Do you feel that most days/evenings, you scramble around the kitchen trying to find something to throw together for breakfast/lunch/dinner?  Are the phrases "What do you want for dinner" or "What's for dinner?" commonplace in your house?  Sick of always feeling that you're a slave to meal

Cooking the family meal for me was a chore.  It was an area that was a little out-of-control and not very organised.  As a result, we would eat too much take-away and I was a frequent school canteen user.  I got very frustrated and thought that there had to be a better, healthier, more economical way to run this part of my home.

Well here is the solution that has worked for me.  About 2 years ago, I started to create a menu which I posted on the fridge for all to see.  Sounds simple enough and nothing new I know.  But it has been one of the most liberating tasks that I now do each month, and has grown into the system that I share with you today.  It has turned something that was a chore (cooking) into something that I now take great pleasure in.  I don't face a barrage of questions or groans about what we are having for dinner anymore because they just check for themselves.  Here are some suggestions on how to set it up and get it started.

What you will need:

• PC& printer or notepad, pen & ruler
• Freezer bags
• A commitment to invest a wee bit of time to get the process set-up initially
• Kitchen scales (optional) - I have a cheap one that does me fine 

Step 1 - Start by creating a list of all the meals that your family enjoys.  This is a list that you will refer to each time you create your menu, and that you should keep adding to as new foods or recipes are tried and loved.  This was a fun exercise to do as well.  I went around to each member of the house with pen and paper in hand and 'interviewed' them about the meals and kinds of foods that they liked and disliked.  I am almost ashamed to admit that I learned alot!  It was very interesting what I didn't know about my children and husband.

Step 2 - Think about the things that you would like to achieve with your meals or if you have any special dietary needs to consider, and write these down too.  It might sound silly, but mine were to increase my family's vegetable intake into their daily diets, and to try at least 2 new recipes a month. (I'm a recipe-a-holic and wanted to put my collection to use).  It also now gives me the opportunity of adding new 'family favourite meals' to the meal list.  You may also want to incorporate a 'Kids cooking night' or 'Make your own pizza night' as suggested by Superstar.  Great ideas to not only involve the family in the creation of the meal (food prep and handling techniques) but also teaches them basic home economics in how to plan a family meal and budgeting. 

Step 3 - You'll be creating a shopping list for this menu, so think about how long you want to plan for and whether you want it to cover all meals of the day, or just 1 or 2.  I actually do mine once a month because I get paid monthly, and just cover dinner (lunch is covered as a natural by-product of leftovers and the Sunday roast, and brekky's mid-week are complex carb cereals with fruit). 

Step 4 - Creating the menu.  Now I warn you, the first 1 or 2 times you do this will take some time so don't be disheartened.  I've been doing mine for so long now and recently converted it to a simple spreadsheet doc, that I now take 30 minutes to plan meals and the shopping list for a whole month!  The first thing to do here is a 'stock count' of what is unused from the previous month (meat, veg, protein, meal bases, etc., basically anything that you would like to use up).  The menu is worked in columns.  I have the days and dates down the 1st column, and my dinners in a second column (I include the veg or salad I will serve with it).  A good trick is, if you have a meal that you will repeat each week, plot it in.  (For eg., ours is Taco's on a Monday night, some kind of roast on a Sunday night, bubble & squeak on Tuesday night with leftover veg from the Sunday night roast, and some kind of pasta on Wednesday night because I need a quick meal to allow me to shoot off to art class by 7pm).  It may sound monotenous, but you can build in variety each week.  Also have a think about your family's schedule, and if there are evenings that are a bit hectic that you need an 'easy' meal for.  Do you want to be able to cook a double quantity on say a Saturday night, and have the rest early the next week to give you more time that evening?  Do you want the kids to share in the cooking?  By plotting out your menu and making it visual, you really start to see where the opportunities are to tackle some of the goals that you identified in step 2, while making your family meal times interesting, varied, fun, and catering for all tastes and needs.

Step 5 - Creating the shopping list.  Now that you've got your meals organised, you can work out what meats and longer-life items you will need to cover the whole list.  Add to that your other household needs, and there you have the bulk of your shopping organised for that menu period.  Tip:  I also build in about 2 emergency meals to cover unexpected visitors during the month - just usually something that I can easily add to anything in my menu and throw on the barby.  I nearly always have to use it, and if I don't, just count it up in my 'stock count' the following month.

Step 6 - Preparing your purchases.  After I have done my mega once-a-month shop, I get down to the business of trimming, dicing, slicing, sorting and weighing my meat purchases and packaging it up in freezer bags for freezing.  It doesn't take as long as you might think.  Just remember, the 30-60 minutes you spend doing this here in bulk, means that you don't need to do this prep again for, in my case, a whole month.  Tip:  Don't forget to label & date!

I know this sounds like it takes a lot of time, but seriously, I might now spend 3-5 hours one day a month getting all of the above done.  And then all I have to do is put the relevant frozen protein pack in the fridge to thaw overnight, and check I have all the veg I need to cover it.  The meal prep is now something we share and do as a family, not just a mum chore.  And the only things that I am left with to buy during that month is bread and milk (which I pick up after work) and fruit and veg (which I try and keep to once a week). 

Hope this helps!  Does anyone else have some time saving techniques they would like to share, or ideas for family meals that save time?  Please share - we'd love to hear from you.