How I meal plan for my family when I won’t be here….

I learned last year when Miss Frugal and I went to Cyprus that if I don’t write a meal plan for Mr and Master Frugal to follow while we’re away without the, then they’ll eat either basic meals like beans on toast or they’ll simply get a takeaway – neither of which are ideal when we’re away for 5 days.

That’s why I’ve spent this morning writing an easy meal plan for them for when we’re away in New York next week and seeing as I’ve finished it, I thought I’d share it with you and tell you a little bit about why I’ve chosen the meals that I have….

Before I started, I took into account Mr Frugal’s complete lack of cooking skills, next I remembered his total lack of willpower and also his inability to identify ingredients and where he can find them (don’t feel too sorry for me -he’s ridiculously bad at cooking but he does wash all the pots and do all the ironing).  Taking all of that into consideration, I’ve come up with the simplest meal plan you can imagine which is printed out ready to be stuck on the fridge the day before we go.

There’s also a small list of instructions to go with each meal which I’ve copy and pasted below so you can see. 😉

Spaghetti bolognaise – The bolognaise is in the top drawer of the small freezer and can be heated up in the microwave. There’s some garlic bread in the freezer too that will be lovely with this if you’re both extra hungry.

Chicken dippers, chips and beans – Chicken dippers and chips are in the top drawer of the small freezer and can be cooked in the airfryer.

Slow cooker gammon, mash and veg – The slow cooker gammon can go in the slow cooker on low all day while you’re at work (just put enough water in to cover the bottom of the pot.  The mash is ready made to save you mashing and is in the fridge and the veg is all in the middle drawer of the big freezer – just choose which you fancy but J will usually pick brocolli, carrots and maybe the cauliflower.  There are also some ready made Yorkshires in the top drawer of the small freezer which can go in the airfryer at the last minute for about three minutes.

Chicken burgers, curly fries and salad – The chicken burgers are in the middle drawer of the small freezer with the curly fries. There are buns and Warburtons thins in the cupboard depending on what you feel like and lots of salad stuff in the fridge to make a salad – DO NOT ADD TOMATOES TO THE SALAD!  😉

The reason I’ve added where everything is in the freezer is because we have three freezers and they’re all full at the moment so it can take a while to find what you want if you don’t know where it is.  I know exactly where most things are so I thought I’d be nice. 😉

There’s obviously less cooking from scratch and more pre-prepared foods than I would usually include in a meal plan but I want to make it as simple as I can – if I don’t, I know the temptation to juts pop to McDonalds will be too much.  There’s also more convenience teas than I would generally include with burgers and chicken dippers both being included and although it’s not as healthy as I’d like, I have to be realistic and know that they simply wouldn’t stick to meals that they had to faff about cooking. Also, I haven’t given set days for the meals so it’s still quite a flexible plan but it does mean that it should be easy enough for them to stick to and eat healthier food than they would have done without a list

I’ve only planned evening meals because Master Frugal can easily make himself breakfast (and lunch when he’s not at school) and I’ve stocked up on lots of things that I know he’ll enjoy including frozen fruit for smoothies if he fancies one.

Ultimately, Mr Frugal is a grown man and I can’t tell him not to go to the takeaway or to pop to the shop for something they fancy, all I can do is try and make a meal plan that is easy to prepare, featuring meals they enjoy and including only ingredients that are in the house.

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