Monday, April 7, 2008

Menu Planning

My friend Michele started doing something new on her blog - she lists her menu for the week on her sidebar. I think this is a great idea! It gives Aaron incentive to check our "family" blog, which he started. And it gives me incentive to actually make the things I planned for the week. I have been thinking about it for a month or so, but wasn't ready to start yet. I'm still getting used to three kids underfoot and at least half the time don't get to the dinner I had wanted. But, I'm gonna try harder now. I'm sure there will still be days that a revised dinner, or no dinner, ends up happening - but hopefully those will be fewer. I will plan for 5 or 6 dinners per week, leaving room for leftovers and bad days. I'll try to link to the recipe if it's from online somewhere. Maybe I can even come up with a way for readers to leave comments or share thoughts about my menu. The big thing to remember (Aaron)- It's called a menu plan. And even a bad plan is better than no plan.

I read an article in Cookie Magazine (a parenting mag) entitled, 30 Meals in 30 Days. In essence it was about our family. Aaron & I used to cook a lot, and loved to try new recipes - it was something we did together. Now I usually make separate meals for the kids, who will only eat like 4 things, and we all end up stuck in a rut palate-wise. This family experimented with 30 brand new recipes with the following plan:

To get the kids on board, we settled on a strategy I would describe as "extreme
enthusiasm." We spun the project as a Big Fun Experiment (!!!) with only one
rule: They had to try a single bite of something new every night. And if they
stopped at one bite? We had a plan for that, too: Every meal was
"deconstructable," built on at least one ingredient the girls already liked, so
they would always have something to eat.

The magazine showed a picture of all 30 plates - some very yummy looking ones I want to try. You can find the article and all the recipes online here.

I am planning to write about some menu-planning software this week for Works for Me Wednesday. Check back to read my post!

3 comments:

Jane of Seagull Fountain said...

Um, can we come over for dinner? Although not on Spiced Bean Curd night. That just doesn't sound so great. Maybe if you could post a picture (and the recipe?). I've been thinking of trying some paneer (the Indian cheese-ish stuff) with my Saag Shorba. That probably sounds just as weird as Spiced Bean Curd, so I shouldn't say I wouldn't like it -- if YOU made it, I'm sure I'd love it.

Laura Millett said...

Hey!! I just happened upon your blog!!! How are you related to the crandell's?? Donelle and I danced together in high school! they are so fun!

Candice said...

I got that same magazine issue at my Mom's group and Stephen saw that article and even pointed out several pictures of meal that he would love. I think he even said "Why don't you cook any of these things?" Then the look on his face shut him up very quickly.