Meal plan for indian cooking

Why I meal Plan?

Meal planning is great, especially if you are somehow who likes to lay out a plan and be prepared to stay out of chaos. I did not take meal planning seriously until a couple of years ago, after my daughter reached her pre-schooling age and my husband had to work until after midnight. I also spent a lot more time on creating beautiful contents for my blog. It takes serious work you guys. Blogging is not simple.

So I slowly started laying out a plan for the week. I just brainstormed the menu with what vegetables we got from the store. It took the guess work out of my mind. Those extra few minutes are really important. I am sure many of us plan at different levels. However writing it all down makes it real.

How meal planning helped me?

Less time shopping

Writing down what I need, makes shopping a breeze. I do not have to go through every aisle to remind me what I need. In my meal planning template, I have handy dandy shopping list right next to my plan. So I know exactly what I need.

Better prepping

Also with planning, I was able to coming up with better preparation. I also added a make ahead plan for the upcoming week, which helps me prep for what I need, in turn gives me extra few minutes for not grinding or chopping or forgetting something in the morning.

Less cleaning

Oh ! the cleaning. It put me right to having a schedule. I clean my refrigerator every time I buy grocery. So by the end of the week. It is almost empty and make it a breeze to clean. Imagine that 15 - 20 mins of cutting vegetables time saved up to fold laundry later in the day. 10 minutes to clear the cutting station, put to use elsewhere. Doing it all at once helps.

Less chaotic

Cutting vegetables for couple of days made my mornings less chaotic. That gave me those precious few minutes, which resulted in me spending a little bit more time in the bed, or snuggled up in the couch to have that morning coffee in peace.

As much as I love cooking, I also do not like to stay in the kitchen forever. Meal planning definitely a winner here. It encouraged me to plan more and organize my life.

More Options

With planning, I started avoiding redundancy. I could plan for varieties and prep accordingly.

How to meal plan?

Start brainstorming

First I brainstorm based on what is already available and come up with a plan based on seasonal produce. It is not 100 % certain that everytime we make a plan and all the ingredients and produce are readily available. So brainstorming helps create a back up plan. So here I list all the items I can make and plan to make. Based on this I split the dishes throughout the week.

Keep it simple

I start laying out the plan based on my schedule that week. My husband fasts 2 days a week, so most of my heavy loaded dinners are split to those days where he eats dinner to dinner. I plan for at least 2 days a week, where I can cook my dinner along with lunch. That way the kitchen is clean after lunch.

Avoid multiple dishes.

Avoid making varieties. There can be various scenarios where multiple dishes are necessary. Like meals for baby, or elderly people. However, I try to give my toddler, what we eat. Everyone in the house gets to eat the same thing. I just set aside some before adding spices.

Planning & shopping

Now that I brainstormed and decided what I want to make, I plan and write down. This gives me a shopping list. After shopping I go ahead and make any changes based on availability. Then I update my plan with the dishes throughout the week. Now it is all set in stones and there is no need to think for the rest of the days.

Kitchen+Scene.jpg — Meal planning guide

Click the button below to download my free meal planning template

Download free template

Click the link above to download my free meal planning template that works for me.

Few points to note

I often make no cook breakfasts (Smoothie, Oats, Porridge mix, Toast), So my plan doesnt have a breakfast coloumn.
We are not heavy snackers so I also dont have a column for that. I often write available snacks in notes below. (We snack on cucumbers, fruits, sundals or nuts)

Thanks and Happy planning !