This post is also available in: Spanish
I decided to indulge myself in giving time and place to plan my weekly family meals. I sat at my desk, displayed some of my cookbooks, and together with a warm potion set off to design my week.
A long time ago I realized that having my stuff planned and thought in advance makes me extremely happy – without exaggerating- mainly when it comes to things that don’t naturally flow for me, like cooking which definitely doesn’t.
Solving meals and shopping demands quite a lot of energy and make me feel under pressure. Planning allows me to give tone, rhythm and structure to the upcoming week so that I can afterwards go through what has already been thought.
Sunday is the day I prefer to dedicate myself to planning because it gives me clarity to begin the week. Having everything I need that same Sunday or Monday morning totally changes my week.
For those moments when I’m not thinking clearly and need ideas, I know I have this written guide. Needless to say, I’m one of those persons who needs things written down.
I’m sharing with you the menu I’m currently using. I’m very flexible with it. The idea is to reduce the stress to the minimum and stop seeing this as another dull duty.
The fact that I’m better organized means that I can also include my children and their assistance in the kitchen. It’s great fun to have them doing things with you and make them feel useful and helpful at home.
Also, it motivates them to eat better because they see what they cook, they start becoming familiar with ingredients, flavours, colours and textures.
I must recognize I’m not alone in the kitchen. I count with Vicky who is of great help and without whom these dishes would not be possible.
MONDAY
Cereal-based dishes
-Lunch: Quinoa with egg, tomato and arugula. Lately, I’ve been mixing black and white quinoa for a change and found that kids love it! You can find the recipe for perfect quinoa in “It’s all goodâ€, page 178.
-Dinner: Brown rice risotto, recipe by Juliana Lopez May.
Rice
TUESDAY
Legume-based dishes
Lentil stew
Barley
¿
WEDNESDAY
Chicken-based dishes
-Lunch: Chicken chop suey rolls with lettuce, arugula and cucumber.
-Dinner: Chicken chop suey
Millet
¿
THURSDAY
Fish-based dishes
-Lunch: Fish schnitzels with salad and mashed potatoes for the kids.
-Dinner: Sushi
Rye
¿
FRIDAY
Egg and vegetable-based dishes
-Lunch: Spanish omelette with pumpkin soufflé and salad.
-Dinner: Pizza
Corn
¿
SATURDAY
Beef and pork-based dishes
-Lunch: Grilled hamburguers
Oat
¿
SUNDAY
-Lunch: Pasta
Wheat
¿
The red words are the ingredients of the day; it’s an idea I took from Waldorf philosophy. I’m not quite sure yet about how to incorporate them. For the time being, only rice and wheat are part of our menu, but we’ll slowly add the other ingredients to our routine.
I’d love to know if you have any recipes with these ingredients and to hear how you plan your own weeks.
FURTHER READING :
Homesong blog. Simple things done with care¿ ¿ -¿ Meal Planning in my favorite corner
Translated by MA
This post is also available in: Spanish
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