Menu Planning & Food Prep

I’m sure I’ve mentioned that I love to cook. When I chat with coworkers or my mom, they’re always fascinated about the recipes I’m using, like these Roasted Cauliflower Enchiladas. So today I thought I’d talk about menu planning & food prep. My mom was just asking me yesterday about how I found the recipe I was cooking that evening, Thai-Spiced Rice Bowls. And honestly, I’m not sure how I came across the blog, Cookie + Kate. But I love Kate’s whole food, vegetarian recipes that are so tasty. Plus, they’re fairly simple to throw together on a weeknight.

My menu planning usually starts on Sunday morning. I have an alarm clock (ie, dog) that wakes me up by 6:30am every morning. We go out for a walk and then I sit down to start meal planning for the week. My partner and I although not vegetarian are trying to be more conscientious about our food intake and footprint on the planet. So lately, I’ve been looking for more meals that are plant-based.

I keep a Google Note about my meals for the week, plus links to recipes we’ve enjoyed in the past. My current idea is to plan a vegetarian meal every other day. I schedule meals from Sunday – Thursday leaving Friday and Saturday night open for getting together with friends or planning something later in the week.

We love Indian and Thai food, so you’ll most likely see something with curry and rice almost every week. But we also do all sorts of tacos, chicken, pasta, salads, etc. I base a lot of what we on the weather – whether we can grill outside, comfort food for cold days and our busy schedules. If I have an evening meeting, I know the slow cooker or a quick stir-fry is the way to go.

Recipes

As for where I find my recipes, Cookie + Kate is a favorite spot of mine and I find a lot of great recipes on The Girl on Bloor as well. And the Barefoot Contessa (Ina Garten) is my go-to for staple recipes liked baking a whole chicken. Otherwise, it’s a simple Google search with a few ingredients in mind to find what I’m looking for. And sometimes it’s a family favorite that is added to the rotation time and again.

Grocery Shopping

I only focus my meal planning on dinner, usually, we eat the leftovers for lunch the next day. The next thing I do is to make a shopping list using Google Shopping List for everything I need for the week. This also includes breakfast, lunch, and snack items. Then I do a one-two punch, hitting up Aldi’s first for great prices on some basic food items. And then another grocery store around the corner for anything else I need.

What are your favorite recipes and where do you find new ones to try?