The other day me and my best friend had a …well… a little bit of, shall we say…. an argument. 

A pan full of roasted tomatoes, cut in half.

I recently spent almost 2 months overseas visiting my brothers and sisters and also visiting and looking after my mum.  While I was staying at my mum’s house I got into the routine, already established by one of my sisters, of utilising a weekly shopping list and going out every Saturday morning to the supermarket and buying what was written on the list.   As simple as that. 

The list would include two essential sets of items:

  1. The basic household items that needed to be ‘replenished’.   Like washing up liquid, toilet paper, bleach, etc.  
  2. The ingredients required to support the creation of meals for everyone for the next 7 days.

Of course, this approach has some rules that accompany it: 

  1. Everyone in the house contributes to the list and follows the discipline of the ‘list method’. 
  2. The cook is the ‘list architect’ and everyone eats what the ‘list architect’ says they’re going to eat 
  3. Rebellion and non-conformity are not consistent with the ‘list method’.  

So this is where the argument with my best friend comes back into the picture.  According to him, it’s not that he doesn’t want to save money or that he enjoys throwing out wasted, out-of-date, rotting and unused vegetables.  But instead it’s a very strong aversion to a pre-planned, tightly controlled administration of the food consumption schedule.  He just doesn’t like that! 

So what do we do to solve the problem?   Well the only solution I can think of is the implementation of a ‘wild card’ system.  This system designates 1 or 2 dinners to be declared ‘open season’ in the meal department in order to satisfy the whims of those last minute, spur of the moment dining enthusiasts. 

Problem solved?   Well…maybe…. as long as we don’t end up eating zucchini, or the innards of a pumpkin every Wednesday! 

Hear are some useful resources that cover the area of meal planning and even some great recipe ideas:

9 Reasons Meal Planning Saves You Time, Money, and Sanity (simpleeverydayhome.com)

Meal Planning — How to Meal Plan to Save Money | Trusted Since 1922 (rd.com)

Budget & Everyday – BBC Good Food

How do you plan your meals?   Do you forward plan at all?  Please let us know in the comments below.

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