Meal Planning Principles

My kitchen affords me the space to be creative. However, I'm an engineer at heart, so I'm not just cookin' all willy-nilly over here. Like most of us, I'm working under a number of constraints and variables while dashing through my week. Although unlike some, I'm always looking for the opportunity to optimize against an objective function.

It's pretty simple. At the end of the day, I want nutritionally balanced and flavorful meals all while spending less than $100 per week.

In true engineering fashion, there was a fair bit of trial and error before I found my meal planning grove. I find it boils down to the following guiding principles:

1. Always shop with a list - this helps to curb the unnecessary "I'm Craving" purchases
2. Only purchase what you will use - rather than waste the remainder of an ingredient, ensure it can be frozen, kept on the shelf, or incorporated into multiple dishes
3. Only cook what you will eat - scale the recipe to meet your exact needs
4. Control your portions - unless you're bulking or planning for a party, a 1/4lb of meat per person is plenty; good for the wallet and the waistline!
5. Steer away from packaged and prepared foods - in most cases there's a more cost-effective and tasty means to make it from scratch

Admittedly I still like to splurge every now and then with a nice piece of fish or perhaps a fun, happy hour cheese, but on those occasions, I shop sales or compensate by planning a less extravagant menu.

Meal planning doesn't have to be daunting or restricting - just frees you up to take a Calculated Whisk!