Getting prepped for JERF in June - meal planning

As a busy working mum, meal planning is critical in our household. It saves the afternoon dilemma of "what's for dinner", the mid meal preparation freak-out of a missing ingredient and the realisation that your dinner is going to be on the table well after the kids' bedtimes.

When we first set up as a family, our pays were done fortnightly, so we meal planned (and shopped) fortnightly. Though many things have changed since my husband and I moved in together, this pattern has remained consistent. 

So, every second Thursday night, in preparation for a Friday shop, we sit down with our recipe books and our meal planning template and fill out any upcoming activities for the fortnight, expected late nights and days when we know we'll be too exhausted to cook.

Then we look at our freezer for any pre-prepared meals, leftover meats from the last fortnight and any other bits and bobs that could be used to make a meal. Then we plan...

As a family, we tend to only eat chicken, beef and vegetarian dishes (with the occasional fish based meal for my husband and the kids), and Sundays are a good night for a roast or silverside. 

I work from home Tuesdays and Wednesdays so I tend to choose Thermomix meals that I can make during my "lunch break" at home. Mondays and Thursdays are meals that are either from the slow cooker (in winter), from the freezer, prepped the day before, or breakfast for dinner. Friday nights we do "fake away" - homemade takeaway options - sometimes Indian, Chinese, burgers with sweet potato chips, etc. 

Knowing that pattern we plan our dinners. 90 per cent of our lunches are leftovers from dinner the night before, so that just leaves breakfasts and snacks. My lovely children tend to prefer a cooked breakfast so most of the time they'll have an omelette, scrambled eggs, or dippy eggs with soldiers. They're also fond of my healthy spelt banana bread or breakfast muffins for variety. A and I tend to stick with my homemade muesli (recipe to come) or Quirky Jo's buckwheat cereal.

Snacks are usually fruit and vegetable based, with all muffins and other carby snacks still including at least 1-2 serves of fruit or veges. The kids get 2 pieces of fruit, 1 sweet snack and 1 savoury snack in their lunch box, as well as yoghurt and their lunch. 

I'll share the family's meal plan for next fortnight (starting next weeked) over the coming week.