Mommy Maddie Blog

I’ve never been good at meal planning – I’ve always been more spontaneous and have always wanted the luxury of going to the grocery store to see what I’m inspired by and make something out of that. Unfortunately that’s never a good plan, especially after a long day of work and you have teen boys to feed. I’ve come to realize I don’t need to have a huge production of prep on Sundays; rather, I have a few tricks and some staples that help me through the week.

1. Trello Board
2. Staples
3. Frozen Goods
4. Leftovers

1. Trello Board

I use this trello board for inspiration and as an inventory of what it’s in my fridge/freezer. I find it super helpful using trello.com as it allows me to access from anywhere – mobile or desktop!

I also use it to plan big events like holiday dinners, birthdays, larger gatherings..etc. What’s great about it is that I can drag and drop/copy the recipes to meal plan and repurpose the meal plan for the next event (think Christmas and Easter – sous vide turkey 100%).

I tried meal planning for the week but w/my parents coming over Mondays & Wednesdays with whatever my mom finds on sale or fresh grocery shopping, I’ve learned to be more flexible instead 🙂

2. Staples

Some recipes are on a regular rotation which changes from time to time but here are the ones that are trending right now:

1. Ramen Eggs
2. Lemongrass Pork Chops
3. BBQ Chicken Wings
4. Spam Musubis
5. Pork Neck Stir Fried Cabbage
6. Lettuce/Salad Rolls

These are the teen approved meals we have in our house and it helps to cook huge batches for easy lunch prep the next day!

3. Frozen Goods

There are some things we always get at Costco that make it into our regular rotation – these range from ready-to-eat items to things that I mass freeze to make it easier to get later or so we can consume them over time without them going bad:

Frozen Portions

1. Costco size Cheese: I portion them into 1 inch blocks and saran wrap them before freezing. This way I can take out a block at at time, defrost and slice up for easy eating. Keeps WAY better this way!
2. Croissants: These are incredibly easy to set out the night before to proof and bake the next morning.

Ready-to-eat:

1. Korean Shrimp Fried Rice
2. Hot Pot Beef
3. Dumplings
4. Hot Pot Meatballs & Fishballs w/Curry (not from Costco but available at most Asian grocery stores – fish tofu or beef balls mixed w/Japanese curry cubes
5. Salmon Poke Cubes

While I often have something in the fridge that inspires me to cook; but when I don’t, I appreciate having this resource for inspiration.