We’re “starting fresh” this January, completing 22 mini-challenges in 22 days for a cleaner, fresher and healthier kitchen and grocery budget. Just joining us? Read about the what’s and why’s on the mini-challenges, as well as the previous days tasks, and jump right on in!
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Benjamin Franklin is attributed to inventing the lightning rod, bicofals, daylight savings, and the odometer.
He’s also the one who said “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail!”
A lot of meal plans have been tacked up to my fridge this past year. Many were successful. Many were not. And even the most well-laid out plans still fail.
Tacos are one of my family’s favorite meals and it’s penciled in at least once on every monthly menu. Last month’s taco night started like any other taco night.
- Pull out ingredients
- Start chopping
- Cook the rice
- Cook the chicken
- Cook the corn.
- Make the tortillas
- Eat
Simple. Uncomplicated. Yet somehow, I just couldn’t get my act together that night.
I chopped everything on the counter, but every single dish was still missing something. Then I ran out of onion… and had to decide whether to omit the onion from salsa or from southwestern corn. Which would have the least impact without onion? I don’t know! Neither?
The chicken was frozen – ARGH! The rice container was empty. And what happened to the coconut milk? Fill up the rice, spill more on the floor.
Salsa is good, ready for the cilantro. CILANTRO?!
*sigh*
Start mixing the masa and pressing tortillas, only to have every single one of them fall apart while opening the press. This can’t be happening.
Mr. Crumbs senses my frustration and inability to GET IT TOGETHER so he lends a hand with the tortillas. His come out perfect. Every.Single.Time.
*sigh*
It was about this time when I realized that if my husband didn’t help (or rather take over) with dinner, we weren’t eating. The plan for dinner was “tacos.” That’s it! There was no other plan!
And that’s where the plan failed. Because even the well laid out plans deserve a back up plan.
Day 17 – Create a Back Up Plan
This should really say “two” back up plans, but if I made that in big bold letters, some of you would close the browser and never come back!
Sneaky sneaky! He he he! 
The reason we all need two back up plans is because dinners usually fall into one of two categories: family, or company. So appropriately, we need a back-up plan for each type of occasion.
What a Back-Up Plan Is
A back-up plan is something that you can make for dinner in 20 minutes or less. Remember that the back-up plan usually comes into play towards the end of dinner preparation… when we realize that the efforts of the past 60-90 minutes have been futile thus we raise the white flag and surrender. We must not forget that the troops are still hungry and expecting food!
It can be made from whatever you currently (and in most cases, usually) have in the kitchen. It is easy. It is simple. It is healthy. It is nutritious.
What a Back-Up Plan Is Not
A back-up plan is NOT something that will take more than 30 minutes from start to table. Remember those hungry troops? Do you want to be the one to tell them they have to wait ANOTHER hour before dinner is ready? “Five more minutes” can only happen so many times before they catch on you know.
The back-up plan is not extravagant, nor complicated. It is not take-out. It is not dinner from a box. It is not a phone call to the nearest pizza shop.
Example Back-Up Plans
Depending on the circumstances, each of us will have different looking back-up plans. Here are some of mine:
For Family
- peanut butter & jelly, fruit
- spaghetti & homemade sauce
- leftovers
- seed salad
- smoothies
- snacky dinner (bread, cheese, veggie sticks, fruit slices, various seeds and nuts)
- grilled cheese
For Company
- spaghetti & homemade sauce
- stir-fry
- grilled cheese
Why yes, my “company” list is lacking. I know where my challenge lies! 
There are some meals that can cross over between the two categories above, like grilled cheese. On homemade bread (with lots of butter), a warm, grilled, cheesy sandwich is downright delicious. Stick with the cheese if it’s just family, but add vegetables like tomatoes, lettuce, onions and maybe a slice or two of bacon for company (because bacon makes everything YUM-O!).
The nice thing about family back-ups is that they don’t have to be special by any stretch of the imagination. We’re human, and we cannot be perfect household CEO’s all the time. Our family will love us regardless of how burned the chicken is.
Company however, that’s a different ballgame. If you have any special ideas or ways to implement an ordinary and plain back-up meal, save those for company nights.
Your homework for today is to think of at least one back-up plan for each category. Remember – it must be based on what you already have, or usually have in the kitchen. Meals requiring special ingredients that are normally NOT in your pantry, or “quick trips” to the store are not allowed.
Once you have your back-up plan in place, make sure it’s accurate every time you meal plan. If you plan every week, verify each week that you still have everything you need. If you plan and shop once a month, be mindful of what your ingredient shelves looks like so that you’re not left out in the cold when the end of the month draws near and you need to implement that back-up plan.
Day 16 Update
I cleaned out all the remaining HFCS a few weeks ago and here’s what I found:
Do you see what I see? Canned soup, steak sauce, coffee flavoring and jelly. JELLY! Want to guess where HFCS fell into the line up of listed ingredients on the orange marmalade?
First. FIRST!
You’d think that the marmalade would be mostly orange, a little bit of sweet, then maybe some other “stuff” thrown in (because nothing seems pure anymore…). But NO! The most prevalent ingredient in that darn jelly is a toxin! Sheesh!
Oh yeah, and think you’re doing your body good with that Special K? Nope. Think again. 
Splenda does not have HFCS in it, but it is an artificial sweetener that I had been relying on for WAY too long, so I decided to ditch it since I cleaning out HFCS anyway. You can see ketchup, Worcestershire sauce and salad dressing there too. I don’t believe those tortillas had HFCS, but more than likely trans fat. Heck, with all these clean outs, it’s hard to focus on just one thing anymore!
Do you have any kitchen disasters that could have benefited from your newly created back-up plan? Please share – and include your back-up plan!
I think this is most difficult for me, my nursing daughter (which means me too) can’t have dairy, rice, soy, corn, night shades, nuts, or eggs. That limits those quick cheese, peanut butter, type dishes. My dinner back up for us is usually just a plate full of fresh vegetables and fruit. Guest, no clue. I will have to think on it.
What about homemade croutons and a simple soup to go with that salad for company? You can keep both frozen, ready to go. Thaw the soup, toast the breadcrumbs and voila!
My back up dinner is pizza. I can get it on the table in 30 mins, sometimes less. laura at heavenly homemakers has a great no rise pizza dough recipe that I use. If I have the crusts baked and frozen dinner us on the table in 15 mins, but if I have to make the dough it’s slightly longer. We make anything into pizza. Leftovers into pizza night has become a favorite. Bbq chicken, taco, baked potato, egg & arugula, cheeseburger, the possibilities are endless!
http://heavenlyhomemakers.com/easiest-tastiest-healthy-pizza-crust-freezable
Ooh, I’ve been wanting to try frozen crust, but my own recipe won’t fit the bill. Thanks for the recipe link! We haven’t strayed into baked potato or egg pizza yet, but you never know what will happen when we run out of pepperoni!
LOVE this post, Tiffany, and it’s SO true! We’ve all been there – “the best laid plans” … as they say. Okay, so the best laid plans obviously need a plan B just incase. Like you, I always keep brown rice pasta and a jar of organic marinara sauce in the cupboard as a back-up. Sometimes it’s not even my tomfoolery that creates a need for a back-up (like forgetting ingredients at the store that were on my list, but never made it in the cart, probably because I started talking to a complete stranger in the market about healthy living – LOL). Sometimes things just happen, like an appt runs late, etc. As you so wisely point out, having a back-up in place keeps you from straying from your budget and healthy eating goals by ordering out. Thanks for sharing this great post! Have a super blessed weekend! eHugs, Kelly
Thank you Kelly! I actually got lost in a conversation with a woman last week over where to find grass fed beef… and the next thing I knew, we had spent nearly half the afternoon at the market, nap time was in 10 min and no one had eaten lunch! Trust me, you’re not alone!
The best part I think is that while we don’t have control over things like appointments or traffic jams or getting stuck in the longest check-out line EVER, we DO have control over how we handle ourselves and our reaction to the situation. eHugs right back at you!
That whole scenario in the kitchen-well I think you’ve been in my house before
. Happens a little more often than I’d like. My husband’s favorite is probably when I email him at 4:00 to say-uh honey about dinner….My back-up is grilled cheese or guacamole and chips,but sometimes we are out of bread,cheese,avocados or all of the above. I’ve mentioned before hubby doesn’t do pasta very well so I don’t know.I guess we’ll have to discuss it and come up with something. Company-it’s usually pizza because I can make pizza with my eyes closed and with one hand behind my back;). But if I somehow forgot cheese or yeast ,or horrors, ran out of flour I’m not sure what I’d . Add a nice salad and serve ice cream and there you go. On Another note-I cleaned out my small pantry in the kitchen today! And I am halfway with the pantry we have in our utility room. Not that it is all food in there though as we also store large serving pieces and appliances in there as our counter space is amazingly nonexistent-as in two people can’t even stand next to each other while working in there. Well my small son can,but not two full sized adults. Anyway then there is the basement where I stockpiled some food items such as pasta and canned tomatoes so that should be the most interesting one I suppose. The one in my kitchen I use for all my baking stuff including all my oils so most of those were keepers except a couple cake mixes,pudding mixes,and 4 bags of caramel chips.Four bags?! I know craziness. So made a list of things to use up and threw some away. Thanks for the inspiration!
Can I come over and watch you make pizza?
Congrats on cleaning out the cupboards! LOL @ caramel chips. I think I once had a hefty stash of flaked coconut, even though it takes us a few months to go through one bag, lol.