I've Got Your Dinner Plans Right Here

Alternate Titles:

You Can't Spell 'Bliss' (incorrectly) Without L-I-S-T

How Many Lists Would a List Lover List if a List Lover Loved Listing Lists?

Failure To Plan (Dinner) = Planning To Fail (Dinner) 

A few months ago, I came up with the totally original, never ever before thought of idea to plan my family's dinners for the entire month.  Immediately, I saw the list-making value in this venture, and whipped out my favorite mechanical pencil.

Here is a list of the pros and cons involved in this task:

Pros:

• It's actually many lists in one.  First, I write down the dates, then fill in the meals I know I won't have to plan on cooking (Taco Tuesday, Thanksgiving, school fundraiser night at a restaurant, etc.).  Next, I count the blanks and list the number of dinners needed in a neat column on the side.  I then randomly list meals in that column, until I finally assign the meals to specific dates, keeping in mind how recently I will have served a specific dinner or something similar.  
• $$$$!  Knowing that I'm going to be making chili in 3 weeks, for example, lets me take advantage of the sale on cans of diced tomatoes at the grocery store while feeling confident that they won't be taking up valuable pantry space for months.  I shop less often, now, because of my plan, and I've been shopping smarter, too.
• If you are the person who does most of the cooking for your household, you can easily imagine the relief of knowing every morning what you'll be making for dinner that night.  It takes so much stress away from daily life, and leaves more time for...

relaxing.

• If you are the person who does not do most of the cooking, it's also nice to know what to expect each night.  Plus, you are able to give input on what you would like to eat just once a month, on the day the list is made, rather than being asked before breakfast every morning, "What sounds good to you for dinner?"
• Leftover love. Pulled pork in the crock pot on the 5th, leftovers frozen. Cuban sandwiches (with the leftover pork) on the 16th, Taquitos (yup, you guessed it- with the last of the pork) on the 28th. I make a big batch of homemade spaghetti sauce early in the month, save a few gallon-sized freezer bags-full and lay them flat on the freezer shelf.  All the rest of my pasta dishes for the month are then easy peasy lemon squeezy!

Let's sum up the pros.  Save money, save time, relax, make others happy, write many lists.  But, this is a fair and balanced blog, unlike like the television news stations, so now for the other side.

Cons:

• It can take a good hour or so to think of and write down all the dinners you'll make for the month.  (However, if you calculate how much time you waste each month staring in the fridge or pantry, looking through cookbooks repeatedly, or just wracking your brain trying to think of anything yummy that you didn't already eat this week, it probably adds up to more than 60 minutes.  We'll have to call this one a "pron").
• Impromptu dinner invitations are not accepted/offered quite as often.  (Although, having fresh meat and produce forcing you to cook rather than go to a restaurant can be a money-saving pro, too.  We've got us another pron.)
• Um.

Of course, I know that I'm not actually the first person to do this whole planning of dinner thing.  In fact, I was inspired by my online friend, Luisa, who has worship-worthy cooking/planning skills.  How about you?  Do you plan ahead, or are your dinners stir of the moment? (Ha!)

Trend Bucking

This blog's title is "Unsolicited Advice," a fact which I hope you've noticed.  One of the reasons I started writing it was to share my opinions and my advice, regardless of whether or not folks asked to hear either.  (I also felt it was important to open a discussion on fries and dipping.)  Up until now, though, I haven't really offered any advice to make folks bristle, and I haven't had anyone openly disagree with advice I've given.  This post might buck that trend.

Not my feet.

I'm here to tell you that if you need to, lose weight.  Just do it!  I'll tell you how, too.  Eat healthy, exercise more.  I totally get that it isn't always that simple.  I know there are medications, illnesses, imbalances, injuries, and genetics that complicate the weight loss process.  For those of you with a legitimate medical reason for being overweight, stop reading here; this is not for you.  But for the majority of the people who are at an unhealthy weight, it is that simple.  I realized today (not because of you, or you, or you, I promise) that people need to be informed of this fact.  I'll say it again.  Eat healthy.  Exercise more.

You know what I hear a lot?  "I've tried everything, and I just can't lose weight."  YES YOU CAN!  The "everything" that most people have tried is everything but eating healthy and exercising more.  Think about it.

Pills.  Powders.  Wraps.  Books.  Drops.  Social networking (a.k.a., spending time that could be spent exercising at the computer logging food items into a database, comparing stories with internet friends, and shopping for smaller clothes to wear when you get to your goal weight).  C'mon.  I know you know this is true:  There is no miraculous shortcut.  It isn't that you just haven't found the right pill, the right thing to cut out of your diet, or the right website to encourage you.  It's that you've been trying to take the easy way out of doing something hard.

Here's something else I often hear: "I really want to lose weight, but I just have no willpower."  My (inner, because I'm terrible at saying what I think if it might hurt someone's feelings) thought is immediately, "Then you don't really want to lose weight."  Anything you really want to accomplish, you can.  I'm completely confident in the truth of that statement.  The Ironman in the bathroom stall next to you.  Boston qualified, marathon pacer, mom of 3 boys.  Someone who really wanted to change things.  I could go on for days with examples of regular people like you and me who did hard things.  Me, I quit smoking after over 10 years of a pack-a-day addiction.  I didn't use a patch, or pills, hypnosis or lasers.  I was able to quit because I wanted to quit, and that desire was strong enough to get me through the cravings and withdrawal symptoms.  When you really want to lose weight, you'll have the willpower to resist the junk food, and you'll find the will to stick with an effective exercise regime.

I'm not saying it's easy, I'm saying it's simple.  There's quite a difference.  Healthy eating might mean making a lot of changes, some of which might not be popular with your family.  I've found that planning in advance makes it a lot easier to cook healthy meals, and you'll be a lot less likely to stop for fast food if you have dinner already planned.  I'll give you a few quick changes you can make in order to eat healthier.  Ground turkey instead of ground beef.  Baked instead of fried.  Homemade instead of processed.  Less instead of more.  Vegetables don't need butter, cheese, or bacon added to taste good.  Drink water.  I've got a lot more tips and recipes, and I know how to make really delicious treats that are much healthier than they taste.

Making exercise a daily habit isn't an easy thing, either, but it is so important.  You'll feel better.  You'll look better.  You'll be able to think more clearly, breathe easier, sleep better, and live longer.  It's not a shortcut, but the results of regular exercise can seem miraculous.

So, buck the weight-loss trends, and start losing weight.  Eat healthy foods.  Exercise.  If you want to, you'll do it.


Any questions for me?  I'll happily share recipes and exercise plans.

Got an inspiring success story?  Do tell!