I'm not the only one craving a little more organization...So I'm sharing my menu planning system, I am!

I've had a couple of friends ask for this, so I thought I'd blog it... back when I did daycare at home, I was a busy, kids in hockey, babies and toddlers at home kind of busy!  I wanted to be planned, I wanted the kids to be involved in their meals, and to begin forming healthy eating habits/awareness, more variety in our meals, fewer surprises for the kids, fewer "what is it?" faces, and to have one meal each week that they were really excited about, and to have everything on hand that I needed, when I wanted to make it.

So that's what I wanted; what it needed to look like was another matter...so I came up with a system to incorporate variety, manage the shopping list, and cross-reference the organizing system with my recipe books.  The kids helped too.  I started by asking them what their favourite dinners were, wrote those out...those went into the mix.  I wanted the system to actually match the way I made dinner: what I choose as the main, which veggies would go with, and which carb--sometimes, those were more "casserole" than others, and I wanted the flexibility to do that easily.  Both the kids and I would be unable to follow a set menu, because of allergies and likes/dislikes, so this allows me to make only what we like.  If you wanted to get super creative, you could make some fun out of having a "NEW FOOD" card with the kids each week...

So, each category gets its own card.  I wanted it to be very small, and very easy to use for myself and for the kids.  I found over time, my tiny colour-coded cards worked really well; and thinking of each thing individually allowed and inspired greater creativity in the side dishes!  I wanted it to be continue to be useful without too much fuss-as in, find a new recipe--in it goes.  I didn't want to duplicate anything-I just wanted it to point to the recipe.

Supplies:

• small plastic container, like a ziploc sandwich container--or something more decorative or fun-go wild!
• small bulldog clips
• a couple of really large bulldog clips
• multi-coloured 8.5 x 11 cardstock (Walmart/Michael's craft section)
• scissors, or better-- a slicer
• all your favourite recipes

Method: (you don't even need a glue!)

• I cut each page into 15 small rectangles (5 equal divisions along the long side, by 3 equal divisions along the short side), which turned out to be large enough for the name of each thing.   Make a page of blanks too-for the future--that's where the other big bulldog clip comes into play!

• I used different colours so that I could mix-and-match main dishes with different sides, etc...

The colours I chose were as close as I could come to being representative (for the kids)-and because I think in colours when I plan meals...the more colourful foods are typically higher in vitamins/antioxidants etc...

• Orange for meats and mains
• Tan for carbs
• Green for veggies
• Pink for desserts/sweets
• And another colour for snacks...but I don't recall which one!

On one side of each card, I would write the name, and if it had a recipe, I'd write its location:
Teriyaki Stirfry
Cookbook ABC, Pg 47.

On the backside of each card, I wrote the ingredients I'd need, for example:
Sirloin
Carrots
Cabbage
Soy sauce

Using it:
I made cards for everything I could think of...and I kept them all in that container, each colour/category bulldog clipped together with the small clips.  I didn't want the same thing week after week, so once I chose the week's worth of recipes, I'd clip those all together so the same ones wouldn't get into the mix when I planned the next week's menus.  It got me more creative in the vegetable department, as I mentioned above, and the kids really liked picking out the week's worth of foods.

So we'd pick the foods, and to make my grocery list, we'd flip the cards, and write down the necessary purchases.  If I knew I was low on soy sauce, using the teriyaki beef example again, I'd add it, if I had lots-I wouldn't...so it gave me a chance to check on my pantry supplies before I went to the store.  I'd add lunch and snack kinds of things too, but I never really found that I needed to organize that too much--bread, cheeses, crackers, fruits and veggies were things that I sort of just had a feel for, and I'd buy lots of each, each week.  If you wanted to plan that too-I'm sure you could adapt and add a colour for that too.

Overall, I found that when I used this system, I didn't run out of things, or be almost able to make that ___dish... I needed groceries once per week, and I had a better idea of what lunches and snack could be- like chicken sandwiches if I made roasted chicken, or mash-browns for breakfast if I had enough mashed potatoes, etc...If I was going to make pumpkin muffins, I had the pumpkin on hand when I wanted it.  If dinner guests were coming-I felt totally prepared.  As I used it longer I needed to make more cards, and making the grocery list was so fast...I'll blog my list idea later-because I have to get on with this day:)

I think this would work for other people too (which is why I'm sharing!), because it's just a way to keep on top of what you already make, and to inspire you to keep adding new dishes into the mix:)  Keep all of the cards in the container, remember to clip together the ones you're making this week, so they're fresh again when they come out the next time...let the kids join in, talk lots about how you make healthy foods and all the good things those foods do for them...energy, nutrients, growing strong bones, growing taller--because I've never met a kid who wasn't pleased with themselves for growing!  They might make the connection between good health and healthy foods early on; and then they have a jump on what to do with foods as they start to make their own...and maybe, coming home to get dinner going is nice and simple-because it's what you want and like, but the thinking and shopping's already done!

One last thing--I like flexibility.  Because I knew what I was having for the week, I had enough flexibility that I could put any food on any day...depending what I felt like, so there was still give in the system to allow for that spontaneous, well, semi-spontaneous kind of cooking.  If the day was cool, something in the oven, if it was hot--BBQ pork tenderloin...like that.

Cheers and chao!