Do you ever go off-menu-ing?
Here's an example: last weekend was Valentine's Day (Friday) and my husband's birthday (Saturday). In an effort to be frugal, I planned to cook both days--Drunken Risotto for VDay and Pork Tenderloin for the birthday dinner.
I encountered my first bump in the menu road when I was grocery shopping that Monday. I had saved my pork tenderloin purchase for my last store, and lo & behold, Whole Foods was out of pork tenderloin. I had a lot to do that day, and I was out of time to run to an extra store, so I told myself I'd grab some later that week.
Friday rolled around, and after a long week, I just wanted to sit down with my Valentine, some take-out, & Netflix. We postponed the risotto dish and treated ourselves to take-out.
As a birthday gift to my husband, our family spent the day raking up an autumn's worth of leaves from our backyard, and we were all happily tired and sore after we knocked out that monster chore. We decided a birthday dinner at a restaurant of my hubby's choice would be a better option, thus postponing the pork tenderloin.
I normally would have made one of the postponed dishes on Sunday evening, but after a trip to the park with our daughter to enjoy some rare sunny weather, we decided sharing a pizza would be a good way to use up our budgeted restaurant money.
This might sound like a confession, but you probably identify with it as plain ole' real life.
Instead of feeling incredibly guilty that I wasted those days or those meal ingredients, I'm scheduling them into this week's menu plan for our family. I cut one of the planned recipes from my grocery list, I'll buy ingredients for the other three meals, and I'll end up with enough ingredients for five meals. I'll cook four of the meals during the weekdays (eating leftovers on one of the weekdays), and I'll make the final dish this weekend. (I could have cut two meals, but an extra meal will save us some restaurant money this week.)
I love structure & schedules, but the flip side is that when I get "off menu," I end up stuck in the mud of my cravings and whims for the rest of the week. If this happens to you, don't worry--it's not hard to reschedule and jump right back on the menu without losing money. And if you find yourself unmotivated to get back in the kitchen, remind yourself that some happy music and a glass of wine (or any favorite treat) can make the "chore" fun again!
Here's an example: last weekend was Valentine's Day (Friday) and my husband's birthday (Saturday). In an effort to be frugal, I planned to cook both days--Drunken Risotto for VDay and Pork Tenderloin for the birthday dinner.
I encountered my first bump in the menu road when I was grocery shopping that Monday. I had saved my pork tenderloin purchase for my last store, and lo & behold, Whole Foods was out of pork tenderloin. I had a lot to do that day, and I was out of time to run to an extra store, so I told myself I'd grab some later that week.
Friday rolled around, and after a long week, I just wanted to sit down with my Valentine, some take-out, & Netflix. We postponed the risotto dish and treated ourselves to take-out.
As a birthday gift to my husband, our family spent the day raking up an autumn's worth of leaves from our backyard, and we were all happily tired and sore after we knocked out that monster chore. We decided a birthday dinner at a restaurant of my hubby's choice would be a better option, thus postponing the pork tenderloin.
I normally would have made one of the postponed dishes on Sunday evening, but after a trip to the park with our daughter to enjoy some rare sunny weather, we decided sharing a pizza would be a good way to use up our budgeted restaurant money.
This might sound like a confession, but you probably identify with it as plain ole' real life.
Instead of feeling incredibly guilty that I wasted those days or those meal ingredients, I'm scheduling them into this week's menu plan for our family. I cut one of the planned recipes from my grocery list, I'll buy ingredients for the other three meals, and I'll end up with enough ingredients for five meals. I'll cook four of the meals during the weekdays (eating leftovers on one of the weekdays), and I'll make the final dish this weekend. (I could have cut two meals, but an extra meal will save us some restaurant money this week.)
I love structure & schedules, but the flip side is that when I get "off menu," I end up stuck in the mud of my cravings and whims for the rest of the week. If this happens to you, don't worry--it's not hard to reschedule and jump right back on the menu without losing money. And if you find yourself unmotivated to get back in the kitchen, remind yourself that some happy music and a glass of wine (or any favorite treat) can make the "chore" fun again!
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