Get Started: Starting with a Smaller Meal Plan {Mini-Menus}

If you are like me, I love, love, love the thought of OAMM or OAMC, but I can rarely carve an entire day out of my calendar to do a big cooking day. What I have found works best for my schedule, is to do a mini cooking day(s).  When the first of the month menus come through my email (after I do an excited happy dance)  I quickly skim through the menus to see what my family might enjoy eating.  I normally stick to the Traditional Menu, but sometimes there will be a recipe from the others that will catch my eye. From there I pull out my calendar and prioritize….

• What is it that I am needing for meals in the next few weeks…is it breakfasts, lunches or big family meals?
• How many nights will we stick to PB&J, go out to eat, or be out of town?
• Are there sales on meat items that might  fit the recipe selections.

For my family, the recipes I tend to choose are the dinner selections.  Although I do utilize the breakfast options for quick and healthy after school snacks for the kids as well.

From the November 2011 Traditional Menu here are the 5 recipes that I chose based on what my family would most likely enjoy:

1. Spasagna – What a great twist to the love of spaghetti and lasagna!
2. Beef and Sweet Potato Stirfry – Anything with sweet potatoes in the title is a GO!
3. Slow Cooker Potato Soup – I love using my slow cooker, especially on those hurried days!
4. Cranberry Chicken – Just sounded yummy – something different and new to try!
5. Chicken and Biscuits – Perfect comfort food for the upcoming chilly Iowa evenings!

A few things to consider if you do chose to do a smaller cooking day:

• The grocery list and instructions for the given month will not be accurate for your cooking day. You will need to make your own.  But with only 5-6 menu items, it shouldn’t be too difficult!
• For ease in creating your new grocery list, set the recipe cards to the number of servings that you need then use the template grocery list to make your own.
• Plan an uninterrupted time for your cooking, especially if it is your first go at it.  This doesn’t have to be a full day, I find that I can do 2-3 meals in one ‘nap time’ setting works great for me.

Doing a smaller version of the big cooking day seems to really work for me, and I have no problem keeping my freezer stocked full of delicious meals year round!

And if you are interested in smaller menu plans as a whole, stay tuned. We have a a whole section for you coming in January of 2012. In just a few short weeks we will help you to come up with some easy meal plans to get you started in your journey or to work your way to bigger plans.

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This entry was posted on Sunday, November 13th, 2011 at 12:00 pm and is filed under Get Started. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.