The dreaded phone conversation with your wife, “What are we having for dinner tonight?”. It can ruin your day, cause stress to both parties, and lead you down the trail of overkill takeout. Our family is not immune to this, yet we have come up with a solution that seems to help us. Both my wife and I work full-time. I am in the Skilled Trades and am on job sites daily. She works in the office and has enough on her plate getting herself and the kids out the door in the morning. So with all that going on, who has time to think about dinner? No one. This leads to daily or semi-daily grocery store trips and stopping to pick something up at the local restaurant. But who cares? Why not? It’s easier on us. Sure, it can be but, it adds up very quickly. Stopping by the grocery store to pick up “One thing” leads to a cart full of items and a bill at the register, leaving you shaking your head. Or the takeout menu looks so good after a long day of work. Plus, you need lunch tomorrow, too, right? Next thing you know, your bank account looks lighter, you feel heavier, and the mood at home isn’t ideal.
So, what do we do? At least our family, after repeatedly looking at each other and wondering where all our hard-earned money went, we came up with a plan. No, it isn’t crockpot meals every day. Or cooking for 8 hours on a Sunday to prep for the week. I have seen those people online, and it works for them, just not us. Our family benefits from the fact that I love to cook. Even though I work in construction, I am usually the first one home. I will pick up our kids and come home to start dinner. But what is for dinner? That does start on Sunday, like other meal planners. We sit down either Saturday evening (what a date night) or Sunday morning and flip through our local grocery store flyers. We see what is on sale this week and come up with a menu based on those items. We use the FLIPP app (not sponsored) to check out stores in our area. We have noticed a significant change in the amount of our weekly grocery bill for the better since starting this. For example, at the time of writing this, our local grocery store has these proteins on sale.
- Ground Beef
- Striploin Steaks
- Pork Belly Portions
- Pork Chops
- Pork Back Ribs
- Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
- Flattened Whole Chicken
Great, now whats for dinner this week? This is an example of what our family might eat after seeing these items. Note we do use a lot of frozen vegetables, they are quick and easy and generally go on sale so we stock up. We also try to have a salad of some kind every night.
- SUNDAY – BBQ Whole Chicken Dinner with roasted sweet potatoes, green beans, broccoli and Wedge Salad
- MONDAY – Pork Chops, Rice with Peas Tomato salad.
- TUESDAY – Smashburgers with Fries and wedge salad or coleslaw
- WEDNESDAY – Tuscan Chicken Breasts with Pasta and Caesar Salad.
- THURSDAY – Crockpot Ribs, Rice and Veggies with Coleslaw, ( Yes, we do use the crock pot, they are a great tool)
- FRIDAY – BBQ Steak, Sweet potatoes, Veggies and Tomato Salad.
- SATURDAY – Homemade Pizza Night, Caesar Salad
I want to start posting some of the recipes we use for our meals. Some that our kids love, and the ones that mom and dad especially like because they are fast. Families are busy, work, kids’ activities, family gatherings, and your own hobbies make dinner hard. Hopefully, this can help. I also want to see what other families are doing for their dinners. What works for your family? In what ways do you make dinner easier? What are some of your favourite recipes? I used to think that recipes were these deep secrets. Never to be given out or shared, after all, how often do you hear “It’s our family secret”? I have since learned that is not the case. Recipes are meant to be shared and tweaked by others. Like parenting styles, cooking techniques, and palates are all different in each household as well. All are meant to be shared, parenting advice, alongside meals that work for kids of all ages. Meals that make the pickiest eaters gobble up every bite. Meals that don’t take all afternoon to make, but aren’t boring and bland. And if you don’t enjoy cooking pass this along someone who may.
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