Happy Saturday, Purse readers! We’re back with another edition of Meal Plan, and this one is chock-full of great meal ideas, time management tips, and wisdom from 23 years of meal planning for kids.
Though much of this story is free for all, we put the paywall on her (delicious) recipes and weekly menu. It takes a lot of work from our writers to put these together, so we compensate them for their time.
Interested in submitting your own? You can do so here! And don’t forget to check out our first edition:
Alicia Adamczyk
Today, an executive assistant and mother of three in suburban Illinois discusses her love for old cookbooks and extra-large sheet pans. Let’s go!
Age: 52
Location: Darien, IL
Household size: Five, but only three during the school year, which includes my husband and me. Our kids are 23 (recent college grad who doesn’t live at home anymore but visits once a month or so), 20 (away at college during the school year), and 18 (senior in high school).
Professions: My husband is a partner in a small/medium-size law firm and I am a former attorney but now work as the executive assistant to the superintendent of a large school district and serve as the school board secretary. We both work full time at the office, which includes fairly frequent work on weekends (at home) for him and one to two evening school board meetings per month for me.
Household income: $212,000
Monthly grocery spend: $800 per month
Where do you shop for groceries?
Aldi, local grocery chain Pete's Market, Costco every four to six weeks, and occasionally Trader Joe's or Hmart. We have a ton of variety available in the Chicago suburbs.
How did you start meal planning? Did it change over time?
When I had my first baby and was also providing in-home daycare for a couple other babies, time to shop and cook was so limited. Before I went back to work full-time when my youngest was in kindergarten, I had a blog that shared my cooking, DIY, and various home tasks. I included a weekly meal plan feature, which cemented the habit.
Though I stopped posting, I go back to the recipe index fairly often. Moving through the years—from young kids to kids with activities to working full time to high schoolers and an almost empty nest—meal planning still feels essential to getting through the week peacefully. Sometimes I shift meals around, but I always appreciate having a plan to execute without thinking too much. In the early years, planning involved a lot of thinking about what the kids would actually eat. Now I am enjoying the freedom of planning more adventurous meals, though when the kids are home I try to include their favorites.
What meals are you prepping this week or do you prepare in a typical week?
In a typical week, we prepare six dinners (the seventh night is either leftovers or we might be going out), and at least one weekend breakfast. Everyone is on their own for weekday breakfasts, but some weeks I will make a batch of protein muffins or egg bites to grab. We stock cereal, yogurt, fruit, eggs, bagels, smoothie ingredients, etc. We also pack our lunches for work and school. We stock sandwich and salad ingredients, and also pack a lot of dinner leftovers.
Our 18-year-old has a busy sports and music schedule, and he is often at practice or rehearsal at dinner time. We save him a plate and he eats at weird times. (I try to ignore his fast food drive-thru habit and midnight microwave mug cakes.)
What groceries did you need to buy this week and how much did they cost?
- Aldi: $160.52. Includes bacon ($4.79), chicken thighs ($9.91), edamame ($2.49), half & half ($2.49), assorted string cheese ($3.09), plain Greek yogurt ($2.79), four-pack of rice pudding ($2.59), 5 pounds of jasmine rice ($6.39), cold smoked salmon ($3.89), deli sliced roast beef ($3.09), deli sliced turkey ($3.09), deli sliced cheese ($1.49), Colby jack cheese ($2.79), imported Brie ($4.29), Feta crumbles ($1.89), angel hair pasta ($1.95), protein pasta ($1.95), organic salsa ($2.49), refried beans ($0.89), corn starch ($1.55), grass-fed beef sticks ($12.99), 12-ounce chia seeds ($3.69), bananas ($0.99), organic baby spinach ($2.59), Honeycrisp apples ($3.59), raspberries ($2.49), blueberries ($4.69), blackberries ($1.99), tomatoes ($1.95), broccoli crowns ($2.79), organic romaine hearts ($3.99), organic avocados ($3.89), sourdough ($3.49), multigrain bread ($3.99), wavy potato chips ($1.79), LesserEvil popcorn ($3.19), pretzel twists ($3.69), Cheez-Its ($3.38), everything bagel ($1.99), Belle Vie 12 pack ($4.39).
- Pete’s Market: $14.29. Includes chile crisp ($9.99), extra firm tofu ($3.29), and a white onion ($0.76).
Total: $174.81
This included more than was on my written list (mostly items that my son packs in his lunch: meat sticks, Cheez-Its, rice pudding cups, chips) and a few pantry items that we were running low on (rice, chia seeds, bagels, protein pasta) and treats (smoked salmon).
Did you use other foods you already have in your pantry? If so, which ones?
Yes: Parmesan, pork tenderloin (bought a few weeks ago at Costco), two filet mignons from the freezer, and carrots.
Did you utilize sales or coupons?
I looked at the weekly ads first but wasn’t inspired by the sale items at Pete’s this week. Aldi doesn’t do coupons, and this week I did the bulk of my shopping there.
What do you use to meal plan? (Specific apps, websites, cookbooks, your own recipes, organizational systems, etc.)
We are a family that enjoys cooking, so we have a large cookbook collection, cooking magazine archive (Gourmet, Cooks’ Illustrated, Cooks’ Country), and binders of favorite recipes. We also subscribe to The New York Times Cooking app, and I have some favorite websites, including Smitten Kitchen, Pinch of Yum, and Our Best Bites.
I also love all my cookbooks by Melissa Clark, but especially Dinner in One. It’s full of one-pot (or sheet pan or skillet) recipes, most of which take around 30 minutes and are full of flavor. She also includes lots of variations to accommodate your pantry and preferences.
My daughter gave me a cute meal planning notebook and grocery list pad that I’ve been using recently, but I used to just use a sheet of notebook paper folded in half: one side for the menu, one side for the corresponding grocery list. We hang it on the bulletin board after grocery shopping.
Can you walk us through how and when you prep?
