Menu Planning For The Family: 5 Tips From The Veggie Wifey

Planning what to cook for your family every day can be stressful. We asked private chef Divya Butani, aka The Veggie Wifey, for her expert tips on planning a menu. Here are five ways she simplifies the process to make cooking at home easier!

Running a home is like running a business. You need good systems in place to operate efficiently, particularly if you aren’t physically present. I have systems for cleaning, laundry and the kitchen to streamline time-consuming tasks.

A key way to set up an efficient kitchen is to design a 7-day menu plan for the whole family. It includes every meal – for breakfast, lunch and dinner (maybe snacks too), for both kids and adults. Menu planning saves you time and money. And if you’re worried about being too repetitive, create a 14-day menu plan instead.

Read More: The Best Meal Plan Deliveries For Families In Hong Kong

Menu Planning Step 1: Inventory Check

Part of creating an effective kitchen management system is delegating someone to check your inventory once a week (usually at the start). If an ingredient in the pantry or fridge is running low, expired or is unavailable for recipes on your menu plan for the following week,  write it down so you have a grocery list by the end of the week. Grocery shopping can be done by the end of the week. The inventory check can include your child’s snacks, household cleaning products, spices or anything else you need on a weekly basis.

Hong Kong is an unusual place for grocery shopping because often it isn’t just a one-stop shop. I usually go to up to six different shops for ingredients and products to run the house in a cost effective manner. High-end grocery stores like Great, Market Place and Fusion are good for emergency purchasing. However, I rarely purchase my full list of groceries there as it can become extremely expensive. Online stores like HKTV mall, iHerb and other local companies like Beyond Plastic, Norway Salmon Express and Health Generation make it more affordable to purchase everyday groceries in bulk.

I use a white board with separate columns to indicate respective vendors and fill it in accordingly. I buy special Indian groceries, household cleaning products, toilet rolls, spices, vegetables and fruit  from different vendors across the city. It may seem like a lot of work, but it results in a huge saving! As I’m a regular shopper with a kitchen inventory management system, the vendors know when to schedule my order, and know when I can pick up or have it delivered.

Read More: Grocery Stores – Supermarkets With Grocery Delivery In Hong Kong

Menu Planning Step 2: Go Grocery Shopping Together

I often purchase fruits and veggies from the wet market. Sometimes, I take the kids with me. I cannot recommend this highly enough! Grocery shopping with your kids can end up being an unexpected workout, but it’s an activity that they may love. It’s also a great way to introduce picky eaters to different fruits and veggies. The colours of seasonal produce are gorgeous, plus it’s free entertainment!

A great full-day activity is idea to take them to the market to choose ingredients they love, and then show them how to create a  feast using them later.

Read More: Your Guide To Wet Market Shopping In Hong Kong

Menu Planning Step 3: Ask For Their Preferences

Sometimes experimenting with new kids recipes completely backfires, and the food I spent a lot of time preparing goes to waste. Instead of dictating what my kids should eat, I now work with them to create a nutritious menu that they will actually enjoy eating.

I load a range of easy-to-make meal images from search engines, Pinterest and my blog, and ask them if this is something they would like. They pick and choose what appeals or they are interested in trying. Using the information, I create a list of meals they may potentially enjoy.

This way, when the food is served, the kids are not surprised or reluctant to try it. Involving children in the meal planning process also makes them feel important, and responsible. It’s a great bonding session.

Menu Planning Step 4: Bulk Buy

Bulk buying groceries can save you between 30-40% off your monthly grocery expense. When you have a menu plan, you will know what you’re cooking on a regular basis. Therefore, it makes bulk purchasing a lot easier, just like how they do in a restaurant kitchen.

I often bulk buy fruits and veggies that can be used for up to two weeks (yes, there are ways to store your veggies in your fridge for that long) and limit purchasing most household items to once a month. Once again, when a system is in place, it makes organising your purchases a lot easier.

Sassy Mama Tip: Many homes rely on imported produce. However, Hong Kong has an amazing variety of inexpensive produce that supports local farms and communities. Purchasing local produce is also healthier and better for the environment because it is seasonal, with a reduced carbon footprint.

Read More: Where To Buy – Fresh, Green And Organic Stores In Hong Kong

Menu Planning Step 5: Batch Your Meals

Cooking a different recipe for several people everyday takes a lot of work, and can be expensive. My solution is to group our meals wherever possible for greater efficiency. For example, if you are making a vegetable curry for your child’s dinner, make the same for the adults, but separate some of it and add the extra spices later to taste. This way, you’re cooking one recipe for the whole household, significantly reducing manpower and cost.

Alternatively you can use the same ingredients in different ways to suit different tastes. Chances are that a large part of the preparation, such as cutting and cleaning, will be the same and can be done together.

The goal is to automate your family menu planning system with ingredients, tools and recipes, so when it’s time to make it, no time is wasted.

Read More: How To Reduce The Mental Load On Mamas

Now that you’re ready to start planning your family’s weekly menu, here’s one of my recipes that is great to start with.  I have mentioned the steps to can avoid when cooking for kids. My suggestion would be to start the base together, and as you progress, separate it into two pans. Add the extra ingredients for the adults and the extra steps for kids (such as blending vegetables for picky eaters) and you’ll have dinner prepared for the family in the same amount of time.

Lemongrass Infused Coconut Curry by The Veggie Wifey

Ingredients:

Use vegetables such as broccoli florets, sliced baby corn and carrots. A variety of colours always makes this dish look visually appealing. You will also need lemongrass and coconut milk for this recipe.

Other ingredients include spices and seasonings (details on quantities and what to avoid for kids here), as well as the usual onions, ginger, garlic and tomatoes that are always the foundation of a curry base.

Method:

Heat the coconut milk, add chopped lemongrass and let it simmer in a covered pot. This will make the lemongrass-infused coconut milk. Meanwhile, grind all the spices, other than the coriander leaves.

Prepare your curry base in a separate pot. At some point, you will need to separate this into two pots, for two versions of the same with kid-level and adult-level spices and seasoning. Add in the spice mix and the vegetables and let them cook (don’t overcook or it will be mushy). Serve with warm buttered sourdough bread or rice.

This recipe shouldn’t take you more than 30 minutes from start to finish (yes, including prep!) for both versions. Sounds amazing, right? Believe me, it’s guaranteed to be a hit with the kids as well. For the complete recipe, please read The Veggie Wifey’s blogpost.

Read More: How To Get Your Picky Eaters To Fall In Love With Food