Making a Food Calendar

I like to use Google Calendar - I have tried to change from a paper calendar (sniff!!) to a digital one, and Google works for me.  I look at other online calendars, but it looks to me like they are spinoffs of Google's.  It doesn't matter, really, what kind of calendar you use - it is the planning that makes a difference!

Making a Food Calendar

I began by looking at the kinds of foods our family likes to eat.  Mostly beef or chicken; but some pork.  My husband doesn't like fish, so I try not to plan it without another choice for him ... which means we don't eat fish too often.  I also want to get away from having meat at every meal, so I want to add a no meat meal every so often.

So, I began by creating a new calendar category - I simply call it "Food", then I add 4 repeating events (repeats every 4 days): Beef, Chicken, Pork or Fish, and No Meat.  Today, January 1st, we had Chili, so it was a beef day.  The beef event repeats from today.  Chicken is tomorrow, so it will repeat from tomorrow.  Pork or Fish will repeat from the 3rd, and No Meat will repeat from the 4th.

Next, I go around to each member of our family & request their favorite several meals... I plug those meals into my calendar, at the appropriate days.  I take special days - like birthdays or our anniversary - out of the plan, & make special meals for those.

Last, since I have all my recipes on my computer, I go into each meal event & add the recipe under notes.  That way, if I am away from home & need to know what to pick up from the grocery store, I can use my smart phone to access the calendar.

Of course, I will simplify my planning even further by making every meal a repeating event.  Depending on how many recipes your family will eat - or are favorites - this would repeat every several months.  However, if you make it too set in stone, you will never have room to experiment, try new recipes, or stretch your family's taste buds!

This plan is not meant to be the overwhelming part of your family's meals - it is meant as the default.  If you are craving a pizza instead of whatever is on the calendar, you can do that - just realize that you now have an option for another night if you want it (you already have the ingredients in your refrigerator & pantry!)

You know how it is, when it is dinner time, everyone is finally home from the day's events, and everyone is hungry ... but you haven't thought about what you will cook.  You too, are hungry, so you can't think.  Maybe you will go to the grocery store & wander around until something sparks your attention; or maybe you will just go to some drive-through to get a quick fix.  You know it isn't the best choice, but you can't figure out how to fix it.

Planning is the fix!  I find it is best done at that time of day when you aren't hungry enough to chew on the back of your chair; nor when you are so full you can hardly keep your eyes open.  Timing is important in this! It allows you to remember what you like to eat, but you are satisfied enough that every meal doesn't end up with a huge dessert factor!  Work on it for awhile, then quit - it's ok to take a few days to complete the project!  Remember, once you do this, you won't have to do it again!

By having a default plan, you are able to allow for other events, but have a plan for when you need a meal to feed your family.  You don't have to ask what anyone wants for dinner, you already know what they like.  You don't have to wonder what to buy at the grocery store, instead, you can plan ahead, buy in bulk, and know what will probably come up!

Once you get your meals in place, you can go back to the original 4 events (Beef, Chicken, etc) and delete them.  They are there mainly for planning - you don't really need them any more.

Oh yea, did you notice on the picture above, a dinner out night?  It is my birthday, so I don't want to cook!  If I know we will go out that night, we can plan the budget for it, too!  Put in place whatever special meals your family looks forward to - birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, etc!


Update!  I, like many others, have discovered Pinterest!  There are gazillions of yummy-looking recipes that my friends have pinned - and many of them end up in my "recipe book".  Therefore, I have updated the way I write my plans in Google Calendar.  If the recipe is mine, I list the side dishes in the space for WHERE an event is supposed to go.  If the recipe is from another blog, I copy the blog address I got it from in the Where space.  Both ways allow me to plan better as I cook & shop.