I am a meal planner. I used to think that meal planning was only something cranky obsessive-compulsive crazy women did to micromanage every second of their kids’ lives.

And then I tried it.

And realized how having a set schedule actually allowed for more time for family fun and spontaneity because I wasn’t constantly wondering what to feed the kids for snack, lunch, or dinner. The food was already in the house, and the kids ate what was on the list, simply because that WAS WHAT THE LIST SAID.

There’s something they don’t teach you when you leave the hospital: your child will argue with you, but not with a piece of paper. Go figure.

Since I use my slow cooker so much, I usually can get away with only cooking dinner 3 to 4 times a week---we eat leftovers on the days in between. If your family refuses to eat leftovers, don’t serve the same food two days in a row. Instead, package up half of it and freeze the leftover portion to pull out later in the month. Some people are weirded out by eating the same thing two days in a row, yet will happily eat it a week later. Go figure. Again.

When you first get started meal planning, make a very simple menu for breakfasts and lunches. Our family rotates through: cold cereal and juice, yogurt and fruit, bagel and cream cheese, hot cereal, and toast and peanut butter. Adam usually makes pancakes on one of the weekend days, and then we repeat.

For lunches, we do salami and cheese on toothpicks, cream or soft cheese wedge on a rice cake, mac and cheese, canned soup, chili, and quesadillas or grilled cheese (I’m realizing we eat an awful lot of cheese!). I pack the kid lunches for school, and my girls like to eat out of thermoses, which has opened a bunch of doors for packing leftover dinner food.

We’ve been on a huge popcorn kick lately for afterschool snacks---and that’s great, since popcorn is so inexpensive. I pair the popcorn with fresh fruit, and the kids pretty much graze on popcorn and fruit throughout the afternoon before sports practice. If you have picky kids, you might want to introduce new food as an afterschool snack---they come in the door famished and are more likely to be adventurous.

The most dreaded question at the end of the day will always be “what’s for dinner?” If you have a slow cooker plugged in, congratulations! You are already ahead of the game.

Slow cooking forces you to plan ahead, because you’re not going to be able to rush out to the store at 5pm to pick up ingredients. This is a good thing.

Meal planning is a great way to involve the whole family in grocery shopping and food selection. I also appreciate how easy it is to stick to a budget when I do all my shopping on one day a week instead of wandering the aisles a few times to pick up odds and ends. I don’t know about you, but I’ll often pop into a store only to pick up a bunch of bananas and some orange juice and come out $50 later with an unneeded US Weekly and a bag of potato chips. It’s kind of annoying.

One of the easiest ways to meal plan with the slow cooker is to make what I call “Slow Cooker TV Dinners.” I like to buy my meat in bulk at a warehouse store, then take it home and break it down into meal-sized portions (4 chicken breast halves, 4-6 pork chops, 1 pound beef stew meat, etc.) in plastic zippered bags. Since I’m already fussing with the zippered bags, I go ahead and load in the spices, vegetables, and sauces needed for my favorite slow cooker recipes. I then freeze it all together in the plastic bag. The night before this meal comes up on my meal plan, I thaw it overnight in the fridge, then plop it in the slow cooker in the morning and cook according to the recipe’s instructions.

Some great “TV Dinner” options:
3-Packet Pot Roast
Steak Sauce and Mustard Steak
Lemon Pepper Ribs
Hawaiian Ribs
Lamb Vindaloo
Orange-Apricot Pork Chops
Marmalade Curry Chicken
Lazy Cooking!

I really like shortcuts. I seem to spend a fair amount of time in the kitchen, but I’m not one to have a zen experience while chopping an onion. I’d much rather get in, get out, and get on with my day. Planning ahead just a bit really saves an awful lot of time on a terribly busy weekday.

What are your favorite ways to make shortcuts in the kitchen? Does your family meal plan?