Thermomix Menu Plans - 14th November

Do you come home at the end of a long day, tired and hungry, and stand in the kitchen with the fridge door open hoping dinner inspiration will bounce out at you? Everyone's cranky and there's no meat thawed out, everything you think of you don't have all the ingredients for, so you end up dashing out for some take-away... or having sandwiches - again! Sound familiar? If so, you need a menu plan!

A lot of people tell me that the thing they most dislike about cooking is deciding what to cook. When you sit down and work out a menu for the week, you get all that decision making out of the way in one go, saving yourself lots of time each day. You'll also eat healthier. And you will save money by doing all your shopping at once, instead of popping in and out of the shop every day. Because, as I'm sure you know, the more you go to the shops, the more unnecessary purchases you make.

I sometimes get slack with my menu planning - usually when I'm really busy, which is the worst time not to plan! What works best for me is to plan my menu on a Sunday, print it out, and stick it up on the fridge door alongside a calendar of what's on for the week. Every night after dinner I can check to see what food needs to be prepared and what's going on the next day. For example, do I need to get meat out of the freezer to thaw out, or soak nuts/seeds/grains, or have some baking done for the next day for school lunches and visitors... It's also a good idea to have family members' names next to any meals that they'll be cooking or helping with that week. For more ideas and tips for menu planning, check out my post on How to Menu Plan to see what I do to work out my menu for the week.

Get the kids involved in the planning and the cooking!

I've sent out a request on my Facebook page and on Twitter to ask who would be willing to share their Thermomix menu plans each week. I think it would be great if we could all get some ideas off each other, and encourage each other to be more organized in this area! I know I always stick to my plan better if I have put it out there for everyone to see - it kind of keeps me accountable. So who'd like to join in? The instructions are on this page tab, 'Thermomix Menu Plans'.

I was going to be super organized and have a printable menu plan template and calendar for you to write your own plan on, but then I found one over at My Little Thermomix that looked perfect! So pop over there and print it out - it looks great. And there's more menu planning tips there as well. Thanks Brooke :)

So here's my menu plan for this week - I hope you'll come back and share yours too! (If you don't have a blog or website, feel free to post your menu plan in the comments below.)

Monday:

(lunch) Spaghetti & Meatballs (all in one meal, sauce & pasta cook in the tmx bowl while meatballs steam in Varoma) with a green salad

(dinner) Corn & Bean Patties (made in tmx & shallow fried in pan) with raw vege sticks & a smoothie

Tuesday:

(lunch) Fried Rice (Thermomix style) - quick & easy; sandwiches & fruit for kids (it's their school day)

(dinner) Fish (shallow fried in pan), mashed potatoes & steamed veges (tmx - method here)

Wednesday:

(lunch) Mexican Quinoa (tmx) & Spelt Tortillas (dough made in tmx) with green salad

(dinner) Vege soup (tmx) & leftovers, with gluten free bread (tmx - Cyndi O'Meara's recipe)


Thursday:

(lunch) Spelt bread sandwiches (bread dough made in tmx)

(dinner) Slow cooker lamb chop casserole (out all day)


Friday:

(lunch) Pasta made with leftover lamb casserole meat & juices, more veges added (all in one tmx meal)

(dinner) Chicken Curry with Sticky Rice (all in one tmx meal)


Saturday:

(lunch) Baked potatoes & American Chop Salad (tmx)

(dinner) Huevos Rancheros ('Ranch Style Eggs' - sauce made in tmx, eggs poached in sauce in frying pan)

Sunday:

(lunch) Roast with baked veges (cooking while out), gravy in Thermomix

(dinner) Leftovers & bread