Today I started getting ready for our big cook for the next 4 weeks.
I have done my menu plan, shopping lists and been through our cupboard to see what we already have.
I have been cooking our meals ahead off and on for a long time now. Over the years I have learnt many things and I am much more efficient at it now.
I start off picking out the recipes I will be doing. I do 9 different meals 3 times each and on the last night, we either get take away or just have some leftovers.
This month we have:
Moroccan meatballs.
Singapore noodles
Teriyaki chicken noodle salad
Tuna patties
Chicken fried rice
Schnitzels
Eggplant Parmesan
Spaghetti bolognaise
Mushroom pasta.
Once I have chosen the meals I put them in a calender and print it off. This way I know what we are having and we spread the meals out.
After the menu plan, I do my list. I put a 3x3 table on a word document and each section has a meal. I then put all the ingredients we need for the meals for each one.
I then go through my list and work out what I need for our cooking day and what we will need to buy each week. I highlight the things we need for our cooking day and then put them into a shopping list. Many things are doubled up but I simply put amounts next to them rather than write the item twice.
Next is the weekly shopping list. I work out what fresh items we will need and put them in a list. For instance, when we have the schnitzels, I want to have salads to go with them. I generally buy this when I do the weekly shop rather than ahead.
Once all the lists are made, I go to my cupboards and see what we have already and cross them off the list.
Then I do my shopping.
Tomorrow I will go into details with my meal prep on the cooking day and how I freeze them.
If any one wants to see my lists, I have put them in google doc's and you can find them here:
Menu list and ingredients.
Weekly menu plan.
Weekly shopping list for week 4.