I've been asked quite a few times how I meal plan given the fact that I strive to be 92% vegetarian and live in a house with a husband who loves his animal proteins and a growing boy who likes EVERYTHING.
First of all, let me explain 92% vegetarian. Of the approximately 15-20 meals and snacks I eat in a week, 50-60% contain no animal proteins or products at all. No meat, no eggs, no cheese, no milk/butter, no fish, and (hopefully) no other hidden sources of animal proteins/products. An additional 30-35% of the time, my meals contain no meat or fish but may contain an ingredient or side that has products originating from animals in it (i.e. bread, cheese, honey). And the final 5ish% of the time, I will have a meat dish that I love, usually seafood.
My weekly food choices are a health choice, prescribed by my doctor, not necessarily a moral one, although I urge you to be knowledgeable about the origin of your food regardless of diet. The more research I do, the more I realize that the sheer amount of hidden sources of animal products in our daily lives is absolutely astronomical! And not just in food and clothing, but in EVERYTHING. Take for instance, cosmetics, hygiene items, aquarium filters, toothpaste, vehicle lubricants, and vitamins. Some brands of each of these, and many, many other items you use daily, may contain animal products. But THAT is really another post altogether.
This post is about weekly/monthly meal planning for 3 people, one plant based, one more meat based, and one a happy mix. It's worth saying that I am MAD about planning. I like to plan a month at a time (see
HERE). I still purchase all non-perishables once a month as described in that post but a major shift occurred when I changed my meals to be mostly plant based. I've always eaten more vegetables and fruits than others around me but now my weekly shopping cart is fuller than it used to be because of the volume of fruits and vegetables it takes to healthfully eat a mostly plant based diet.
I also had to revise my former "menu on the calendar" strategy to accommodate my diet versus Jeff and Sam's diets. So I came up with this:
Created super simply in Excel, it's been a Godsend in terms of organization. Once it's written, it hangs right on the fridge for easy access.
Here's our family menu for the week of January 26-February 1.
I write in pencil because life is unpredictable and sometimes your hubby tells you you're having dinner with his boss and the new salesman Tuesday night. Okay okay, in this case I just marked stuff out and drew arrows to other days. Life is busy you know?!? Also, the empty spaces next to Jeff's breakfasts doesn't mean he doesn't get any. It means I had leftover mini-frittatas, sausages, and cereal bars from last week.
The N/As just mean that Sam will eat with my mom or someone has a meeting at which there will be food. Also LO means leftover because who wants to cook on Saturdays?!? Find a coded system that works for you and run with it. Quick aside: If someone else will be using your spreadsheets, of any kind, beware of your codes. For example, my code for follow up with prospects has always been "FU". Then my Board asks to see my prospect list and BOOM, I'll never live the "FU" down.
I still find recipes in a variety of sources including my head but if any of this looks crazy good to you, all you have to do is ask and I'll happily send you the recipe.
Happy organizing and eating!
P.S. I'm totally meat cheating on Superbowl Sunday...just look at all the delicious choices!
