Set aside your Sunday afternoon folks, we’ve now got plans. Meal planning plans to be precise. Here’s how one mum nails organising weekly dinners in under an hour and we’re all for it!
There’s seemingly been a growing interest in meal delivery services the past few months and I can totally understand why that is. It’s because these services are so darn convenient – just order, pay and wait for the delivery. And you know what I love most about a meal delivery service? The fact that I don’t have to think about what’s for dinner EVERY DAMN NIGHT. Just reach for a meal kit and cook. EASY.
BUT. Obviously, such convenience comes at a cost and that’s not something every family can accommodate week in, week out, or if ever (which is my family too).
So I LOVE that mum Amanda (aka the meal planning powerhouse) shared with us her DIY meal kit planning ways to inspire others in the Facebook group Thermomixing Meal Prep. And I’m not afraid to say, it’s rather awesome.
How to organise your week of dinners in 4 easy steps
[mc_block_title custom_title=”STEP 1: Plan it”]
PLAN IT: For those with a newer model Thermomix, you’d be familiar with the Cookidoo app where you can peruse amazing recipes, slot them into a meal plan and the Cookidoo app generates a shopping list from your selected recipes. EASY.
For those of us without access to the Cookidoo app, you can just choose a few of your favourite family recipes and generate a shopping list from the listed ingredients. Old school style, with pen and paper. #stillworks
HOT TIP: Kick off your meal planning with mostly familiar meals. Launching into five never-tried recipes could be a little stressy night after night!
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SHOP IT: Next step is to shop your meal plan list. You could make it REALLY easy by ordering groceries online for delivery or click and collect. Or you might want a legit excuse to go somewhere without the kids, so we understand wanting to seek timeout in the supermarket.
HOT TIP: Look for long use-by dates on meat so it doesn’t need to be frozen before using.
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PACK IT: Once home, grab your recipes and some plastic containers which you know will fit in the fridge. Pack all the ingredients you need for each meal into a separate container and label it with what meal it is. Keep in mind some spices are better kept out of cold air so you can leave them out. Wrap or contain meat carefully so it doesn’t leak into your other ingredients.
HOT TIP: A popular choice from the Thermomixing Meal Prep group is to use Decor Tellfresh Cupcake Storer containers ($10). Sweet (and often on special).
[mc_block_title custom_title=”STEP 4: Store & cook it”]
STORE AND COOK IT: All that is left to do is reach for the dinner prep box in the fridge every night and get cooking! I love that there’s no hunting around the fridge looking for random tomato paste and you’re minimsing food waste because you know exactly what’s being cooked each night.
HOT TIP: Write on the box with a chalk pen what night to cook it on, depending on your meat use-by dates. Chicken often has a shorter shelf-life than red meat so cook those meals first, just to play it safe!
And repeat on the weekly!
Sure it might not be as quick or set and forget as ordering from a meal delivery service, but this DIY meal planning method is JUST AS GOOD as the real deal. And once you get into the swing of it, it takes VERY little time to organise. That half an hour to an hour of meal planning is well spent, bringing a week of content!
But wait, there’s MORE!
Amanda has her own Facebook page, Janeys Homemade if you want to follow her for meal planning inspiration (and she has LOTS of great ideas). Plus, if you want to learn more about how to use your Thermomix Cook-Key and discover Cookidoo for meal planning, you can jump on to a FREE Zoom session on July 2, 2020, to learn all the tips and tricks you need to get you started.
