The Easy Meal Program is a simple way to reduce the frustration, excess time, and costly food waste in daily meal preparation. 

I admit I don’t love to cook.  If you are a foodie, this program probably isn’t for you.  But if you would like to reduce the time, frustration, and food waste associated with the normal daily “grind” of getting a healthy, balanced meal on the table, this is for you! 

As you know, I own a spa and as any business owner will tell you, being self-employed isn’t strictly a 9-5 job.  Plus, I have a family which I want to spend as much time as possible with.  We have always used meal time as a time to share how our day went, discuss upcoming activities and plans, and just spend some quality time together.  As much as I have always enjoyed good food and our meals together, preparing them was another matter.  I frequently experienced what I call “the 5 o’clock panic” which involved me running around the kitchen scouring through the pantry trying to figure out what I could get together fast that sounded good but was still healthy.  I kept a fairly well stocked pantry and produce drawer but had no real plan.  Later I decided I needed to make some changes and actually started making a grocery list with 7 specific meals ingredients listed.  After work, I would look over the meal list and determine what I was in the mood for and start it.  Unfortunately, this still didn’t work well for me because some meals took a lot more preparation that others and some evenings dinner was much later than others.  If we had things to do that evening it was a problem and my frustration level was still high.  I knew there was a way to “have it all”-a business and a nice hot meal on the table sans the frustration-I just had to be more organized.  And that is how the Easy Meals Program was created!  If you invest a little time (it took me about 2 hours) developing your program once, you will have more time daily to do the things you want and put an end to the “5 o’clock panic” for good! 

Easy Meals Program
1.  I made a list of all the different meals I cook.  I grouped them together so that I could make the ones that used similar ingredients in the same week to reduce waste.  For example, if I had two recipes that required sour cream I knew if I used them in the same week I wouldn’t waste the left over sour cream.  It also helps for preparation time.  For example, I grilled extra chicken breasts one night to shred and use in fajitas another.  Be careful when doing this though-you don’t want 5 nights of chicken one week and 5 of something else the next.  You need to mix it up whenever possible.  This is where your freezer comes in handy.  I also noted which meals made enough to have leftovers another night.  Cook once, eat twice. 

2.  Next I listed the meals on a monthly calendar, two actually.  I decided to make up a two month menu and had enough meals that I didn’t duplicate them-except for a few favorites.  I used a blank calendar I found in a computer program that didn’t have dates written in – just the 7 days of the week.  You can use whatever you like for this as the dates don’t matter.  I labeled the weeks 1-8.  For example, week 1 may have grilled chicken breast as the main dish on Monday, and chicken fajitas on Wednesday using the leftover grilled chicken.  Tuesday may be lasagna and then again on Thursday or Friday as leftovers.  I also listed vegetables and sides for each meal mixing it up to avoid boredom. 

3.  On the computer I typed a shopping list for each week and labeled each one with its week number at the top.  This list contained all the ingredients needed to make all of the meals for that week.  I also left room to pencil in the basics such as milk and bread each week.

4.  I printed out my 2 month calendar with the menu on it as well as the 2 months shopping list.  The calendar hangs on my fridge with a paperclip marking which week I am on since it doesn’t have dates on it.  I put the shopping lists in an envelope which also hangs on the fridge.  When it is time to do the grocery shopping for the week, I simply pull out the next weeks shopping list and mark out any items on hand and add any needed basics like milk, bread, eggs, etc.  This usually takes me about 5 minutes.  If you find it easier, you can add these basics to your computer list and mark them off if not needed. 

5.  All of the previous steps reduce time each week in planning what to eat and grocery list preparation.  This step helped me reduce the preparation time by being organized.  Every evening after dinner, we all put our own dishes in the dishwasher.  The food on the table my family will clean up and put away.  While they are doing that, I am putting anything I can for dinner the next evening together.  For example, if I will be making something in the crockpot, I put everything together in the crock and put it in the fridge.  The next morning all I have to do is put the crock in the unit and plug it in.  Or if I am going to have lasagna, I assemble it in the pan and cover it in the fridge.  The next afternoon I can throw it in the oven and go do something else while it bakes.  You might use this time to wash and cut up enough salad for the week.  Another thing you can do to save time is to make two batches of a item and freeze one.  Then the next time it is on your menu all you have to do is thaw it out and heat it up.  This works well with items such as lasagna.  You make two pans, bake one and freeze one.  When you want lasagna again just pull it out and bake it.  Your family will wonder how you made this great dinner and still had time to relax with a cup of tea visiting with your kids after school.

I have found that the Easy Meals Program can reduce stress and frustration while giving you more free time to do other things such as spend time with family, read, relax, or work out.  As soon as I started using it I felt that a weight had been lifted and I was free from the constant question of “What’s for dinner?”  Try the Easy Meal Program and see what it can do for you!