Got Dinner? Menu Plan

I have always envied Oprah. Every night, her fabulous personal chef serves her a meal prepared from the freshest ingredients right in her own home. After a long day of work or after a long day of just being a mom, I have longed for someone to prepare my favorite meal and gracefully present it to my family with both style and flair.

“Hey Mom, what’s for dinner?”

“Why darling (add British accent)…why don’t you ask our personal chef?” Oh, how I would long to replace my usual stress, discouragement, and resignation with such a savvy, sophisticated, lifestyles-of-the-rich-and-famous response.

Personal chefs imply elegance, extravagance, luxury, comfort, grandeur…but have you seen my kitchen lately?

Chaos, resentment, junk food, take-out, fear, insecurity, unopened cookbooks, guilt, full cupboards (but still nothing to eat), a hungry family packed in the minivan on the way to Diary Queen. Sound familiar?

This was my life, but not anymore. What made me change? I am not entirely sure, but I think I just got tired of the rut.

The key for me has been menu planning. Taking a moment to plan my weekly menu has transformed me. I go to the grocery store once a week. I save $300 on groceries a month. I gracefully (okay…maybe an overstatement) prepare and serve fresh meals to my family. I always have an answer to the dreaded, “What’s for dinner?” question. It has been months since we visited the local drive thru. I am delighted to be getting the nutrition I deserve. Of course, I am still on that long journey towards simplicity, peace, and order--some days you would scoff at my hypocrisy--but I am enjoying the ride.

My new success in the kitchen has spilled over into other areas of my life. My family is more united. My kitchen is cleaner. My husband and I have both lost some weight. And I now have a work-from-home business providing online menu planning services to others who, like me, got tired of the rut (Got Dinner? Menu Plan at http://www.gotdinner.net).

All because I started planning my menu? Yep, you got it.

Menu Planning Basics

1. Start small—just do dinners. Breakfasts and lunches do not provoke the same emotional response as dinners. Put some cereal and some fruit out for breakfast and make a sandwich or salad for lunch and everyone is happy. Dinner is another story…start there. Small steps are meaningful and they set you up for success. Elaborate hoo-rah becomes just another failed exercise in home management overkill. Let yourself succeed and reward the small changes you make!

2. Decide to try anything and everything from your cookbooks. It is a waste of time to peruse cookbooks for meals that jump off the page at you. Open a page and cook what’s on it. If you don’t like it, don’t cook it again. Many delicious recipes go untried because of preconceived ideas. Give everything a try and save yourself valuable time.

3. After deciding on the meals, write a list of all of the items you need and organize them based on where you would find them in the grocery store. What do you need from the meat department? What about the spice rack? And so on… (See a sample menu at http://www.gotdinner.net/Sample_Email.htm)

4. Plan your weekly date with the grocery store. Drop the kids off at playgroup, put on some lipstick, and make it fun! Because you are so organized, finding what you need will be a breeze. The highlight of the date is the check-out counter. No more dread! Cheer for yourself…you have spent significantly less than usual for an entire week’s worth of food!

These four steps alone will transform the way you feel about dinner. I provide a helpful service to people just like you who want all of the benefits of menu planning. Visit me at http://www.gotdinner.net for your own personalized menu and grocery list every week.

I am sure that being Oprah has its perks…. but now I do not envy her. Being “me” has its perks too. I now employ someone who daily blesses my family with delicious meals. She takes the heat off of the dinner crunch and makes the dinner hour meaningful and tranquil. She reassures me that the food we eat is fresh and healthy. I am so very proud of her. I am my own personal chef.

About the author:Kristen Carter recently resigned from her position as a Marketing Director at a successful legal education firm to be at home with her one-year old son. Since then, she has developed and founded the Got Dinner? Menu Plan out of her own experience of failed meals and frustration in the kitchen. She provides personalized menus and grocery lists, as well as no-nonsense support and encouragement to others who desire to transform their dinner experience from chaotic to stress-free. She resides with her wonderful husband of six years in Seattle, Washington. Check out her menus at Got Dinner?

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