Meal Plan Monday: Living with a Jude

So, you may have seen last week that I challenged myself to clear the cupboards in a bid to stop wasting food. It dawned on me one day that our kitchen cupboards are always full of food yet I would regularly claim there was nothing available for dinner. I’d then nip down to the shops to buy more even more stuff! I have a habit of food shopping on a daily basis which has the benefit that I typically only buy exactly what I want for that day but in reality it’s a ridiculous waste of time and leads to me having a daily stress about when I’ll make it to the shops.

So, to continue with my attempt to save money and time, I have taken up the notion of meal planning. Planning – something I’m historically useless at but something I’ve always wanted to master. With three children, two jobs and a household to run it’s a bit of a no-brainer that I should utterly embrace something as simple as meal planning so I’m not sure why I’ve never managed it, how hard can it be? Plan what you’ll eat, buy the food, cook the food, eat the food. Non?

My eldest child is Jude, he has severe learning disabilities as well as autism and is the basis for me starting my blog. He loves order and routine (as do most children) but strangely he copes pretty well with the odd hiccup along the way. I guess he’s learnt to cope well from having such a haphazard mother like me. Here he is last week trying on his new headphones:

I need to try meal planning primarily to save time. I rarely have time to do anything, drown in daily household chores and literally never sit down to rest until my head hits the pillow at about midnight each night, usually with a toddler lying on said pillow alongside me. Here is my little shadow of a toddler:

So here is what I have planned for this week:

Monday – Spaghetti bolognaise. This is a favourite amongst us all. I make it using veggie mince such as Sainsbury’s or Tesco own brand or Linda McCartneys, all found in the freezer section. I love this stuff, it’s so versatile.

Tuesday – sweet potato stew with chilli and peanut sauce. This meal is amazing, I could literally live on the sauce alone and it’s so simple to make. I’ll prepare it in the middle of the day after work and then just keep it simmering until we’re ready to eat.

Wednesday – lentil/veg curry, rice and samosas. Again, another dinner I can make in advance and eat as and when we all traipse back home. Jude and Emmeline eat at about 5pm, Elsa at about 6pm when she returns from school and then we eat later on at about 8pm when we can enjoy the peace and quiet together.

Thursday – Chip night! I shouldn’t admit this online but every Thursday we eat take away chips haha Joe laughs at me as I always make a big salad to go with mine just to ease the guilt.

Friday – Toad in the hole, steamed vegetables and gravy. A new favourite of Elsa’s so I’ll make it as a Friday treat. I use Linda McCartney, Vegi Deli or VBites sausages most often. I can make a big batch of this and not have to worry about faffing later on. I’ll just keep our dish part cooked and stick it back in the oven later on.

Saturday – Chinese sweet and sour noodles, vegetables and cashews. I love noodles and making on them at the weekend saves me craving a take away treat!

Sunday – roast dinner. Joe cooks on a Sunday, well sometimes. He makes a really fab roast dinner so as of now, I’m deeming Sunday his cooking day!

So, I’ll let you know how this goes. I’m going food shopping Monday to buy all the relevant bits and hopefully this list will stop me worrying each day and panic buying random dinner items.

If you’d like to find out how I do then have a look at my blog or Facebook page this week:
www.livingwithajude.co.uk
Facebook – www.facebook.com/livingwithajude
Twitter – www.twitter.com/alice_soule
Instagram – www.instagram.com/livingwithajude

Ooh I love the idea of chips every Thursday. Maybe we should adopt this one!! Thanks so much Alice.