My mother taught me how to meal plan. I've done it since I was in college. I saved money at the store, time on a daily basis, and pounds on (off?) my hips. I continued to meal plan when I got married, and then when we started having kiddos. However, when we started home schooling, I found it harder and harder to feed my family a healthy meal at home on a regular basis. I was exhausted at the end of the day! And really, who isn't? Regardless of our circumstances, we are all busy and have demanding lives. So, in my desperation, I reached out to my home schooling mentors and learned more about Once A Month Cooking (OAMC). It has really been a life saver for me.
I haven't been able to do a batch of cooking since last October. That batch lasted us through redeployment and block leave. But then, we had to get ready to move, and had to empty the freezer. Those were some interesting meals!
Now that we're settled, both physically and mentally, it is time to start planning again. After all, soccer season starts soon! That means practices twice a week for two kids! Ack!
Two days ago, I made my menu and my grocery list (regular groceries as well as supplies for OAMC). Yesterday, I went to the commissary and stocked up. Today, I woke up and started cooking around 9am.
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| Most of my groceries for OAMC |
I paid Gator to babysit Monkey since Hubs had to take the van into the dealership for a check-up. Gator kept him occupied while I chopped, sliced, diced, and chopped some more. By the time Hubs got home a couple hours later, I had finished all but one of the chicken meals.
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| Gator doing puzzles with Monkey |
I needed Hubs help for that last meal. He flattened the chicken for me. See! It can be a family affair!
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| Hubs goofing off with a frying pan |
I had to take a two hour break to make lunch, help with the trampoline assembly in the backyard, and put Monkey down for his nap. Then, I got back to cooking. At the end of the day, I have twelve meals ready to pull out of the freezer, thaw, and dump in a baking dish or the crockpot: baked flank steak in tangy tomato sauce, chicken cacciatore, steak picado, Hawaiian chicken, beef fajitas, chicken parisienne, spaghetti, Italian stuffed chicken, pizza (so I didn't make this one!), baked jambalaya, continental beef, and cranberry chicken. To round out the menu, we usually go out to eat after
ChapelNext, and have sandwiches on Sunday night before
AWANA. [An aside: this has been a tough concession for me. I grew up eating a big dinner on Sunday after church with china, silver, crystal, and cloth napkins. Since we're a ministry family and Sundays are a "work" day for us, I try to choose another day to have our special meal.] We always have pizza on Friday or Saturday night. So, here is three weeks of food for my family, completed in roughly 8 hours! (As I was cooking, I realized that I forgot to buy the meat for one of the meals. I have all the rest of the ingredients though.)
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| All of my hard work, just waiting to be cooked! |
There is so much information available on the internet, too. Just google "once a month cooking" and you'll get over five million hits!
Many people take this a step further than I. They shop the sales and track grocery store loss leaders. I don't really feel a need to do this since I get all my meat at the commissary for a good amount of savings. Tracking sales will only save you more money!
I suppose I've let the cat out of the bag. This is one of my sanity keepers. It's so nice to walk out to the freezer, choose a meal, and know it will be done without a lot of daily effort.
Maybe it will work for you, too!
