Meal Planner - anyone?

[Crispy Chick]

Hi

I make up loads of veg and fruit cubes and then i 'mix and match' e.g. put cubes of carrot, pea and sweetcorn together for a lunch, then use potato and spinach and put it with some fish for tea - that sort of thing.

Occassionally i will make up a batch of a complete dish, like a chicken casserole etc.  and freeze the leftovers.

I find fish really easy and i just cut it into portion sized pieces to freeze, then defrost over night and cook the small piece of fish in the steamer before adding some veg cubes - makes a very quick and healthy meal )

[Lu_C]

I used to do the mix and match freezer cubes with LO1 but then moved over to BLW, which changed the way we eat. With DS  he was a bit picky but DD started with BLW and rarely had a spoon put in her mouth.

When I was PG with #2 (DD) I bulk cooked and froze then made a menu. For 6 weeks we ate those meals! I found there was so much less stress with a menu so I stuck with it. We now live in our own little restaurant! Every week I create a menu, do the shopping for all the food and cook fresh each day. It's bliss. I don't have to think abotu what we're having, don't have to rush to the shop and we get to eat great meals

My cooking skills have improved because I'm excited to try new dishes - there are so many recipe sites online.

It's really easy to cater for LOs by extracting part of the food before finishing it off for the 'grown ups' but more often than not the kids enjoy eating what we're havig anyway. The number of nights we have clean plates is astonishing and they LOVE stuff I don't think I'd even touched as a child: olives, dates, beans, duck, brie.

I can't tell you how much easier life gets when you know what you're eating before you start cooking! I'm more than happy to pass on my weekly menu if anyone wants it - PM me.

I

[kikoz]

hey great thread, i think it should be a sticky with everyone sharing there meals
I will definitely try out your plans for a change
my lo is 7.5 months and ours goes like this

Breakfast:
M,T,W,TH, F,S&S
weetabix + spread cheese + Formula milk+ every day a different fruits - for a change of flavor -all mixed together
(once a week, I just mix one egg yolk in here- the taste just fades away)

Lunch:
I try to always versify every week but tend to repeat 3 same meals through the week.
I make for lo whatever we are cooking for us all week, but without the salts and the no-nos.

M&W
- red beans with carrots , broccoli, tomatoes , onions and rice - and meat if you like that
or  green beans with tomatoes , onions and rice - and meat if you like that
or lentils with potatos and spinach and onions and bit of lemon juice.
T& TH
- mix of loads of vegetables with chicken/meat
S&S
- I choose a recipie or 2 from Karmels books , or whatever us left from the week days bc we dont cook on week-ends

... of course I limit the meats to three times a week. and use Tofu on some other days.

Snack
Yogurt with different fruits or mix of 2 / 3 fruits

Dinner
I am just gona start giving lo dinners, bc only milk is not sustaining her through the night anymore.
So I was digging some recipes from here and would probably be giving her:
rice pudding/ pancakes/ banana breads ets

This way, all her meals are fresh and I dont need to freeze. She eats whatever we are eating and I blend the fruits daily

HTH

[Yazzie]

Wow, nice thread:)

Marking my spot & will be back..!..agree that it should be a sticky.

[*Kara*]

Hi there - my LO is just coming up to 8 mo and yes I'm also a food planner addict.  I sit down on a thursday and plan out LO's and our meals for the week and try work out how I can best maximise shopping etc etc.

I've been using Annabel Karmel Meal Planner but just don't always get that inspired and find sometimes LO just won't eat the meals I've spent the last 3 hours lovingly preparing =)  I have a  stockpile of basic purees frozen in freezer in case.  I plan a day and then repeat every three days for ease except for Sundays which I don't plan - wing it as necessary and have a few jars on hand in case I just need a day off 

Anyway last week looked roughly like so:

Breakfasts:
M - Apple and baby muesli
T - porridge and banana
W - Banana and peach puree
T - Apple and baby muesli
F - porridge and banana
S - Banana and peach puree
S - Often just banana and cereal or whatever is in freezer!

Lunch:
M - Leek and Potato Puree
T - Chicken and Kumara (Sweet potato) Puree
W - Courgette and Cheese Sauce Pasta Puree
T - Leek and Potato Puree
F - Chicken and Kumara (Sweet potato) Puree
S - Courgette and Cheese Sauce Pasta Puree
S - Whatever is left in freezer!

Dinner
M - Sweet Root Veg Puree
T - Beef and Tomato Casserole (pureed)
W - Spinach, Pumpkin and Kumara (sweet Potato) puree with cous cous
T  - Sweet Root Veg Puree
F - Beef and Tomato Casserole (pureed)
S - Spinach, Pumpkin and Kumara (sweet Potato) puree with cous cous
S - Whatever is left in freezer or jar!

My LO being a bit of a glutton also gets custard or yoghurt or fruit puree after his lunch and dinner if he wants it and also introducing finger foods, such as a toast finger or some grated cheese (not going that well yet - mostly just mushed into high chair, face etc etc!).

You are my hero!  I am totally gonna steal your menu