Susan Nicholson,RD/LD is planning to have arctic char for dinner. She has not prepared the mild flavored fish, but the price is reasonable and she is looking for something new. If all goes well with this aquatic relative of salmon and trout, it may soon find its way from her dinner table to yours via the syndicated newspaper column she has written for the past 16 years, "The 7-Day Menu Planner."
Last fall, Nicholson, a resident of Midtown whose column appears each Sunday in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, made menu planning even easier with the release of "7-Day Menu Planner for Dummies," (Wiley, $20). It is one of at least two recently released books designed to help answer the most terrifying question asked each evening in households nationwide -- what's for dinner?
In April, the editors of Woman's Day released "The Woman's Day Everyday Cookbook: 365 Tasty Recipes and Monthly Menus for the Whole Year," (Filipacchi Publishing, $30). Though both books offer a year of seasonally organized menu plans and recipes, Nicholson takes it a step beyond by teaching the reader how to create his or her own plans and offering tips for everything from saving time and money to eating for better health. The bonus in the Women's Day book are the ready made shopping lists that precede each chapter of menus.
"People hate planning more than they hate cooking," said Nicholson citing a frequent reason that more people don't engage in menu planning. "It is like any other habit. You have to make up your mind this is something that you want to do."
Sherri Caldwell, 43, made the commitment years ago. The mother of three, author and creator of Rebelhousewife.com, has a massive collection of recipes from magazines and other sources. Each week the Atlanta resident goes through her binder to create a basic menu plan and organize her shopping list. On Monday she hits the local grocery store (she visits again on Friday to stock up for the weekend). Her biggest challenge, she said, is not getting into a supper slump. Nicholson's book, which Caldwell featured on her website, helped Caldwell find some new material.
"Now I use my old recipe book and Susan's just to get some ideas. I go to the week and look through [Nicholson's] plan and use it as a baseline. If I see something that looks really good, I'll say oh, let's try that. I love it because she usually re-works it at least once during the week," Caldwell said.
Caldwell also appreciates the themed meals, speedy solutions and nutritional information in the book. "When we were in school...I don't remember any course on nutrition. I love that Susan's book has a basic family nutrition course at the beginning," Caldwell said.
For Caldwell and others in her generation who weren't taught how to cook or plan, Nicholson hopes her book will be a resource. "I hope they go to the front of the book where I really do lay out how to do it. There is a whole step by step process," Nicholson said. It is not unlike the process she once used while working in hospitals where menu planning is a huge issue because everything is based on cost and ordering. That institutional level planning can be scaled down to a home with as few as one or two people all the way up to large families, she said.
Nancy Nievera's growing family got her thinking about meal planning. Nievera, 46, of Peachtree Heights East, realized once her three children graduated from baby food, a plan would make evenings run a lot smoother. She sits down weekly to think about meals she can make each night that will work with activities and other demands. That usually ends up being a chicken dish, maybe spaghetti and some way to reuse the sauce later in the week. "My biggest thing with menu planning is I want to have leftovers to make something. That is the way I do things whenever something is on sale," said Nievera.
Though Nievera hasn't yet made use of the menu planning cookbooks out there, she seems to be on the right track. Cynthia Ewer, founder of Organizedhome.com, and a former Augusta resident, said it is important to shop according to what is in the market, not what is on your mind.
"When you plan menus and you keep them, you become aware of price cycles in grocery stores," said Ewer. "You should have six to eight family meal plans based on specials at the grocery store." This month that would include things designed for cook-outs and grilling, she said. The point of menu planning is to stock your kitchen with foods you need at the best possible prices and not waste anything, Ewer said. "Once you are in the rhythm of planning your meals, you save a lot of money and a lot of time."
The hardest part of menu planning is just getting started. Here are Cynthia Ewer's tips for getting your menu plans in gear:
- Just do it. Make a list of meals and a list of things you need. When you are in and out of the store in half the time...you gain a lot of peace of mind, Ewer said.
- Check supermarket circulars in the newspaper. They are an invaluable source of information not just about price but they will help you become aware of seasonal variations, she said.
- Put it in writing. Write a weekly or monthly plan down and stick it up in a public place, said Ewer. It keeps you and your family accountable.
- Hold on to your menu plans from week to week. Over the course of time you will find that you settle into family favorites.
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