double batch and freeze

LUNCH: Grilled cheese sandwiches with assorted fruit, veggies and dip

SUPPER: pork loin with stir-fried rice and veggies leftover from Friday

Take taco meat out for tomorrow.

• Sunday: NO SCHOOL, PREP DAY 

BKFST: variation of above

LUNCH: clean out fridge, make soup etc

SUPPER: Taco night or some variation

Because this is prep day I would prepare my taco fixins (veg and salad) and make double for taco salads the next night.

If I feel there are too many beans for what I am making I freeze
what's left to be quickly added to a different meal.

Step Three: Prep Day

Depending on your schedule you may be getting your groceries on the same day you will prepare some meals. I am aware of how lucky I am not to have the double whammy of work outside the home to complicate my routine inside the home. Everyone's situation is different and take from this whatever will work for you and your family.

Whatever I am planning to make, I do ALL the chopping needed for ALL the dishes at once and divide into bowls or piles to save redoing the same job multiple times. If you are using baked chicken in several recipes, bake all of it at once. Divide after. This will get easier with practice. 

Do your dishes as you go. You will not have a major prep day more than once if you feel it leaves you with a mountain of unwashed dishes. The day before your prep day, do yourself a favour and run the dish washer and tidy up your kitchen before bed. You will not dread cooking as much if you can start out with a clean work area. Likewise, try to leave it that way for yourself afterwards, too. Enlist the help of all family members. I can't stress it enough that reducing the kitchen budget cannot fall on one person alone. The family needs to pitch in to make it work--get help unloading the groceries, clearing the mess, doing the dishes, send hubby to do the shopping, whatever is possible. If you are at this alone, make it more enjoyable for yourself with some favorite music, a favorite drink or the reward of a hot bath after. Try to make it enjoyable!

I feel fairly certain I've forgotten a bunch of ideas I had for this post, but I do plan to do a few more with simple, on-the-go recipes so I will elaborate then if need be. Let me know if any of these ideas help you with a busy week. Also, let me know your favorite meals and tricks to get meals on the table when you have a lot going on!

If serving chili a few days in a row I switch it up by serving it over fries with cheese, with rice,
alone with buttered buns, and transformed with some cabbage, carrot and beef stock to make
 a hearty soup. 

Weekly Menu-Plan Series

Now that I have kids in after-school activities, I am seeing a need to be more organized and prepare food ahead of time lest we fall into the costly and unhealthy habit of eating out. We live in a rural area so the options are slim. If I don't have supper planned and ready ahead it just means no one gets fed until late, which is hectic enough, but it also pushes back bedtime which will effect the next morning and behaviour for days to come. For myself, it also means I won't get the kitchen cleaned up that night and I will wake up to a mess which effects my mood and gets my day off on the wrong foot. So I know that I must be disciplined in order to keep things running smoothly.

I know that I am very fortunate to have the option to stay home while my kids are small. I choose to do this. If I had to, I would work out of the home and pay someone to look after my kids. But we aren't to that point yet and, for now, I feel that I can "save" our money just as efficiently as I could go out and earn more while incurring childcare costs to do so. That said, to each their own! We are in the midst of an economic crisis in this area. People are getting by however they have to, and more power to them :)

I have always been a fan of cooking in batches. In a couple hours I can prepare several different meals using similar ingredients, freeze most of it, and be prepared for busy evenings as they come. You can read more here and here and here.

You can also check out some sample menu-plans that I've used here, here and here.

Full Disclosure: I come from a family farm. I get my beef free from my parents--we are extremely lucky and grateful for this. While my meal plans might be heavy on the meat, particularly that of the red variety, my overall goal is to help people see how one meal can be planned with tomorrow's needs in mind. How can you plan your meal prep a day in advance to save time, lower stress, and prevent wasting food (and money!)?

There are an overwhelming number of menu-plan ideas on Pinterest. If you are interested in becoming more efficient in the kitchen it is a good starting point. Personally, I don't spend a lot of time looking at what other people do because I can use that time in the kitchen preparing food. I started cooking for a family of 7 when I was ten years old. Not everyone feels as proficient or creative, and that is positively okay! Take what helps and leave the rest.

In the weeks to come I plan to blog about the process of getting meals ready and using a menu-plan to simplify my week. If you have used a menu-plan please share your thoughts in the comments. I am always open to new ideas to save time and money!

Soup--the ultimate time and money saving meal!