THANK YOU for watching! If you'd like to see my favorite instant pot recipes (they're quick & easy!), you can find them here: th-cam.com/video/DbhGZ6hRGc0/w-d-xo.html
Love love my instapot and the PW chicken spaghetti i was thinking about the other day, I hadn’t made it in a while. I’ve not thought about subbing rice for the pasta. Gonna try it this weekend.
bittyfrog73 although much of it can also be slow cooked so not a big deal really. Six Sisters Stuff site has both slow cook recipes and instant pot directions
Food used to be guilt free. When I was a child my mother won a competition with Campbell’s Soup. The prize was a pantry full of cans of soup. Well that is what we ate for every meal for weeks. I have a friend who would make a giant pot of spaghetti on a Monday and that’s what the family ate every day with a salad until it was gone. Another friend who used to live in North Africa said they ate the same thing every day of their lives: a large bowl of spicy stew around which the whole family sat with a plate of flat bread each which they dipped into the stew until it was gone. All of the above had one thing in common...they were grateful just to eat. We’re just spoiled, spoilt for choice .
Agreed! Sometumes I just want to holler, "It's just food, let's just be thankful and not complain that you are tired of this or bored of that." It takes away my enthusiasm for cooking dinner. Not to rant, I'm blessed with a thankful DH but still, I feel like I can be content with eating the same things repeatedly, you know?
I read, "the boy who harnessed the wind" and they ate the same meal 1-3 times a day every day all year (corn and mustard leaves). That's when I realized we would be just fine having the same few meals all the time.
This! Like breathing, drinking and eating are not activities we do for pleasure. They are life-sustaining activities. People who refuse to drink water, pure and clean water, who always have to have flavored (usually sugary) water or at least carbonated water, drive me nuts. Do they refuse to breathe air that is not perfumed? That does not smell special? Not for very long. Same with water - drink it because you have to and you won't live long without it. Same with food - wholesome, nourishing food is all we need. Some days we eat what is in the fridge to keep it from going to waste, whether it appeals to our taste buds or not. We eat the crusts of the loaves of bread because they are there. It is just food, but it is FOOD. If you didn't have any, you would appreciate that it is FOOD.
Same. I still have the same thing until it is finished, regardless of the number of meals it makes. I don't get it when people say that they had had an ingredient in the afternoon or the day before, so they didn't want to have it again any time soon 🤷🏼♀️
I have been planning meals for 40 years and it feels like a chore but if I don’t plan it is chaos so recently I decided to make a month plan and just keep repeating it. Favourite dishes appear twice in a month and others just once. I no longer have to think I just repeat.
Yep - I have gone to monthly meal planning as well! Why do it 52 times per year when I can do it only 12? And we have been shopping for two weeks at a time lately, so there is still flexibility as we can do something different if we don't feel like cooking what is listed for that day.
I've been watching you now for over a year and you just said the BEST thing! "You know what my mom did? We ate all the same foods pretty much all of the time and she never apologized for it". So...She used food and dinner mealtimes to create stability, home, familiarity, family, comfort, and safety. You came to expect the same and that "same" became a comfort to you. It sustained your "hierarchy of needs" that spanned 'physiological/safety/belongingness' that fulfilled all of those to make you who you are and what you can share with your children. You don't need a cookbook. Share with them what is in your soul. Your mom already gave you the answer.
You opened my eyes to the concept of how much inventory I have to manage. I grew up with a mama who lived through the depression and she pretty much saved everything! She was very organized so she could find it again but I learned those concepts of saving everything too. My hubby is the same way and in the last few years I've felt overwhelmed by the amount of inventory we have. He hasn't wanted to decrease inventory, in fact he seems to find it comforting so I've been on a mission to decrease MY own inventory: clothes, kitchen things, office things, food in the pantry, everything! Well, I still have a lot of books. :-) Now, since the quarantine, my husband had time to go through our 3 bay shop / garage which was packed. I've been introducing this inventory concept to him and because of how much stuff he had to go through in the garage, he's feeling it now too! He's starting to go through his things! Yay! you also helped one of my daughters. She's 11 years old and she watched quite a few of your videos with me and she's gone from a pack rat to someone who can pass things on. I won't call her a minimalist yet but she's working on it! LOL! Thanks for the help and thanks for another great video! :-)
It is good you were patient with your husband. Now you are reaping the rewards. We are all different. Although I love Dawn and everything she says I don't think I am a minimalist but an essentialist.
I love this comment, because I'm a minimalist and my husband loves having lots of belongings. Extra inventory does not seem to cause him stress and use up his mental energy like it does for me. I am working to understand that difference, but it's still fun for me to simplify what I can! Congratulations to everyone else who's been successful, too.
We created a constant meal plan. Us Spaniards cook lunch and dinner so it can get overwhelming. We put all of our favourite simple recipes together and assigned a day taking into account how long it takes to cook them. I also made sure we got enough fish and vegetables and little meat for the sake of health, and legumes (a couple ot times a week) and pasta (once a week) for the sake of frugality. So every Monday it’s pasta for lunch and fish for dinner, Tuesday we have lentils and omelette, Wednesday roasted meat with veggies and peas.... you get the idea. Grocery shopping is super easy this way, absolutely nothing goes to waste. If we feel like trying a new recipe we simply do, mostly on weekends. We keep extra portions in our freezer (all you have to do is double some recipe here and there) for those days we don’t feel well or are in a rush. Easy peasy
We call leftovers “encores” and they are scheduled into the week’ s meal plan. We will have encore night with a fresh salad. It works really well for us👍
AMEN, DAWN! Thank you for being a voice of reason in a kind of crazy making youtube wonderland! No extra freezer here, no couponing, no pinterest recipes, no apps, no making meals specifically designed for the freezer, no buying in bulk just because it's something to do. I don't "meal plan" or "meal prep" like so many youtubers talk about. I keep meals very simple and fresh, keeping to what's in season when I can. I have regular meals I rotate like it sounds like you do. It's easy, healthful and I don't have to think about food a lot, wins all around.
Love this! Was very helpful for me. Take hours to meal plan & write down a huge list of ingredients. It takes hours to find all ingredients at the store. Then I end up not having the motivation to cook the meals. There’s so much shame surrounding it
Crock Pot. Add a roast or two. Add stew vegetables and water or stock. Cook. Mix some gravy mix with water, poor in and stir. Take part for a day or two's roast beef dinner. Take part and put into premade baked pie crusts. Add mashed potatoes/instant to tops & put in fridge to reheat another day. With what is left in crock pot, add stewed tomatoes or other tomato item (paste, fresh, canned). Now that turned that into stew. Put in containers and freeze for later in the week. There. You just cooked several days worth of food at once.
I’ve learned after being a housewife for 12 years that home cooking is very subjective and personal. The easiest is to go with the ingredients you’re familiar with and that you know your family likes and can be versatile in your creation. recipes are for referencing. Home cooking is all about using what we have on hand and tweak the recipe to suit our family’s taste. As my family grows, I have decrease in bulk shopping because like you said, it doesn’t work for us either and it adds so much stress and anxiety to me. Plus we live in town. If I must grab an ingredient right then and now, it isn’t a hassle at all. Over the past couple of years since I started my minimalism journey, I become more relaxed when things are used up and I can throw them out, make space in cupboards and fridge. So if I get something and use it up in the meal for that day, I actually feel more productive and satisfied, less anxious and grumpy because I have to find ways to store the open bag of whatever. Buying enough for the week and try to add in what is already in the pantry to make up for that week works way better for my family I’ve learned.
I read several years ago that the average family eats the same dinners every 14 days - since then I have never felt guilty about any lack of creativity! Also, your video points up the importance of knowing yourself, your life, and your limits. I have the advantage of being over 60, kids grown, etc., and finally learning that there are stages of life... I'm retired and enjoying the freedom to try new recipes in a leisurely manner. To everything there is a season... we need to enjoy where we are in the journey.
Your comment, ‘that’s what my mom made - and she didn’t apologize!’ - spot on! Mom had a daily rota of meals, pasta, meatloaf, hamburghers, baked chicken, and one ‘good’ roast on Sundays (clearly an era when vegetarianism wasn’t widespread!). Why should she apologize?! It was good food, and we were grateful for it. Many Thanks for your dose of honesty!
Learning what works for us is what’s important-saving time, money, stress, effort! So you give everyone ideas but remind them that they don’t have to follow your method or anyone else’s. That’s valuable advice! I’m 61, love Jesus and organization, but you helped me realize that it is better to give away things that we paid money for but aren’t using than keep them. They aren’t being used, cause stress just seeing them and others might can use them. Somehow, I hadn’t learned that earlier in life. I’m ever so grateful for that encourage!!! Now I share it with others.
I love the way you do things the simple way and you don't accept any shame for not doing things like everyone else does. You give me freedom to do what works for me. Whew! Thank GOD!
Meal planning has been so wonderful for our family. I absolutely hate making a grocery list, so I made a recipe database in Microsoft access, and every week, I select which recipes I’m going to make, click a button and it spits out a grocery list. I mark off what I already have, and it takes about fifteen minutes. :) One of the nerdier things I’ve ever done, my husband was quite smitten lol. But I love the suggestion of having a few quick and easy meals built in every week. I usually have a crockpot meal in there as well, because I know something will usually come up that will make me gone the majority of the day and it’s nice to have dinner cooking while I’m gone!
I find that if I cook dinner in the morning my day goes so much easier! I'm cooking dinner while eating a light breakfast. I'll cook the meat in a Dutch oven and leave the starch and veggies until just before dinnertime. It helps to have everything prepped in the morning (peel potatoes, put veggies in pot with water).
Do you then just put the meat in the fridge till dinner and reheat or in a crockpot on warm for the day? I have thought about doing this but never could wrap my mind around how to proceed after that lol.
Just leave it on the stove. The Dutch oven is the original slow cooker! Once the stove is turned off, the cast-iron continues to cook and very slowly cools down. When you begin to cook your veggies and starch, turn it back on medium heat and it will be perfect and no stress having to try and time 3 pots at once!
@@TexasGatorFamily I’m getting my first Dutch oven and love this tip. Please share more about it? Like how long do you leave meat in the oven? And what are your go to recipes? Thx
Great idea! For us Spaniards, our main meal is lunch. We have to cook lunch in advance as my husband takes it to work, so on weekdays I cook the next day’s lunch after having lunch myself. It really simplifies our evenings
I like to pick a theme for a week, so everything goes together and ends up as cohesive leftovers by the weekend. If it’s Mexican week, for example, we may have enchiladas one day (which I always make a double tray of, keeping the second in the freezer for “emergencies”). Then tacos, chili, and nachos (dumping all the leftovers onto chips, covering with cheese, and calling it dinner!). Another week is Italian-dicing all the onions, peppers, and mushrooms up once, and making a tomato sauce, usually the Sunday before, then having different kinds of pasta, homemade pizza, then by the end of the week it’s baked leftover pasta with cheese on top (cheese on top always makes leftovers better!). If it’s soup and sandwich week, Sunday night I’ll make up tuna fish, egg salad, cut up cheese, make bread, etc., and a big pot of vegetable stew (with ground beef or pork), and variations/combinations of those are eaten all week. In warm weather, we’ll grill twice in a week, and eat the grilled meat and veggies (corn on the cob, onions & peppers, redskin potatoes) with (or on) salads for the week. As a treat (since I don’t usually make desserts or keep sweets around) we’ve even had a week of breakfasts-Clean out the fridge n Monday with a crustless quiche with leftover veggies, meat, and cheese, then pancakes with mascarpone cream, fruit, and sausage, waffles with homemade jams/compotes and bacon, or even an easy trifle of homemade banana nut muffins layered with Greek yogurt, nuts & fruit granola, and leftover jams. (We’re ready for a week of salads after that!😅). Whatever your family likes, lean in for a week, then move on!
It’s also good to come with cheat meals with already prepared foods such as frozen breaded chicken. Cheat chicken Parmesan is a family favorite using chicken patties, jar marinara and slice of mozzarella or provolone. Quick, easy and delicious. This type of meal gives me a break from the chore but keeps everyone happy.
Ugh! Why are you always right?! First you tell me that too much stuff to manage is why I'm overwhelmed and feel anxiety. < You were right. Now you're basically telling me too much food to manage is why I can't come up with dinner ideas and it just hurts my brain < Yep, you're right again! We have, get ready for this............a fridge freezer combo in our kitchen, one in our garage, an apartment size one in the basement, and a huge stand up freezer in the garage, a full pantry, a small shelf in the garage with random foods, AND a large shelf downstairs with "quarantine/stock up" items. YET, every week, I'm going to the store to get groceries. Just kick me now! You're right, it's too much to manage. We even wrote out what was on the shelf downstairs but I keep taking from it because I don't want it to go bad, so the original list is nowhere close to accurate = waste of time making the list to begin with.
Ha! You make me feel so much better. I went through my freezer, I have just me in my household, and I have enough protein in the freezer for 125 meals, yes that is 4 months worth! That isn't even counting the pasta, rice, beans, tuna and caned goods in the pantry. I usually write out a month of meals and then plan my grocery list from that--shop once a month. But, somewhere, somehow I got out of wack. My new goal is to eat down the freezer and pantry. My home is clutter free, but my pantry and freezer are out of control!
I completely agree that our Mum’s had a handful of meals that they continually rotated through and we all sat up to them week after week, year after year without question. I think I had a honey sandwich every day at school my whole Primary school life and never thought anything of it. We have become over thinkers these days and it is not necessary. Thanks for the video.🦘🇦🇺🐨
That’s kind of awesome you talked about that because honestly, I’ve never heard of a honey sandwich. I’ve had honey and peanut butter toast!!! Delicious!!! And of course PBJ’s!!! When I was a child, like you, we always had what we always had to eat, and we always ate it!!
I had PBJ sandwich for lunch everyday for years in my early childhood. I rarely ever eat one now. They just became... Yuck. Although part of that might of been because we bought cheap bread and cheap jam and they were just gross to begin with. My husband has that issue with oatmeal. He was never allowed to add sugar. Or salt.
I started reverse meal planning and it makes a big difference. Less to buy, and although I thought my family would get bored I make the same stuff all the time and it goes. The thing is, you have to start cooking before being able to do this. If you don't know how to cook anything then you won't have your "go-to" recipes. Start slow- make sure you make one new meal once every week or two until you have a wide enough repertoire that you are not eating the same four meals all of the time.
Oh my gosh! How refreshing to hear that, what I thought were my short- comings on meals, echoed ..... and it’s ok!! I don’t have a separate pantry, I don’t have a second fridge or freezer or a Costco membership and it does seem like that is the expectation. During Covid I have increased my inventory, aiming for 2 weeks surplus, but now it’s harder to find what I need or want in my cupboards. I’m blaming it on Covid. Thank you, thank you making me feel normal!
I once read research showing that in Sweden, where I live, the average household has 12-14 meals that they make and rotate between, however the average family with young children only rotate between 5-6 meals. I thought for sure I make more than 12 - 14 different meals, but listning everything I make on a reglular proved me wrong. I live on my own and my laziness now has me down to cooking one meal a week - that i eat every day until the next week.. If money and time can be saved, im on to it.
That's what I used to do when I was loving by myself. One meal was cooked on Sat and I would eat it till it was gone, I would freeze 3 portions and have 3-4 left fresh
Small win for our house! We haven’t eaten out since Thursday last week. Simple easy meals are the best. And just knowing how much each meal cost makes it worth the work. $7 for a meal we eat twice versus $25 for drive thru really drives me in the kitchen. I totally want to try that broccoli chicken bacon. Yumm.
Thanks for the Cheeseburger Meatloaf idea! Even without the cheese, just the idea of slicing burgers instead of forming them would solve a lot of issues in our home!! My husband and sons love thick burgers, whereas my daughter and I usually slice a burger pattie in half, nice and skinny, ala McDonald's kid burger. Meatloaf slices are the perfect solution - everyone gets their preferred thickness! Simply brilliant!! :)
Breakfast for dinner is always fast and I can use up random leftover produce in omelettes, stale bread in French toast and top it with whatever fruit needs used up. I hate being wasteful, so the fact that I'm able to throw it together quickly AND get rid of some things before I shop again is a win-win at my house. And yes, Dawn, we can all relate!
So interesting how different we all are! My mom was no gourmet chef but was always trading recipes with friends and getting new recipes from the newspaper and the radio. Of course there were a lot of things on repeat, but always some new stuff sprinkled in. I want everyone to like the meals I make, but it would never occur to me to feel guilty about what I cook. Also, there would have to be something pretty catastrophic for me to not follow my menu. If it's on the list, that's what I cook. I may trade nights, but would never cook something not on the plan! Some really great tips in the video, but so interesting to read all the comments!
I use google calendar... For five days a week, I assign a different starch to repeat on that day of the week (rice, beans, pasta, bread, potatoes) with the last two days being breakfast or leftovers. Then, I grab a piece of paper, and for each starch, write out as many loved dishes as I can think of. Then, I set repeating events for each dish based on how many dishes are on a certain starch - for instance, if Pasta is on Wednesdays, and I have five pasta dishes my family loves, then I set one pasta dish on the first Wednesday to repeat every five weeks, the second pasta dish on the second Wednesday on a repeat of five weeks, the third pasta dish on the third wednesday to repeat every five weeks....and so on. If there's only three items on the list, then it repeats every three weeks, etc. Every 14th of the month, I set a recurring event that says Anniversary - we normally order in or go out that day. And then household birthdays have a yearly repeat on that calendar too, for the same reason. I also share this calendar with everyone who has a device in my family, because it cuts down on the "what's for dinner?" question; it's just important to note that you should share it and revoke their rights to change the details of the calendar. Viewing only!! Because we get a CSA box of random meat cuts, I never mark down proteins or vegetables in a dish. This method has allowed me to cut down the decision-making process of what to cook with what I have. If it's spaghetti night and all I have is cube steak, I cut up that cube steak nice and fine and throw it in instead of hamburger, and add whatever is on the veggie list needing to go first that fits. If it's burrito night and we are out of sour cream... we add sour cream to the shopping list for next time and do without. If it's breakfast night, I check the bread bin and see if I have odds and ends; if not, we have waffles or pancakes. This has REALLY cut down my stress for cooking, and it's super easy to just zap an event off the calendar if plans change or a holiday is coming up. I guess I'm a minimalist menu planner? I definitely second the reverse-meal-planning you've laid out here. It's literally how I determine what we need at the grocery store. Look at calendar, note dishes, see what we have that matches or can be substituted in, buy the rest!
Thank you so much for keeping it so real- I’m in my 60s now and kids are all grown up but I remember the pressure I used to get under trying to plan and create perfect meals- and it was never my strength! All you young Moms out there- listen to this! Family meals shouldn’t be a source of major stress.
Thank you so much you made my day ive been soo stressed out over meals cuz i have so much food and im stressed about it but with the pandemic and with being a first time mom and in my early 20's plus my parents didnt have much food in the house growing up i finally realized that i didnt need as much food as i have (two freezers my fridge and my cupboards and i installed a shelf that full and boxes and boxes of food) my goal is now not to go shopping at least for a little bit. i struggle with this alot cuz i get super nervous when my fridge is getting empty so wish me luck
I’m not the best at planning ahead but I make it work. I get most of my recipes from one site (budgetbytes) and she uses a lot of the same ingredients in all of her recipes. I actually USE UP spices now! I read a book about garbage that mentioned a study in food waste - they found that people buying the same basics every week waste a lot less food. The stuff that gets tossed is the weird, fancy, aspirational stuff. People trash the brioche, not the wonder bread! Also, if I want to eat certain cuisines I have them at a restaurant instead of having all the spices and condiments to make Thai and Indian and Japanese and Middle Eastern.
I plan every week on Tuesday and shop on Thursday. About once a month I will reverse meal plan just to use up pantry items or dinners that got skip for whatever reason. I use a spreadsheet to plan breakfast lunch, and dinner and have a list of on hand snacks my kids can choose from. Breakfasts and Lunches pretty much stay the same and I switch up Dinners based on what nights my husband is home or at work.
I made my meal planning sheet the other day and will start this week! I'm excited so often i ask hubby and kids what they want to eat and they are like "I don't know" and I like cooking but I guess i'm tired of thinking what to make. so just having the names of the recipes that i make often all together and just picking like 3 for the week I hope will be so helpful!
This is same as me. I get so tired of trying to figure out what to make/eat. I’m single empty nest tho, so I find it hard to ask myself what do you want to eat? And I often answer myself...I don’t know. Lol. I might just list out my fave ten foods/meals that aren’t hard to cook and go from there. Over planning things like food is a drag for me. I never know what I’ll be in the mood for seems like and I don’t want to be bored to death by my own cooking. Lol.
@@goodenoughgirl8102 HEY I hope this works for you too! Here is my update! I LOVE the meal planning sheet! Each one of us gets to pick one meal from the sheet. AND IT WORKS! I have been cooking more meals now and the stress of having to decide on meals and grocery shopping is gone! I hope everyone that is indecisive gives this a try cause it is AMAZING!
We like to make meatloaf in muffin tines instead of one big loaf. This allows us to make extra to freeze, then they reheat quickly in the microwave. We also keep bags of frozen veggies on hand for quick weeknight meals.
I don't have the link but she did post the video, I'm sure it's searchable. It's what inspired my meal plan! I just tweaked her version so that I don't need to choose, I use a monthly plan with favorite fast ones repeated every other week (tacos, fajitas, burgers, etc)
I've simplified by eating whole foods...I don't make recipes...I cook food and eat it. And I love it. It's been a gradual transition over many, many years. My palette has just got so used to it. I am gluten free and dairy free as well. I will make a recipe if I am feeling creative or I just want to. And then it's like a hobby for me.
What you're describing is essentially like a capsule wardrobe but for the kitchen 😀 Get some solid, quality basics and stick to them and then switch them up a little bit when the seasons change. Does your friend have an Instant Pot? By far my favorite thing about the IP is the ability to cook frozen chicken in 12 minutes or less. Even if I didn't remember to take the chicken out of the freezer, I can still have dinner ready in no time.
I used your grocery list/plan and made it into my own. I've been planning a month at a time with themed days. Tuesdays are Taco Tuesdays with alternating regular tacos, chicken tacos, and nachos. Fridays are Frozen Fridays with a freezer meal usually from Costco like orange chicken or lasagna. Thursdays are instant pot meals we love. All of these we change a little very month for the season. We used to have a soup day but the warmer weather made us not want soup for now. All our meals are ones we know and love and we repeat them on certain days of the week, but since there are two or three for each theme we are never tired of anything. We may try one day called "Try something new" next month since we have more time in the summer. Love all your videos!
Thank you!! Thank you. I'm sitting here in tears. Highly simplified. Doing what works for me. Thank you for reminding me..to allow myself to do what works for me. That what is successful for me. I've so enjoyed your channel. I'm so glad I've found all of you. You, your hubby and sister have blessed me to the core.
Yes we are so hard on ourselves and have such high expectations. Is everybody fed? Are they loved? Do they have a bed to sleep in? That should be enough.
Thankyou for this video! All the challenges with meal planning and prepping and cutting back on waste are all things I have struggled with too. One good thing to have come out of this extended time at home is definitely greater awareness of using up everything I have and not buying more than I need. I find that when I have bought produce with the intention of finding something to cook with it, that item ends up going bad and being thrown out. I love what you said about simplifying everything. The less there is to think about and keep track of, the easier it becomes. The simplest approach is always best
I almost bought a freezer for meal planning and then realized that we’re a family of 4 so why the heck do we need so much extra food??? I love that this is simple and to the point. I’m totally going to try this method.
Oh thank you for this video! As usual, your way of simplifying a process is just a complete relief. I love to cook but I realize I have too many recipes and decision fatigue is a complete barrier. Also the frozen and pantry food - too much! This will be so helpful.
Dawn!!! My brain works like yours! Thank you for taking unnecessary guilt away from those of us like minded people!! We tried the cook once eat all week cookbook, and LOVED that broccoli casserole recipe too!
When the quarantine started and one day started to blend into another, we started a theme for dinner/each day of the week. Salmon Sunday; Meatball sub Monday; Taco Tuesday; Wings Wednesday; Thanksgiving Thursday; Fish Friday; Soup and Sandwich Saturday. We even do theme music like Sinatra on Meatball Monday and Pitbull’s “Fireball” on Taco Tuesday lol
@_Lu_Lu_Belle_ Ewing what a great idea! I’ve done a couple of days before, but I love your plan, including music! Wishing you and your loved ones safety, peace, and as much lighthearted laughter as you can get in these very stressful times. Love from 🇨🇦
You make simple things seem so doable! Thank you for bringing back the basics of keeping a good home! I loved the comments about how your mom did it. It was a great reminder to keep things simple.
thank you, thank you. Guilt be gone! You really nailed it today for me. Like they say.. when you need to learn a lesson the teacher will appear...YOU have taught me so much. Even though I am a well seasoned senior I still feel open to all the healthy suggestions, thanks.
When my kids were little and I was working full time my least favorite words were, “What’s for dinner?” I cooked the same things on about a two week rotation. My kids laugh about it because now that they are working parents they understand! I feel good that I gave them home cooked meals every day. I saved money and they are healthier. Were they Pinterest ready? Of course not. Pinterest is overrated. 😂
My version of simplifying meals is to only cook three dinners a week (the rest is leftovers), and only have one or two simple options for breakfast and lunch. I find that adding repitition helps get ingredients eaten up and "batching" when I cook saves me a lot of time in the kitchen. Sometimes I'll even make breakfast to last the next few days while I'm making dinner, and then I can basically coast through the next day in the kitchen.
Reverse meal planning! Great idea! Thanks! I like cooking once or twice a month. I use my old recipes that feed 6-8 even though there's only 2 of us now. I make meatloaf in those tiny loaf pans we use for "pumpkin bread gifts." I LOVE feeding my single friends, and still spend so much less than fast food! Everybody wins!
Omg! Amen to the rant of you streamlining your meal planning! Everyone always made me feel like I too needed the extra freezer and multiple store trips to save money. I go to one store, buy a few extra things when on sale or on clearance and that's it.
Love how you articulate what I have been feeling. I also need things to be simple & not have to use a lot of brain power to think. So, so me!! Thank you for your transparency of real life!
Yes, Dawn--sounds so familiar! I'm going to try simplifying my meal options, and not feeling guilty or comparing with others, and deciding I need to measure up to all the gourmet foodies out there!
awesome info! i have always love eating and that made me lose weight super hard, tried a lot of diets and exercises along with it, but what made it possible was agoge diet. it changed my life. its always about the right diet for u
Very good video ! Two things you talked about really resonated with me 1) All the grocery rebate apps like checkout 51 ,etc may work for others tho not me for I don't stock pile groceries,simply buy what need & its too much invested time ! 2)Pinterest I realized when you talked about it that it does take my time & most recipes I do not use because they require special ingredients, too complicated &/or I've only made a couple recipes that I've continued to make because we have other regular meals that we have made over the years that are tried & trued that we enjoy ; Also all the other stuff Your pinning takes time and you never do or created or go there so simply becomes social media clutter. I'm going to print off couple recipes & write down a few of my bucket list travel places that realistically I can do as well as afford then delete my Pinterest,that's right going to delete it ! Thank You for sharing Dawn It does make me reevaluate & move forward. XO From BC, Canada Darcy 50 yr old MoM of 4 Adult Children, Youngest Adult Child,20@ home. Love Love the Minamilist Life - Take Care. Look forward to the next video : D
Thank you so much for saying exactly how I feel! I thought it was only me who couldn't cope with the meal-plan/recipe/bulk-buy thing. Since covid I have become much more aware of what food items I do have, and have tried to stick to my straightforward faves using those items, rather than anything different or fancy. I do believe that we will experience another wave of virus & food shortages at some time, so better to make the best use of what you are familiar with, than have a cupboard stocked with items that may never get used.
You have some really great tips here! I admit I'm one of those that like buying in bulk when it's on sale, packaging it into meal sizes and storing it in the freezer. I grew up that way. We always had a big garden and canned or froze food for all winter....We raised our own meat.... we shopped sales and planned meals accordingly. I like it this way because then I don't need to go shopping very often. We live a good drive from Aldi, so when we go we stock up. But knowing what food you like to make and sticking to buying those ingredients is key to not ending up throwing a bunch of stuff out. Great tips!
Themes (each day of the week is a theme, so that mean only 4-5 dinners that fit the theme. So easy!)! Now that I’ve been doing this for 4 months, now I can just rotate them a few times and the year is done. Here’s what I did for May: Sunday- instant pot, with what ever protein. Monday- pork dishes Tuesday- always Mexican Wednesday- Leftovers Thursday- breakfast for dinner Friday- Italian/ Pizza (usually I cook, occasionally we order a pizza) Saturday- comfort food
I can so relate to the overwhelm. I struggle to get to having a "nothing in the pantry" place but it's because of childhood issues. So atleast I know where it comes from and I don't go overboard with hoarding food.
We haven’t had take away or eaten out in nine months! What started as a three month challenge to ourselves has become a habit. I’ve planned a monthly rotation and it works, I’m flexible with it, when I need to be. Sunday’s are roast pork/chicken/beef etc. Monday’s same as Sunday ( I make enough) Tuesday vegetarian (risotto, pasta, quinoa etc) Wednesday Fish, ( pie, fried, cakes.etc) Thursday meat ( Stew/curry/bolanaise etc) Friday steak, chops, burgers, sausage. Saturday eggs ( quiche, omelette etc) or pizza. The variety is then in the month, no one has complained so far! I make twice a much as I need from things like bolanaise /stews/ curries and keep for busy/ lazy days. 😀
I haven’t been able to get my meal planning simplified. Everything you said resonated with me. Once again I today I threw out expired stuff. I’m with you I need to stick with simple known recipes that I like and stop buying in bulk. Thank you for your words of wisdom and encouragement.
I always prided myself on keeping minimal inventory, keeping a weekly budget, and using up most things every week.... then BOOM quarantine happened and the grocery stores were so empty. I ended up having to go to multiple stores and spend premium prices for items. It turned everything upside down. Now I have been keeping a bulk store of things. 🤷♀️
I live alone in a rather small apartment, so I never buy in bulk. But I buy on sale. And how I cook is I throw two or three kinds of veggies in a pot, let it simmer with maybe a sauce or maybe with cream. Then I seve it with rice or pasta or couscous or some grain and some sort of meat or tofu as a topping. WOrks every time.
I love your sane approach! It's so much easier to do what really works for you rather than what you think you should work for you. This reminds me of a cookbook I own: 100 Recipes from America's Test Kitchen. It says that in the past, the best cooks didn't use that many recipes. But the ones they used they did really well. They had done them over and over so they could do them quickly and easily. It's not that you should never try something new, but having that core makes a big difference. By the way, loved your 4-ingredient chocolate chip bar cookie recipe.
Totally agree. Keep it simple. While I fall back on tried and true recipes, I also like to cook, so I’m always open to finding new hacks that are quick and easy.
I have tried couponing in the past, and ended up stopping because of the time it took vs. the payoff. The show Extreme Couponing had just come out and I thought I, too, could stock up on non-perishables for just pennies. I only ended up saving a few dollars here and there. Turned out the show was paying some stores to bend their rules a bit. As for me, only once in a blue moon did a coupon line up with a store sale, and I often only had access to one or two coupons. It took me 30-90 minutes to prep to go to the grocery store, and that was just printing coupons, not always checking store sales. I also realized coupons are pretty much just ads for name brand items. I do get a lot of name brand products, but there were a few things I bought but didn't need or use, because I had a coupon for them. I decided I'd rather save the time and spend the few pennies I was saving each trip, and now my grocery trips are much less stressful. One takeaway couponing skill I still use, though, is knowing my price point! So important.
I just watched a fridge organization vid and a bunch of your meal planning vids. I watched while I cleaned and organized mine. You said something about veggies going in the veggie drawer to die and putting them where they are seen. Best advice ever! I also made a list while doing it of stuff we buy regularly. I can add it to the dry items one. Now I am sitting down to figure out meals. It is making me nostalgic! Meals I know well were all taught to me from family that is gone now. Maybe cooking them is a good way to honor their memory!
Thank you for giving us permission to do things the easy way. I always thought I needed to increase my value by doing the most complicated, difficult recipes, etc. NO MORE!!! God bless you!!!
Me too. As if we have to PROVE our value. If you believe in God then listen when He says He loves you. (John 3:16) And to quote Bishop Joe Grech "God doesn't make rubbish!"
There is nothing wrong with having the same meals every week. Lots of us grew up like that! I do try to make something new every so often, maybe once a month, but life is crazy busy for most of us. :). We need to do what works best for our family.
Dawn, I found your channel earlier this year and you and I are exactly alike in a lot of ways, but especially when it comes to meal planning/shopping for food! I honestly thought I was the only one who did this lol! . (It really throws people when I tell them that I won’t buy anything in bulk and I will not freeze meat. Just like your friend, that is not for me.) Our meal planning spreadsheets are almost exactly the same too. It’s awesome! I’ve been doing this for years and it’s great and I’m glad that it’s working for your family too! It’s so much less stress, I actually do not enjoy cooking at all, and I’m also easily overwhelmed when it comes to meal plan and shopping so the less hassle for a healthy cook at home meal, the better. Thank you for all of your inspiration! ❤️ (PS-I spent most of my childhood growing up near Eau Claire. We used to go to the cities all the time so I find your channel extra relatable.)
You’re not alone, Dawn! I struggle with the same thing! Feeling pressure to make unique amazing meals that are food network worthy. Not realistic for a mom! Maybe some moms love it and thrive doing it that way but I just don’t have the bandwidth for it. My husband loves to cook and experiment with new recipes and he’s good at it so I’m very grateful for that. So he does dinner at least once a week and that’s when we try a new recipe, usually on a Friday or Saturday. He also grills a lot in the summer which I adore! Every mom comes to a point in her life when she realizes being realistic about her limits brings her sanity. I’m finally getting there and it’s so liberating! Thanks again for a great video!
I have cut back on the bulk buying and have been working hard to use up the inventory in the freezer(a whole pig). Everyone is home all day now and we have had a simplified meal plan. The instant pot has helped immensely, especially if I don't defrost in time.
Reverse meal planning is the best. It reduces/eliminates food waste and gives a jumping off point. Debtkickinmom does this as well and was actually the first time I'd ever heard of zero food waste. Love both of you for confirming that meal planning should be made up of pretty much the same recipes in rotation. For us it's tacos, spaghetti, chicken fingers, roast/potatoes and chicken parm.
We have a pressure cooker/"instapot" that we use pretty much daily and we absolutely love it. It's been a lifesaver in the kitchen when we're such a busy family who forgets to take something out for dinner in time. We use our oven less as well (less energy, less heat during the summer), we also are big on our electric griddle that saves us from cleaning numerous pots and pans, both really great buys. Love your channel, thank you for caring so much to share!
Love your honesty on this! I'm the same way! I've never been great at managing extra food inventory and batch cooking. Wish I could do that but it's never worked out for me. My mom had go to recipes too when I was growing up. I asked my grandmother about cooking one time and she said thankfully my grandfather just wanted country cooking and didn't need a whole lot of variety so she didn't have to cook a huge variety!
Thank you so much for bringing up that we don’t need a huge variety of new recipes! I was thinking about this the other day...my mom rotated the same recipes (maybe 10 different ones or less) and we were happy and enjoyed dinner. They were not all my favorites as a kid. What you said will take a huuuge weight off of many families! Thank you for being real and sharing what works for your family! I also get very overwhelmed with bulk shopping. I’ve tried the mo they haul several times and the next few days after I question why did I do that again...the pressure or thinking it’s going to work the 5th time. I just need to do what works for me and that gets so much pressure off of me. Having a picky eater at home is very tough, and so I usually have 2-3 same favorite meals of hers every week. The other meals I’ve tried to find recipes and get overwhelmed haha. Dawn, you’ve brought back reality to me! Hoping it helps others as well :)
We cook an Aldi family pack of chicken and cube it or cook up some ground beef and add it into whatever we're cooking. Most things we cook can be done with any protein we choose. We also love using things like the risotto packets and adding in a bullion cube, some meat, and a bag of steamed vegetables. It turns a side into a meal.
I love your idea of keeping food inventory low ! We have a family of 4 (Cape Breton,Canada) including 2 full grown teenagers, and have never used a deep freezer- only a regular fridge and freezer. We probably have enough food for 2 or 3 weeks worth of meals in there and my tiny pantry at any given time ! It's plenty to manage, you are SO right !
I have felt the exact same way! Like I need to buy in bulk and get an extra freezer etc. and it is always overwhelming. So appreciate you articulating that!
love this! we usually have 5-6 standard weekly meals: beef, chicken, fish, pasta, soup/sandwiches/hearty salad (depending on the season). that makes my meal planning pretty easy. also, my husband is in the kitchen 24/7, so that helps tremendously to.
100% with you on keeping food in the kitchen simple and your meal plan sheet has been a huge help in that. Recent history has convinced me that I need some separate long term food storage so I’m working on doing that but also keeping it simple and “out of the way” so it doesn’t mess with our usual meal planning and grocery shopping.
My meal planning is still a work in progress, but something I got started doing that has also helped with the grocery shopping, was laying out about 6-7 recipes that I know inside and out on paper with their basic ingredients, and then adding up the ingredients that overlapped (so like three of the recipes use chicken broth, and four all have cheddar cheese etc.) Then when I do my shopping for the month I make sure those ingredients and amounts are bought to have on hand to make each of those recipes. (And I makes those same recipes pretty much on repeat) That's the other thing that has been helping me with budgeting too - I try to go grocery shopping only twice a month once at the beginning which is the big trip, and once two weeks later to restock fruit and any few things we're out of or I forgot the first time.
Love your videos so much. So many tips and tricks just overwhelm me, and when I’m overwhelmed, I stagnate. I need things easy and simple, and while I don’t live as minimally as you and your family, I appreciate your insight and honesty so much, and you make really reasonable suggestions! Thank you!
We just went plant based. It’s great in so many ways health and budget but I’m super struggling with cooking all new foods and building our meal list as I try to cook/discover the plant based meals that we enjoy. I’ve defiantly over complicated it I’m sure. I do reverse meal planning most weeks as I don’t want foods to go bad and I usually don’t cook it all from the week before. I love the tip below that says a monthly rotation plan.
S Romero I made a bunch of single-meal spice packets that had all the herbs and spices pre-measured out so we could have them more often. It saved a lot of time. Hope you enjoy! www.vegetariantimes.com/recipes/super-veggie-lentil-taco-meat
I love the reverse planning! I also think that what works differs per household and per stage of life. We are not really fond of cooking, and have a fixed rhythm for years now. Monday, Tuesday and Thursday: potatoes, vegetables and meat (favorite of hubby and kids). Wednesday Italian (spaghetti, lasagna, etc.) or rice, Friday pancakes (when the grandparents cook), or what's left or made easily. Saturday fries with snacks, Sunday hamburger sandwich, homemade pizza or homemade soup. It makes shopping very simple, we always cook ourselves and rarely have leftovers. Sometimes I would love to alternate a bit more, but this is what they eat so well, and that makes everything so much easier for working parents. We try other things every now and then, but only when I feel like it, and have the time for it.
When I got married I would try to make fancy meals, when he is a tator tots, mac and cheese type of guy. (frustrating). I have tried simpler meals and found a few "tried and true" meals that work for our family. I vary the recipes from here to there. It keeps everyone happy and keeps me sane, because I really like diversity and quality but my husband doesn't. The best way to have harmony about dinner time is to have grace for our family members and grace for ourselves. It also helps out alot that my husband took on dinner two nights a week. :) (Also remember the *KISS Method: Keep It Simple Stupid)
When my family was all home, I would cook for 7, but now just cook for myself. Tried and true recipes are the best. Now I only cook full meals, a couple times a week. I eat the meal that night and then have leftovers a couple nights later. Also, once a week, I will make one batch cooking of spaghetti sauce, chili, stew or soup, that I eat the night I cook it and then freeze the remainder into single portions in freezer, so I have a variety for dinner whenever I want. I also argument with salad meals. I do still love cooking for a company, but for Covid, I haven't done that for quite some time.
Love this! I have always hated and felt guilty about frozen meat in bulk! I hate cooking with frozen meat. I am going to stop attempting this (I end up throwing things away) and never feel guilty about it again. And so true that we all need to stop feeling guilty about not trying lots of new dishes. More power to the people who love to do this but if you don’t love it, forget it! Thank you!
I love your two vital words: inventory and intension. i love that you are ok you with being YOU! I have my go to recipes I have used in rotation for 40 years. I’m with you about trying new recipes. (read Pinterest fail)!
THANK YOU for watching! If you'd like to see my favorite instant pot recipes (they're quick & easy!), you can find them here: th-cam.com/video/DbhGZ6hRGc0/w-d-xo.html
Love love my instapot and the PW chicken spaghetti i was thinking about the other day, I hadn’t made it in a while. I’ve not thought about subbing rice for the pasta. Gonna try it this weekend.
I got rid of my instant pot because I never used it. Hmmmm...
I put all my hamburgers on a baking sheet in the oven (like you would do with cookies) for about 20 - 25 minutes and it saves me time and taste good.
bittyfrog73 oh my word I use mine at least 3x a week. So many good websites and TH-cam vids for it.
bittyfrog73 although much of it can also be slow cooked so not a big deal really. Six Sisters Stuff site has both slow cook recipes and instant pot directions
Food used to be guilt free. When I was a child my mother won a competition with Campbell’s Soup. The prize was a pantry full of cans of soup. Well that is what we ate for every meal for weeks. I have a friend who would make a giant pot of spaghetti on a Monday and that’s what the family ate every day with a salad until it was gone. Another friend who used to live in North Africa said they ate the same thing every day of their lives: a large bowl of spicy stew around which the whole family sat with a plate of flat bread each which they dipped into the stew until it was gone. All of the above had one thing in common...they were grateful just to eat. We’re just spoiled, spoilt for choice .
Agreed! Sometumes I just want to holler,
"It's just food, let's just be thankful and not complain that you are tired of this or bored of that." It takes away my enthusiasm for cooking dinner. Not to rant, I'm blessed with a thankful DH but still, I feel like I can be content with eating the same things repeatedly, you know?
I read, "the boy who harnessed the wind" and they ate the same meal 1-3 times a day every day all year (corn and mustard leaves). That's when I realized we would be just fine having the same few meals all the time.
Thank you all for your insight! Makes me feel better and almost cry. Hahaha total Overkill, but the mom guilt is strong I guess.
This! Like breathing, drinking and eating are not activities we do for pleasure. They are life-sustaining activities. People who refuse to drink water, pure and clean water, who always have to have flavored (usually sugary) water or at least carbonated water, drive me nuts. Do they refuse to breathe air that is not perfumed? That does not smell special? Not for very long. Same with water - drink it because you have to and you won't live long without it. Same with food - wholesome, nourishing food is all we need. Some days we eat what is in the fridge to keep it from going to waste, whether it appeals to our taste buds or not. We eat the crusts of the loaves of bread because they are there. It is just food, but it is FOOD. If you didn't have any, you would appreciate that it is FOOD.
Same. I still have the same thing until it is finished, regardless of the number of meals it makes. I don't get it when people say that they had had an ingredient in the afternoon or the day before, so they didn't want to have it again any time soon 🤷🏼♀️
I have been planning meals for 40 years and it feels like a chore but if I don’t plan it is chaos so recently I decided to make a month plan and just keep repeating it. Favourite dishes appear twice in a month and others just once. I no longer have to think I just repeat.
Yep - I have gone to monthly meal planning as well! Why do it 52 times per year when I can do it only 12? And we have been shopping for two weeks at a time lately, so there is still flexibility as we can do something different if we don't feel like cooking what is listed for that day.
Mine is the same monthly plan for every month so I never need to think again but I know it will evolve a little over time.
Ours basically ends up being the same meals, as we have 2 young-ish kids (7&8 yrs) so we "rotate" through the favorites.
I do something very similar. Having the same meal plan repeat you can perfect your grocery list and not forget things that you need for certain meals!
Um thats genius and simple. Why did i not think of this?!
I've been watching you now for over a year and you just said the BEST thing! "You know what my mom did? We ate all the same foods pretty much all of the time and she never apologized for it". So...She used food and dinner mealtimes to create stability, home, familiarity, family, comfort, and safety. You came to expect the same and that "same" became a comfort to you. It sustained your "hierarchy of needs" that spanned 'physiological/safety/belongingness' that fulfilled all of those to make you who you are and what you can share with your children. You don't need a cookbook. Share with them what is in your soul. Your mom already gave you the answer.
Im 13 and have watched practically all your vids ! I LOVE YOUR CHANNEL
Brielle Joy Smids u r a smart girl!
@@DebbyeCannon Thank you ! I have already minimalized everything i own !
Good for you!!
@@lisalife7994 thank you!😀❤❤
You will always be so glad you have learned what Dawn teaches, Brielle! Way to go!
You opened my eyes to the concept of how much inventory I have to manage. I grew up with a mama who lived through the depression and she pretty much saved everything! She was very organized so she could find it again but I learned those concepts of saving everything too. My hubby is the same way and in the last few years I've felt overwhelmed by the amount of inventory we have. He hasn't wanted to decrease inventory, in fact he seems to find it comforting so I've been on a mission to decrease MY own inventory: clothes, kitchen things, office things, food in the pantry, everything! Well, I still have a lot of books. :-) Now, since the quarantine, my husband had time to go through our 3 bay shop / garage which was packed. I've been introducing this inventory concept to him and because of how much stuff he had to go through in the garage, he's feeling it now too! He's starting to go through his things! Yay! you also helped one of my daughters. She's 11 years old and she watched quite a few of your videos with me and she's gone from a pack rat to someone who can pass things on. I won't call her a minimalist yet but she's working on it! LOL! Thanks for the help and thanks for another great video! :-)
It is good you were patient with your husband. Now you are reaping the rewards. We are all different. Although I love Dawn and everything she says I don't think I am a minimalist but an essentialist.
@@helenebennie3961 essentialist!!! That's perfect!!
Bravo!
I love this comment, because I'm a minimalist and my husband loves having lots of belongings. Extra inventory does not seem to cause him stress and use up his mental energy like it does for me. I am working to understand that difference, but it's still fun for me to simplify what I can! Congratulations to everyone else who's been successful, too.
Can I just thank you for being so "normal"? Finally, someone who is like a real person. You're awesome!
We created a constant meal plan. Us Spaniards cook lunch and dinner so it can get overwhelming.
We put all of our favourite simple recipes together and assigned a day taking into account how long it takes to cook them. I also made sure we got enough fish and vegetables and little meat for the sake of health, and legumes (a couple ot times a week) and pasta (once a week) for the sake of frugality.
So every Monday it’s pasta for lunch and fish for dinner, Tuesday we have lentils and omelette, Wednesday roasted meat with veggies and peas.... you get the idea. Grocery shopping is super easy this way, absolutely nothing goes to waste.
If we feel like trying a new recipe we simply do, mostly on weekends.
We keep extra portions in our freezer (all you have to do is double some recipe here and there) for those days we don’t feel well or are in a rush. Easy peasy
We call leftovers “encores” and they are scheduled into the week’ s meal plan. We will have encore night with a fresh salad. It works really well for us👍
AMEN, DAWN! Thank you for being a voice of reason in a kind of crazy making youtube wonderland! No extra freezer here, no couponing, no pinterest recipes, no apps, no making meals specifically designed for the freezer, no buying in bulk just because it's something to do. I don't "meal plan" or "meal prep" like so many youtubers talk about. I keep meals very simple and fresh, keeping to what's in season when I can. I have regular meals I rotate like it sounds like you do. It's easy, healthful and I don't have to think about food a lot, wins all around.
Love this! Was very helpful for me. Take hours to meal plan & write down a huge list of ingredients. It takes hours to find all ingredients at the store. Then I end up not having the motivation to cook the meals. There’s so much shame surrounding it
Crock Pot. Add a roast or two. Add stew vegetables and water or stock. Cook. Mix some gravy mix with water, poor in and stir. Take part for a day or two's roast beef dinner. Take part and put into premade baked pie crusts. Add mashed potatoes/instant to tops & put in fridge to reheat another day. With what is left in crock pot, add stewed tomatoes or other tomato item (paste, fresh, canned). Now that turned that into stew. Put in containers and freeze for later in the week. There. You just cooked several days worth of food at once.
I’ve learned after being a housewife for 12 years that home cooking is very subjective and personal. The easiest is to go with the ingredients you’re familiar with and that you know your family likes and can be versatile in your creation. recipes are for referencing. Home cooking is all about using what we have on hand and tweak the recipe to suit our family’s taste. As my family grows, I have decrease in bulk shopping because like you said, it doesn’t work for us either and it adds so much stress and anxiety to me. Plus we live in town. If I must grab an ingredient right then and now, it isn’t a hassle at all. Over the past couple of years since I started my minimalism journey, I become more relaxed when things are used up and I can throw them out, make space in cupboards and fridge. So if I get something and use it up in the meal for that day, I actually feel more productive and satisfied, less anxious and grumpy because I have to find ways to store the open bag of whatever. Buying enough for the week and try to add in what is already in the pantry to make up for that week works way better for my family I’ve learned.
I read several years ago that the average family eats the same dinners every 14 days - since then I have never felt guilty about any lack of creativity! Also, your video points up the importance of knowing yourself, your life, and your limits. I have the advantage of being over 60, kids grown, etc., and finally learning that there are stages of life... I'm retired and enjoying the freedom to try new recipes in a leisurely manner. To everything there is a season... we need to enjoy where we are in the journey.
Your comment, ‘that’s what my mom made - and she didn’t apologize!’ - spot on! Mom had a daily rota of meals, pasta, meatloaf, hamburghers, baked chicken, and one ‘good’ roast on Sundays (clearly an era when vegetarianism wasn’t widespread!). Why should she apologize?! It was good food, and we were grateful for it. Many Thanks for your dose of honesty!
It’s too much to manage and I’m not good at managing it... so simple, yet so true!
I need to have this stamped on something that I see regularly!
Learning what works for us is what’s important-saving time, money, stress, effort! So you give everyone ideas but remind them that they don’t have to follow your method or anyone else’s. That’s valuable advice!
I’m 61, love Jesus and organization, but you helped me realize that it is better to give away things that we paid money for but aren’t using than keep them. They aren’t being used, cause stress just seeing them and others might can use them. Somehow, I hadn’t learned that earlier in life. I’m ever so grateful for that encourage!!! Now I share it with others.
I want a T-shirt that says, "I'm 53 and I love Jesus and organization."
@@Romans828girl Sounds great but what happens when you get older? lol
@@peggyblackwell2975 LOL good point. Maybe it needs to say, "I'm over 50 and I love Jesus and organization."
I love the way you do things the simple way and you don't accept any shame for not doing things like everyone else does. You give me freedom to do what works for me. Whew! Thank GOD!
Meal planning has been so wonderful for our family. I absolutely hate making a grocery list, so I made a recipe database in Microsoft access, and every week, I select which recipes I’m going to make, click a button and it spits out a grocery list. I mark off what I already have, and it takes about fifteen minutes. :) One of the nerdier things I’ve ever done, my husband was quite smitten lol. But I love the suggestion of having a few quick and easy meals built in every week. I usually have a crockpot meal in there as well, because I know something will usually come up that will make me gone the majority of the day and it’s nice to have dinner cooking while I’m gone!
I find that if I cook dinner in the morning my day goes so much easier! I'm cooking dinner while eating a light breakfast.
I'll cook the meat in a Dutch oven and leave the starch and veggies until just before dinnertime. It helps to have everything prepped in the morning (peel potatoes, put veggies in pot with water).
Do you then just put the meat in the fridge till dinner and reheat or in a crockpot on warm for the day? I have thought about doing this but never could wrap my mind around how to proceed after that lol.
Just leave it on the stove. The Dutch oven is the original slow cooker! Once the stove is turned off, the cast-iron continues to cook and very slowly cools down. When you begin to cook your veggies and starch, turn it back on medium heat and it will be perfect and no stress having to try and time 3 pots at once!
@@TexasGatorFamily thank you so much!
@@TexasGatorFamily I’m getting my first Dutch oven and love this tip. Please share more about it? Like how long do you leave meat in the oven? And what are your go to recipes? Thx
Great idea! For us Spaniards, our main meal is lunch. We have to cook lunch in advance as my husband takes it to work, so on weekdays I cook the next day’s lunch after having lunch myself. It really simplifies our evenings
I like to pick a theme for a week, so everything goes together and ends up as cohesive leftovers by the weekend. If it’s Mexican week, for example, we may have enchiladas one day (which I always make a double tray of, keeping the second in the freezer for “emergencies”). Then tacos, chili, and nachos (dumping all the leftovers onto chips, covering with cheese, and calling it dinner!). Another week is Italian-dicing all the onions, peppers, and mushrooms up once, and making a tomato sauce, usually the Sunday before, then having different kinds of pasta, homemade pizza, then by the end of the week it’s baked leftover pasta with cheese on top (cheese on top always makes leftovers better!). If it’s soup and sandwich week, Sunday night I’ll make up tuna fish, egg salad, cut up cheese, make bread, etc., and a big pot of vegetable stew (with ground beef or pork), and variations/combinations of those are eaten all week. In warm weather, we’ll grill twice in a week, and eat the grilled meat and veggies (corn on the cob, onions & peppers, redskin potatoes) with (or on) salads for the week. As a treat (since I don’t usually make desserts or keep sweets around) we’ve even had a week of breakfasts-Clean out the fridge n Monday with a crustless quiche with leftover veggies, meat, and cheese, then pancakes with mascarpone cream, fruit, and sausage, waffles with homemade jams/compotes and bacon, or even an easy trifle of homemade banana nut muffins layered with Greek yogurt, nuts & fruit granola, and leftover jams. (We’re ready for a week of salads after that!😅). Whatever your family likes, lean in for a week, then move on!
It’s also good to come with cheat meals with already prepared foods such as frozen breaded chicken. Cheat chicken Parmesan is a family favorite using chicken patties, jar marinara and slice of mozzarella or provolone. Quick, easy and delicious. This type of meal gives me a break from the chore but keeps everyone happy.
Love it! I do the same thing with cheap veal patties.
Kathy B.
Ugh! Why are you always right?! First you tell me that too much stuff to manage is why I'm overwhelmed and feel anxiety. < You were right. Now you're basically telling me too much food to manage is why I can't come up with dinner ideas and it just hurts my brain < Yep, you're right again! We have, get ready for this............a fridge freezer combo in our kitchen, one in our garage, an apartment size one in the basement, and a huge stand up freezer in the garage, a full pantry, a small shelf in the garage with random foods, AND a large shelf downstairs with "quarantine/stock up" items. YET, every week, I'm going to the store to get groceries. Just kick me now! You're right, it's too much to manage. We even wrote out what was on the shelf downstairs but I keep taking from it because I don't want it to go bad, so the original list is nowhere close to accurate = waste of time making the list to begin with.
Ha! You make me feel so much better. I went through my freezer, I have just me in my household, and I have enough protein in the freezer for 125 meals, yes that is 4 months worth! That isn't even counting the pasta, rice, beans, tuna and caned goods in the pantry. I usually write out a month of meals and then plan my grocery list from that--shop once a month. But, somewhere, somehow I got out of wack. My new goal is to eat down the freezer and pantry. My home is clutter free, but my pantry and freezer are out of control!
I completely agree that our Mum’s had a handful of meals that they continually rotated through and we all sat up to them week after week, year after year without question. I think I had a honey sandwich every day at school my whole Primary school life and never thought anything of it. We have become over thinkers these days and it is not necessary. Thanks for the video.🦘🇦🇺🐨
I totally agree! We make it more complicated than it needs to be.
That’s kind of awesome you talked about that because honestly, I’ve never heard of a honey sandwich. I’ve had honey and peanut butter toast!!! Delicious!!!
And of course PBJ’s!!! When I was a child, like you, we always had what we always had to eat, and we always ate it!!
Nan ‘59 in Australia we don’t really do PBJ sandwiches. In fact I have never had one. A honey or jam sandwich is pretty standard though.
I had PBJ sandwich for lunch everyday for years in my early childhood. I rarely ever eat one now. They just became... Yuck.
Although part of that might of been because we bought cheap bread and cheap jam and they were just gross to begin with.
My husband has that issue with oatmeal. He was never allowed to add sugar. Or salt.
over thinkers... I like that..
I started reverse meal planning and it makes a big difference. Less to buy, and although I thought my family would get bored I make the same stuff all the time and it goes.
The thing is, you have to start cooking before being able to do this. If you don't know how to cook anything then you won't have your "go-to" recipes.
Start slow- make sure you make one new meal once every week or two until you have a wide enough repertoire that you are not eating the same four meals all of the time.
Oh my gosh! How refreshing to hear that, what I thought were my short- comings on meals, echoed ..... and it’s ok!! I don’t have a separate pantry, I don’t have a second fridge or freezer or a Costco membership and it does seem like that is the expectation. During Covid I have increased my inventory, aiming for 2 weeks surplus, but now it’s harder to find what I need or want in my cupboards. I’m blaming it on Covid. Thank you, thank you making me feel normal!
I once read research showing that in Sweden, where I live, the average household has 12-14 meals that they make and rotate between, however the average family with young children only rotate between 5-6 meals. I thought for sure I make more than 12 - 14 different meals, but listning everything I make on a reglular proved me wrong. I live on my own and my laziness now has me down to cooking one meal a week - that i eat every day until the next week.. If money and time can be saved, im on to it.
That's what I used to do when I was loving by myself. One meal was cooked on Sat and I would eat it till it was gone, I would freeze 3 portions and have 3-4 left fresh
You just alleviated the guilt I've had about making the same meals each month. Thank you!!
Small win for our house! We haven’t eaten out since Thursday last week. Simple easy meals are the best. And just knowing how much each meal cost makes it worth the work. $7 for a meal we eat twice versus $25 for drive thru really drives me in the kitchen.
I totally want to try that broccoli chicken bacon. Yumm.
Thanks for the Cheeseburger Meatloaf idea! Even without the cheese, just the idea of slicing burgers instead of forming them would solve a lot of issues in our home!! My husband and sons love thick burgers, whereas my daughter and I usually slice a burger pattie in half, nice and skinny, ala McDonald's kid burger. Meatloaf slices are the perfect solution - everyone gets their preferred thickness! Simply brilliant!! :)
Having core recipes that allow interchangeable protein and/or veggies, is the best way to use what you have and is in season/on sale.
Indeed! 🌞
Agree so hard, I'm trying to get better at this!
Could you share examples of some?
Can you give us some ideas on some
Ham fried rice. Just use leftover protein and veggies to change it up. Stir frys. Same idea. Casseroles use leftovers.
Breakfast for dinner is always fast and I can use up random leftover produce in omelettes, stale bread in French toast and top it with whatever fruit needs used up. I hate being wasteful, so the fact that I'm able to throw it together quickly AND get rid of some things before I shop again is a win-win at my house. And yes, Dawn, we can all relate!
So interesting how different we all are! My mom was no gourmet chef but was always trading recipes with friends and getting new recipes from the newspaper and the radio. Of course there were a lot of things on repeat, but always some new stuff sprinkled in. I want everyone to like the meals I make, but it would never occur to me to feel guilty about what I cook. Also, there would have to be something pretty catastrophic for me to not follow my menu. If it's on the list, that's what I cook. I may trade nights, but would never cook something not on the plan! Some really great tips in the video, but so interesting to read all the comments!
I use google calendar... For five days a week, I assign a different starch to repeat on that day of the week (rice, beans, pasta, bread, potatoes) with the last two days being breakfast or leftovers. Then, I grab a piece of paper, and for each starch, write out as many loved dishes as I can think of.
Then, I set repeating events for each dish based on how many dishes are on a certain starch - for instance, if Pasta is on Wednesdays, and I have five pasta dishes my family loves, then I set one pasta dish on the first Wednesday to repeat every five weeks, the second pasta dish on the second Wednesday on a repeat of five weeks, the third pasta dish on the third wednesday to repeat every five weeks....and so on. If there's only three items on the list, then it repeats every three weeks, etc.
Every 14th of the month, I set a recurring event that says Anniversary - we normally order in or go out that day. And then household birthdays have a yearly repeat on that calendar too, for the same reason.
I also share this calendar with everyone who has a device in my family, because it cuts down on the "what's for dinner?" question; it's just important to note that you should share it and revoke their rights to change the details of the calendar. Viewing only!!
Because we get a CSA box of random meat cuts, I never mark down proteins or vegetables in a dish. This method has allowed me to cut down the decision-making process of what to cook with what I have. If it's spaghetti night and all I have is cube steak, I cut up that cube steak nice and fine and throw it in instead of hamburger, and add whatever is on the veggie list needing to go first that fits. If it's burrito night and we are out of sour cream... we add sour cream to the shopping list for next time and do without. If it's breakfast night, I check the bread bin and see if I have odds and ends; if not, we have waffles or pancakes. This has REALLY cut down my stress for cooking, and it's super easy to just zap an event off the calendar if plans change or a holiday is coming up.
I guess I'm a minimalist menu planner? I definitely second the reverse-meal-planning you've laid out here. It's literally how I determine what we need at the grocery store. Look at calendar, note dishes, see what we have that matches or can be substituted in, buy the rest!
Thank you so much for keeping it so real- I’m in my 60s now and kids are all grown up but I remember the pressure I used to get under trying to plan and create perfect meals- and it was never my strength! All you young Moms out there- listen to this! Family meals shouldn’t be a source of major stress.
Thank you so much you made my day ive been soo stressed out over meals cuz i have so much food and im stressed about it but with the pandemic and with being a first time mom and in my early 20's plus my parents didnt have much food in the house growing up i finally realized that i didnt need as much food as i have (two freezers my fridge and my cupboards and i installed a shelf that full and boxes and boxes of food) my goal is now not to go shopping at least for a little bit. i struggle with this alot cuz i get super nervous when my fridge is getting empty so wish me luck
I’m not the best at planning ahead but I make it work. I get most of my recipes from one site (budgetbytes) and she uses a lot of the same ingredients in all of her recipes. I actually USE UP spices now! I read a book about garbage that mentioned a study in food waste - they found that people buying the same basics every week waste a lot less food. The stuff that gets tossed is the weird, fancy, aspirational stuff. People trash the brioche, not the wonder bread! Also, if I want to eat certain cuisines I have them at a restaurant instead of having all the spices and condiments to make Thai and Indian and Japanese and Middle Eastern.
I plan every week on Tuesday and shop on Thursday. About once a month I will reverse meal plan just to use up pantry items or dinners that got skip for whatever reason.
I use a spreadsheet to plan breakfast lunch, and dinner and have a list of on hand snacks my kids can choose from.
Breakfasts and Lunches pretty much stay the same and I switch up Dinners based on what nights my husband is home or at work.
I made my meal planning sheet the other day and will start this week! I'm excited so often i ask hubby and kids what they want to eat and they are like "I don't know" and I like cooking but I guess i'm tired of thinking what to make. so just having the names of the recipes that i make often all together and just picking like 3 for the week I hope will be so helpful!
This is same as me. I get so tired of trying to figure out what to make/eat. I’m single empty nest tho, so I find it hard to ask myself what do you want to eat? And I often answer myself...I don’t know. Lol. I might just list out my fave ten foods/meals that aren’t hard to cook and go from there. Over planning things like food is a drag for me. I never know what I’ll be in the mood for seems like and I don’t want to be bored to death by my own cooking. Lol.
@@goodenoughgirl8102 HEY I hope this works for you too! Here is my update! I LOVE the meal planning sheet! Each one of us gets to pick one meal from the sheet. AND IT WORKS! I have been cooking more meals now and the stress of having to decide on meals and grocery shopping is gone! I hope everyone that is indecisive gives this a try cause it is AMAZING!
We like to make meatloaf in muffin tines instead of one big loaf. This allows us to make extra to freeze, then they reheat quickly in the microwave. We also keep bags of frozen veggies on hand for quick weeknight meals.
I would love a video that shows your meals/recipes that are on YOUR meal plan.
I don't have the link but she did post the video, I'm sure it's searchable. It's what inspired my meal plan! I just tweaked her version so that I don't need to choose, I use a monthly plan with favorite fast ones repeated every other week (tacos, fajitas, burgers, etc)
I've simplified by eating whole foods...I don't make recipes...I cook food and eat it. And I love it. It's been a gradual transition over many, many years. My palette has just got so used to it. I am gluten free and dairy free as well. I will make a recipe if I am feeling creative or I just want to. And then it's like a hobby for me.
What you're describing is essentially like a capsule wardrobe but for the kitchen 😀 Get some solid, quality basics and stick to them and then switch them up a little bit when the seasons change. Does your friend have an Instant Pot? By far my favorite thing about the IP is the ability to cook frozen chicken in 12 minutes or less. Even if I didn't remember to take the chicken out of the freezer, I can still have dinner ready in no time.
I used your grocery list/plan and made it into my own. I've been planning a month at a time with themed days. Tuesdays are Taco Tuesdays with alternating regular tacos, chicken tacos, and nachos. Fridays are Frozen Fridays with a freezer meal usually from Costco like orange chicken or lasagna. Thursdays are instant pot meals we love. All of these we change a little very month for the season. We used to have a soup day but the warmer weather made us not want soup for now. All our meals are ones we know and love and we repeat them on certain days of the week, but since there are two or three for each theme we are never tired of anything. We may try one day called "Try something new" next month since we have more time in the summer. Love all your videos!
Thank you!! Thank you. I'm sitting here in tears. Highly simplified. Doing what works for me. Thank you for reminding me..to allow myself to do what works for me. That what is successful for me. I've so enjoyed your channel. I'm so glad I've found all of you. You, your hubby and sister have blessed me to the core.
Yes we are so hard on ourselves and have such high expectations. Is everybody fed? Are they loved? Do they have a bed to sleep in? That should be enough.
Thankyou for this video! All the challenges with meal planning and prepping and cutting back on waste are all things I have struggled with too. One good thing to have come out of this extended time at home is definitely greater awareness of using up everything I have and not buying more than I need. I find that when I have bought produce with the intention of finding something to cook with it, that item ends up going bad and being thrown out. I love what you said about simplifying everything. The less there is to think about and keep track of, the easier it becomes. The simplest approach is always best
I almost bought a freezer for meal planning and then realized that we’re a family of 4 so why the heck do we need so much extra food??? I love that this is simple and to the point. I’m totally going to try this method.
Oh thank you for this video! As usual, your way of simplifying a process is just a complete relief. I love to cook but I realize I have too many recipes and decision fatigue is a complete barrier. Also the frozen and pantry food - too much! This will be so helpful.
Dawn!!! My brain works like yours! Thank you for taking unnecessary guilt away from those of us like minded people!! We tried the cook once eat all week cookbook, and LOVED that broccoli casserole recipe too!
When the quarantine started and one day started to blend into another, we started a theme for dinner/each day of the week. Salmon Sunday; Meatball sub Monday; Taco Tuesday; Wings Wednesday; Thanksgiving Thursday; Fish Friday; Soup and Sandwich Saturday. We even do theme music like Sinatra on Meatball Monday and Pitbull’s “Fireball” on Taco Tuesday lol
@_Lu_Lu_Belle_ Ewing what a great idea! I’ve done a couple of days before, but I love your plan, including music! Wishing you and your loved ones safety, peace, and as much lighthearted laughter as you can get in these very stressful times. Love from 🇨🇦
Well, this sounds like a fun home!
Tracey No Matter What thank you! ❤️
Mary Gallagher home is a good place!❤️
We have Fend For Yourself Friday. The goal is to use up all the leftovers and clean out the fridge. If there's no leftovers the teens go out to eat
You make simple things seem so doable! Thank you for bringing back the basics of keeping a good home! I loved the comments about how your mom did it. It was a great reminder to keep things simple.
thank you, thank you. Guilt be gone! You really nailed it today for me. Like they say.. when you need to learn a lesson the teacher will appear...YOU have taught me so much. Even though I am a well seasoned senior I still feel open to all the healthy suggestions, thanks.
When my kids were little and I was working full time my least favorite words were, “What’s for dinner?” I cooked the same things on about a two week rotation. My kids laugh about it because now that they are working parents they understand! I feel good that I gave them home cooked meals every day. I saved money and they are healthier. Were they Pinterest ready? Of course not. Pinterest is overrated. 😂
"Overrated" is too kind a word for Pinterest.
My version of simplifying meals is to only cook three dinners a week (the rest is leftovers), and only have one or two simple options for breakfast and lunch. I find that adding repitition helps get ingredients eaten up and "batching" when I cook saves me a lot of time in the kitchen. Sometimes I'll even make breakfast to last the next few days while I'm making dinner, and then I can basically coast through the next day in the kitchen.
Reverse meal planning! Great idea! Thanks! I like cooking once or twice a month. I use my old recipes that feed 6-8 even though there's only 2 of us now. I make meatloaf in those tiny loaf pans we use for "pumpkin bread gifts." I LOVE feeding my single friends, and still spend so much less than fast food! Everybody wins!
Omg! Amen to the rant of you streamlining your meal planning! Everyone always made me feel like I too needed the extra freezer and multiple store trips to save money. I go to one store, buy a few extra things when on sale or on clearance and that's it.
To quote a Kelloggs ad here in Australia: "The simple things in life are often the best."
Love how you articulate what I have been feeling. I also need things to be simple & not have to use a lot of brain power to think. So, so me!! Thank you for your transparency of real life!
You are TOTALLY right! We ate about 15 different things growing up and I never even thought about it as a kid!
Yes, Dawn--sounds so familiar! I'm going to try simplifying my meal options, and not feeling guilty or comparing with others, and deciding I need to measure up to all the gourmet foodies out there!
awesome info! i have always love eating and that made me lose weight super hard, tried a lot of diets and exercises along with it, but what made it possible was agoge diet. it changed my life. its always about the right diet for u
Very good video ! Two things you talked about really resonated with me 1) All the grocery rebate apps like checkout 51 ,etc may work for others tho not me for I don't stock pile groceries,simply buy what need & its too much invested time !
2)Pinterest I realized when you talked about it that it does take my time & most recipes I do not use because they require special ingredients, too complicated &/or I've only made a couple recipes that I've continued to make because we have other regular meals that we have made over the years that are tried & trued that we enjoy ; Also all the other stuff Your pinning takes time and you never do or created or go there so simply becomes social media clutter. I'm going to print off couple recipes & write down a few of my bucket list travel places that realistically I can do as well as afford then delete my Pinterest,that's right going to delete it ! Thank You for sharing Dawn It does make me reevaluate & move forward.
XO From BC, Canada Darcy 50 yr old MoM of 4 Adult Children, Youngest Adult Child,20@ home. Love Love the Minamilist Life - Take Care. Look forward to the next video : D
Thank you so much for saying exactly how I feel! I thought it was only me who couldn't cope with the meal-plan/recipe/bulk-buy thing. Since covid I have become much more aware of what food items I do have, and have tried to stick to my straightforward faves using those items, rather than anything different or fancy. I do believe that we will experience another wave of virus & food shortages at some time, so better to make the best use of what you are familiar with, than have a cupboard stocked with items that may never get used.
You have some really great tips here! I admit I'm one of those that like buying in bulk when it's on sale, packaging it into meal sizes and storing it in the freezer. I grew up that way. We always had a big garden and canned or froze food for all winter....We raised our own meat.... we shopped sales and planned meals accordingly. I like it this way because then I don't need to go shopping very often. We live a good drive from Aldi, so when we go we stock up. But knowing what food you like to make and sticking to buying those ingredients is key to not ending up throwing a bunch of stuff out. Great tips!
Themes (each day of the week is a theme, so that mean only 4-5 dinners that fit the theme. So easy!)! Now that I’ve been doing this for 4 months, now I can just rotate them a few times and the year is done.
Here’s what I did for May:
Sunday- instant pot, with what ever protein.
Monday- pork dishes
Tuesday- always Mexican
Wednesday- Leftovers
Thursday- breakfast for dinner
Friday- Italian/ Pizza (usually I cook, occasionally we order a pizza)
Saturday- comfort food
I can so relate to the overwhelm. I struggle to get to having a "nothing in the pantry" place but it's because of childhood issues. So atleast I know where it comes from and I don't go overboard with hoarding food.
We haven’t had take away or eaten out in nine months! What started as a three month challenge to ourselves has become a habit. I’ve planned a monthly rotation and it works, I’m flexible with it, when I need to be. Sunday’s are roast pork/chicken/beef etc. Monday’s same as Sunday ( I make enough) Tuesday vegetarian (risotto, pasta, quinoa etc) Wednesday Fish, ( pie, fried, cakes.etc)
Thursday meat ( Stew/curry/bolanaise etc) Friday steak, chops, burgers, sausage. Saturday eggs ( quiche, omelette etc) or pizza.
The variety is then in the month, no one has complained so far! I make twice a much as I need from things like bolanaise /stews/ curries and keep for busy/ lazy days. 😀
I haven’t been able to get my meal planning simplified. Everything you said resonated with me. Once again I today I threw out expired stuff. I’m with you I need to stick with simple known recipes that I like and stop buying in bulk. Thank you for your words of wisdom and encouragement.
I always prided myself on keeping minimal inventory, keeping a weekly budget, and using up most things every week.... then BOOM quarantine happened and the grocery stores were so empty. I ended up having to go to multiple stores and spend premium prices for items. It turned everything upside down. Now I have been keeping a bulk store of things. 🤷♀️
I live alone in a rather small apartment, so I never buy in bulk. But I buy on sale. And how I cook is I throw two or three kinds of veggies in a pot, let it simmer with maybe a sauce or maybe with cream. Then I seve it with rice or pasta or couscous or some grain and some sort of meat or tofu as a topping. WOrks every time.
I love your sane approach! It's so much easier to do what really works for you rather than what you think you should work for you. This reminds me of a cookbook I own: 100 Recipes from America's Test Kitchen. It says that in the past, the best cooks didn't use that many recipes. But the ones they used they did really well. They had done them over and over so they could do them quickly and easily. It's not that you should never try something new, but having that core makes a big difference.
By the way, loved your 4-ingredient chocolate chip bar cookie recipe.
Totally agree. Keep it simple. While I fall back on tried and true recipes, I also like to cook, so I’m always open to finding new hacks that are quick and easy.
I have tried couponing in the past, and ended up stopping because of the time it took vs. the payoff. The show Extreme Couponing had just come out and I thought I, too, could stock up on non-perishables for just pennies. I only ended up saving a few dollars here and there. Turned out the show was paying some stores to bend their rules a bit. As for me, only once in a blue moon did a coupon line up with a store sale, and I often only had access to one or two coupons. It took me 30-90 minutes to prep to go to the grocery store, and that was just printing coupons, not always checking store sales. I also realized coupons are pretty much just ads for name brand items. I do get a lot of name brand products, but there were a few things I bought but didn't need or use, because I had a coupon for them. I decided I'd rather save the time and spend the few pennies I was saving each trip, and now my grocery trips are much less stressful. One takeaway couponing skill I still use, though, is knowing my price point! So important.
I just watched a fridge organization vid and a bunch of your meal planning vids. I watched while I cleaned and organized mine. You said something about veggies going in the veggie drawer to die and putting them where they are seen. Best advice ever! I also made a list while doing it of stuff we buy regularly. I can add it to the dry items one. Now I am sitting down to figure out meals. It is making me nostalgic! Meals I know well were all taught to me from family that is gone now. Maybe cooking them is a good way to honor their memory!
Preach it!!! This is why I love you and follow you. After a day homeschooling I want simple and easy go to meals that my kids will eat.
Thank you for giving us permission to do things the easy way. I always thought I needed to increase my value by doing the most complicated, difficult recipes, etc. NO MORE!!! God bless you!!!
Me too. As if we have to PROVE our value. If you believe in God then listen when He says He loves you. (John 3:16) And to quote Bishop Joe Grech "God doesn't make rubbish!"
There is nothing wrong with having the same meals every week. Lots of us grew up like that! I do try to make something new every so often, maybe once a month, but life is crazy busy for most of us. :). We need to do what works best for our family.
Dawn, I found your channel earlier this year and you and I are exactly alike in a lot of ways, but especially when it comes to meal planning/shopping for food! I honestly thought I was the only one who did this lol! . (It really throws people when I tell them that I won’t buy anything in bulk and I will not freeze meat. Just like your friend, that is not for me.) Our meal planning spreadsheets are almost exactly the same too. It’s awesome! I’ve been doing this for years and it’s great and I’m glad that it’s working for your family too! It’s so much less stress, I actually do not enjoy cooking at all, and I’m also easily overwhelmed when it comes to meal plan and shopping so the less hassle for a healthy cook at home meal, the better. Thank you for all of your inspiration! ❤️ (PS-I spent most of my childhood growing up near Eau Claire. We used to go to the cities all the time so I find your channel extra relatable.)
You’re not alone, Dawn! I struggle with the same thing! Feeling pressure to make unique amazing meals that are food network worthy. Not realistic for a mom! Maybe some moms love it and thrive doing it that way but I just don’t have the bandwidth for it. My husband loves to cook and experiment with new recipes and he’s good at it so I’m very grateful for that. So he does dinner at least once a week and that’s when we try a new recipe, usually on a Friday or Saturday. He also grills a lot in the summer which I adore!
Every mom comes to a point in her life when she realizes being realistic about her limits brings her sanity. I’m finally getting there and it’s so liberating! Thanks again for a great video!
I have cut back on the bulk buying and have been working hard to use up the inventory in the freezer(a whole pig). Everyone is home all day now and we have had a simplified meal plan. The instant pot has helped immensely, especially if I don't defrost in time.
Reverse meal planning is the best. It reduces/eliminates food waste and gives a jumping off point. Debtkickinmom does this as well and was actually the first time I'd ever heard of zero food waste.
Love both of you for confirming that meal planning should be made up of pretty much the same recipes in rotation. For us it's tacos, spaghetti, chicken fingers, roast/potatoes and chicken parm.
We have a pressure cooker/"instapot" that we use pretty much daily and we absolutely love it. It's been a lifesaver in the kitchen when we're such a busy family who forgets to take something out for dinner in time. We use our oven less as well (less energy, less heat during the summer), we also are big on our electric griddle that saves us from cleaning numerous pots and pans, both really great buys. Love your channel, thank you for caring so much to share!
Love your honesty on this! I'm the same way! I've never been great at managing extra food inventory and batch cooking. Wish I could do that but it's never worked out for me. My mom had go to recipes too when I was growing up. I asked my grandmother about cooking one time and she said thankfully my grandfather just wanted country cooking and didn't need a whole lot of variety so she didn't have to cook a huge variety!
Meal planning has always been my weakness. You're not alone!
Thank you so much for bringing up that we don’t need a huge variety of new recipes! I was thinking about this the other day...my mom rotated the same recipes (maybe 10 different ones or less) and we were happy and enjoyed dinner. They were not all my favorites as a kid. What you said will take a huuuge weight off of many families! Thank you for being real and sharing what works for your family! I also get very overwhelmed with bulk shopping. I’ve tried the mo they haul several times and the next few days after I question why did I do that again...the pressure or thinking it’s going to work the 5th time. I just need to do what works for me and that gets so much pressure off of me. Having a picky eater at home is very tough, and so I usually have 2-3 same favorite meals of hers every week. The other meals I’ve tried to find recipes and get overwhelmed haha. Dawn, you’ve brought back reality to me! Hoping it helps others as well :)
We cook an Aldi family pack of chicken and cube it or cook up some ground beef and add it into whatever we're cooking. Most things we cook can be done with any protein we choose.
We also love using things like the risotto packets and adding in a bullion cube, some meat, and a bag of steamed vegetables. It turns a side into a meal.
I love your idea of keeping food inventory low ! We have a family of 4 (Cape Breton,Canada) including 2 full grown teenagers, and have never used a deep freezer- only a regular fridge and freezer. We probably have enough food for 2 or 3 weeks worth of meals in there and my tiny pantry at any given time ! It's plenty to manage, you are SO right !
I have felt the exact same way! Like I need to buy in bulk and get an extra freezer etc. and it is always overwhelming. So appreciate you articulating that!
I have a list of about 15 meals that we just rotate through. No apologies that mom’s not a gourmet - you’re not starving, are you??? 🤣🤣🤣
I'm the same. I have enough for a two week rotation and I do try 1-2 new recipes a month. Some end up making the cut but most do not , ha!
Hahahahaha aw yeah
You have a great way of making life easier, Dawn. Thank you for these encouraging words and examples!
love this!
we usually have 5-6 standard weekly meals: beef, chicken, fish, pasta, soup/sandwiches/hearty salad (depending on the season). that makes my meal planning pretty easy. also, my husband is in the kitchen 24/7, so that helps tremendously to.
100% with you on keeping food in the kitchen simple and your meal plan sheet has been a huge help in that. Recent history has convinced me that I need some separate long term food storage so I’m working on doing that but also keeping it simple and “out of the way” so it doesn’t mess with our usual meal planning and grocery shopping.
My meal planning is still a work in progress, but something I got started doing that has also helped with the grocery shopping, was laying out about 6-7 recipes that I know inside and out on paper with their basic ingredients, and then adding up the ingredients that overlapped (so like three of the recipes use chicken broth, and four all have cheddar cheese etc.) Then when I do my shopping for the month I make sure those ingredients and amounts are bought to have on hand to make each of those recipes. (And I makes those same recipes pretty much on repeat)
That's the other thing that has been helping me with budgeting too - I try to go grocery shopping only twice a month once at the beginning which is the big trip, and once two weeks later to restock fruit and any few things we're out of or I forgot the first time.
Love your videos so much. So many tips and tricks just overwhelm me, and when I’m overwhelmed, I stagnate. I need things easy and simple, and while I don’t live as minimally as you and your family, I appreciate your insight and honesty so much, and you make really reasonable suggestions! Thank you!
We just went plant based. It’s great in so many ways health and budget but I’m super struggling with cooking all new foods and building our meal list as I try to cook/discover the plant based meals that we enjoy. I’ve defiantly over complicated it I’m sure. I do reverse meal planning most weeks as I don’t want foods to go bad and I usually don’t cook it all from the week before. I love the tip below that says a monthly rotation plan.
Lentil tacos were always my favourite. Enjoy your new plant-based lifestyle!
J. H. Haven’t tried them. I’d love the recipe if you able to share. Thanks!
S Romero I made a bunch of single-meal spice packets that had all the herbs and spices pre-measured out so we could have them more often. It saved a lot of time. Hope you enjoy!
www.vegetariantimes.com/recipes/super-veggie-lentil-taco-meat
J. H. Thanks so much J.H. Appreciate the link and tips!
I love the reverse planning! I also think that what works differs per household and per stage of life. We are not really fond of cooking, and have a fixed rhythm for years now. Monday, Tuesday and Thursday: potatoes, vegetables and meat (favorite of hubby and kids). Wednesday Italian (spaghetti, lasagna, etc.) or rice, Friday pancakes (when the grandparents cook), or what's left or made easily. Saturday fries with snacks, Sunday hamburger sandwich, homemade pizza or homemade soup. It makes shopping very simple, we always cook ourselves and rarely have leftovers. Sometimes I would love to alternate a bit more, but this is what they eat so well, and that makes everything so much easier for working parents. We try other things every now and then, but only when I feel like it, and have the time for it.
When I got married I would try to make fancy meals, when he is a tator tots, mac and cheese type of guy. (frustrating). I have tried simpler meals and found a few "tried and true" meals that work for our family. I vary the recipes from here to there. It keeps everyone happy and keeps me sane, because I really like diversity and quality but my husband doesn't. The best way to have harmony about dinner time is to have grace for our family members and grace for ourselves. It also helps out alot that my husband took on dinner two nights a week. :) (Also remember the *KISS Method: Keep It Simple Stupid)
When my family was all home, I would cook for 7, but now just cook for myself. Tried and true recipes are the best. Now I only cook full meals, a couple times a week. I eat the meal that night and then have leftovers a couple nights later. Also, once a week, I will make one batch cooking of spaghetti sauce, chili, stew or soup, that I eat the night I cook it and then freeze the remainder into single portions in freezer, so I have a variety for dinner whenever I want. I also argument with salad meals. I do still love cooking for a company, but for Covid, I haven't done that for quite some time.
That is so true about the new recipes. It always sounds good on paper but when you're in the dinner rush, the new recipes go out the window.
Love this! I have always hated and felt guilty about frozen meat in bulk! I hate cooking with frozen meat. I am going to stop attempting this (I end up throwing things away) and never feel guilty about it again. And so true that we all need to stop feeling guilty about not trying lots of new dishes. More power to the people who love to do this but if you don’t love it, forget it! Thank you!
I have used your meal planning system for almost two year now and it has been life changing! Thanks so much, Dawn!
I love your two vital words: inventory and intension. i love that you are ok you with being YOU! I have my go to recipes I have used in rotation for 40 years. I’m with you about trying new recipes. (read Pinterest fail)!
PS I have yet to be nominated for “best dinner mom”, but we always have dinner. I call that a win!