Working from home has many benefits, and a smaller grocery bill is one of them. Whether you are accustomed to stopping for coffee or a latte on the way to work, picking up lunch from a sandwich shop near the office, or both, you will spend less on food by eating three meals a day at home on most days. Eating meals that you prepare at home is not only economical; it can be healthier if you stock your fridge and pantry with foods that are good for you. All of this sounds great, and it is, but my inner gourmet wanted me to tell you that the kitchen can quickly become an attractive distraction when you work at home.
When your morning commute involves climbing a flight of stairs to your office that is located on the second floor of your home, it can be tempting to enjoy a big breakfast every morning. Likewise, at lunchtime you might go downstairs and take the time to make a nice lunch instead of just slapping together a quick sandwich. Dinner may be after your workday ends, but that might not stop you from going downstairs to plan it, or to pull something out to defrost… you get the picture.
How can you enjoy the health and economic benefits of eating at home without allowing the kitchen to distract you from your home-based work? I have found that planning my family’s menu for the week keeps me on task. Each Sunday, I take out a sheet of paper and make a chart with the days of the week, with a box for each of the three meals. Then, I write down who will be at home for each of those meals. Next, I look around the kitchen and see what we have in the refrigerator and cabinets. Those things often give me ideas for some of the meals for the week. I fill in the rest of the chart with the meals that I will make, and then I create a grocery list. I go to the grocery store, and that is it for the week.
Each day, I wake up and instead of aimlessly wandering around the kitchen wondering what to eat; I check the chart and make breakfast. Since I make the chart, it is always something that I like, and something that fits into my schedule. I do not always work much during the day unless my son is napping, but if I do get a chance to work during his nap I am not distracted by pondering my lunch options. Instead, I can focus on my work and know that when he wakes up, I can make our lunch from the menu chart and we will enjoy it together. Keeping myself on a schedule at dinnertime is important because I do most of my work after my son goes to bed. Therefore, I do my best to plan meals that do not involve too much lengthy preparation or cleanup. This enables me to get right into preparing dinner without poking around trying to figure out what to make or running to the store to get ingredients for just one meal.
When I first decided to give menu planning a try about a month ago, I was skeptical about how much time and money I would really save. It did not even take a week to convince me that I had found a great way to spend less time and money on food and, more importantly, keep my inner gourmet from spending too much time in the kitchen when I could be using that time to work. I enjoy what I have been eating, and I feel much more productive. Have you tried menu planning yet?