How I Plan a Meal And Why It Works

Life is the ultimate teacher. As Alanis Morisette aptly remarks: “You grieve, you learn; You choke, you learn; You laugh, you learn; You choose, you learn; You pray, you learn; You ask, you learn; You live, you learn.”

I am fortunate to live my childhood years in a Communist era. Why do I consider this as a fortune? And what this experience has to do with my meal menu planner or list of grocery? – you may wonder. Here is the answer.

There was one common, determining aspect of those times: nobody had wealth. We did not have selection to choose from. Consequently, we appreciated what we got and we learned how to live on budget well.

My family’s meals were based on the ancient verb: “Breakfast like a king, Lunch like a prince, Dine like a pauper”. We had big slices of toasts with butter for breakfast (nothing fancy but I still love it), hot food for lunch (the whole school was going to a restaurant where we were served the menu of the day) and not much for dinner.

Today I live in a wealthy country. I can afford to eat as many times a day as I wish. Still, I plan my family’s menu weekly or bi-weekly and I always take a list for grocery shopping. This way I can keep an eye on my expenses on food and save a lot of money by that. (Statistics show that those who buy their groceries without sticking on a planned list, intend to pay a lot of money on products they don’t even need.)

I passed the ancient tradition on how to eat our meals to my own family too. I prepare my recipes for lunch, not for dinner. I put all the portions in the fridge the night before so that we can take them to work and school. At the same time, our meals for dinner are light i.e. salad, yoghurt and fruit. This is not only a healthy way to eat but also a big help in sleeping well at night, not going to sleep with a full stomach.

My childhood experience of being poor turned into success in my life. I learned the smart way to plan my menu weekly or bi-weekly and I taught my kids to appreciate food. We share Franz Kafka’s view: “So long as you have food in your mouth, you have solved all questions for the time being.”

What’s your childhood experience about meals? Please share and comment.