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    Home » Recipes » Once a Month Cooking

    Once a Month Cooking

    Last Updated Date: August 8, 2021 | Published Date: March 20, 2013 by Seng Nickerson

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    A few months ago, Ryan and I were trying to figure out how to save time and money in terms of food.

    Our problems:

    • No time to organize and make grocery list
    • We don't eat all the food we buy because its hard to cook for two
    • With two babies, its hard to even go to the grocery store and "peruse" the aisles

    What we have tried:

    • Emeals.com - They have recipes and organize your grocery list. We have it a whirl for two months and found that we didn't like the food. Yes, it did help us organize and shop, but it helped us organize and shop for food we really didn't care for.
    • Organizing and coupon cutting - We gave this a whirl, and it just takes time. Even when we sit down and try to make meals, we end up making the same meals over and over again each week.

    Here are examples of our meals (my parents are probably rolling their eyes). Pretty much this is what we eat each week. Sad huh? I mix it up sometimes with steak and asparagus (rarely, but it happens).

    • Monday - sphaghetti and garlic bread
    • Tuesday - enchiladas
    • Wednesday - chicken alfredo
    • Thursday - quesadillas
    • Friday - Take Out
    • Saturday Breakfast - chocolate chip pancakes, Saturday Lunch - Take Out, Saturday Dinner - Take Out
    • Sunday Breakfast - chocolate chip pancakes, Sunday Lunch - Something Random, Sunday Dinner - Grandma's house!

    That's sad right? I'm crossing my fingers that as the kids get older, I'm going to have more time to layout an awesome dinner menu.

    I feel bad because when we got this house, I told Ryan that I would cook more now that I had room for all of my cookware, spices, and pots/pans. I mean, in the boonies, I was preparing food on top of the washer/dryer! Needless to say, throw some babies into my world, I have no time to cook!

    More recently to resolve this dilemma, Ryan and I tried something called "Once a Month Cooking". We spent $225 on groceries (and other things - you know how it is when you go to Wally World a.k.a. Walmart).

    The following is a list of meals for 2 people (and a small toddler who eats your scraps). Yep. That's 24 FROZEN READY MADE dinners.

    3 chicken french onion meals
    2 roast beef meals
    3 BBQ pork sandwich meals
    1 stir fry meals
    4 chili meals
    6 lasagna meals
    3 ham meals
    2 enchilada meals
    6 side dishes of cheese casserole
    1 Spaghetti Meal with garlic bread and salad
    1 Burrito Meal with chips/guac dip
    1 BBQ Pork Sandwich Meal with fries
    1 Something else with ground beef (hamburger helper)

     

    Don't get too excited. After we spent all this time doing it (an entire weekend), we found that chili didn't really sound good heated up. Enchiladas didn't taste good from frozen. We threw away more than we wanted too.

    Ryan and I are just picky eaters, we just have to admit that out loud. And our waistlines show it.

    But I'm not giving up. I hate eating out so often - it kind of sickens me really. I'm trying really really hard to cook more. I'm wishing that I had watched my mom cook as I was growing up (I would never tell this to her because she would say 'I told you so').

    Any tips for this momma?

    Ending this post with yet another phone photo of the girls (they are my world - husband included). Grandma decided to make them festive for St. Patty's day.

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. crystal

      March 28, 2013 at 8:19 pm

      on the cooking once a month, i too am a picky eater but i've actually read a couple articles on this method, mostly for weight loss, (ie portion control and not eating out), i've found that the trick is to find what foods freeze and reheat best, as well as the specific methods for freezing certain foods. some foods dont freeze well in a container and instead need to be bagged with all the excess air let out ect. if your interested try looking on spark people .com for articles on making your own frozen dinners and also check taste of home .com for the same as well as menu options. hope this helps.

    2. Brandi Cooley Schile

      March 21, 2013 at 2:10 am

      The fact that you are trying is awesome. Most people I know eat out more nights than they don't. I love kraftfoods.com. The stuff there is generally easy and has few ingredients. Might be worth a shot! On weekends, I'm more apt to do a Pioneer Woman recipe but who has time during the week? So don't feel bad about spaghetti!

    3. Sandy a la Mode

      March 20, 2013 at 9:05 pm

      you are getting a head start on our meal plan!! what about what we had talked about on the elliptical?? haha... ok, i will be back at our office regularly in a few weeks, and i will catch up with you on this haha!

      xo,
      Sandy
      Sandy a la Mode

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    Seng is a life and style blogger for the modern mom. She is a mom of four that works outside of the home balancing the delicate balance of her career and being present for her family.
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