Which way round do you do it?

kazmeister

Hi dont know if this will help but I've been doing this a while now

For whatever reasons I had cupboardfuls and freezers full of food but still didnt know what to do for tea each night and invariably went and bought more. DH didnt help either as when he picked DD up from school they used to go to Mr T's and he would come home with carrier bags of yellow stickered stuff.

I however realised it was ridiculous and started by making a list of everything in the freezer which I now keep in a folder in the kitchen which I have been using for a couple of years now. I date it when I put it in so I can rotate the older stuff as I used to find stuff that had been in there 2 - 3 years! Recently I have made a list of cupboard contents and I have a lot as well. I then meal plan around the older stuff so it gets used up and only buy meat if its yellow stickered/on offer or I have none.

I meal plan as follows
1 x Roast day
1 x Pasta day
1 x Rice day
1 x Meat day
1 x Fish day
1 x Snack day
1 x Other day

This gives us a variety and you will soon build up loads of different things to do.

I start with the roast (using what I have from the freezer) as usually I can get another meal for the 4 of us (2 kids 10 and 17). So roast pork on Sunday becomes sweet n sour pork eg on Tuesday (which would become Rice day) so thats 2 days done and to the shopping list I have added veg, a jar of sweet n sour sauce ( i use Sharwoods small jar with no bits in) and maybe a pineapple (as hate tinned). Then I find something from the freezer to fill in one of the other days and then only add things to the shopping list that we havent got. To me its a really easy plan to follow and it seems to work and I dont do anything too complicated. Snack day is usually planned around when we have to rush out to sports clubs etc and need something quick.

Heres some ideas
Roast - Chicken, Pork, Beef. Lamb, Turkey
Pasta - Spag bol, Macaroni cheese, Sausage pasta, Pasta Carbonara,
Meat - Cold roast, chips n beans, Pork chops, Lamb chops, Sausage and Mash. Sausage casserole, Shepherds or Cottage pie (made by mincing leftover roast), Toad in the hole, Beef casserole (with dumplings) Liver & Bacon, Spanish Stew, Stedak PIe n veg.
Fish - Fish fingers, Tuna/Tomato stew, Grilled Rainbow Trout (both kids love it), Fish cakes, Pan fried cod with HM chips or mash, Fish casserole.
Rice - Chicken Curry, Sweet n Sour, Chilli con Carne (mild for kids) Kebabs with a rice salad, Risotto, Kedgeree or anything served with rice
Snacks - Sausage Pasta, Hot Dogs, Pizza, Tortilla wraps, Fish n Chips, Omelette, Chicken and Ham rolls, Burgers, Quiche, Jacket Potatoes, Salad
Other - Can be a duplication of any other day, a takeaway, Meal out, or leftovers from the fridge/freezer.

By using this plan I have really reduced the contents of my freezer (but not emptied it yet) and if I see a special offer at least now I have the room to put it in. It also means that I can check what I need for the next day and get it out of the freezer in advance so that when I get in from work at 5 we can have tea on the table by 6 instead of 8!

In addition to the above I love Easycook magazine which comes out every couple of months which I get loads of ideas from. They have a storecupboard section and a feeding the kids after school bit as well for quick ideas.

HTH

Kaz

MoneyQueen

For me also. it is a bit of both. I have my inventory list in my purse when I go to shop. I buy the special deals and also refer to my list to plan what I can use with what. I only plan for a week at one time

MQ