Do you ever get stuck trying to figure out what to have for dinner?  It’s stressful, the evening is approaching, bellies are getting hungry, people are whining, and you’re staring in your fridge and cupboards trying to come up with something to make. You might just run to the local pizza shop instead…I’ve been there…a lot.  Meal planning is something I’ve been good at, off and on.

My mother is a master homemaker.  From the house cleaning, down to the cooking and all the finishing touches.  Our home really was heaven on earth to grow up in, I was very lucky.  Each night our family had a home cooked meal around a table, with place mats, napkins, candles and music playing softly in the background…you might think I’m kidding but I’m not! In an attempt to be half the homemaker my mother is I’m making it a priority once again to get organized with meal planning. (I’m not promising candles and music but we’ve got to start with the basics)

Why do I need to meal plan, you ask?

• Save Money: When you have a list of what you are buying you stay on track, you have a focus and you don’t end up buying as many random things just because they look good.  You have a purpose.
• Less Stress: Don’t we all want this in our lives?  When you have your stash of ingredients and you know what meals you can make the evenings are much more enjoyable.  You know when to start preparing and if you need to take anything out of the freezer ahead of time to thaw.
• It’s Healthier:  Meal planning helps your family stay on track with your health goals.  When you have the ingredients and know what you’re preparing for dinner you are much less likely to hit the local pizza shop at the last minute.

Meal Planning 101: The 6 Step Guide

 

1. Decide What To Plan:  Are you just planning dinners, or are you going to plan breakfast, lunch and snacks as well? Also decide if you want to plan 1 week at a time or 2 weeks.  I shoot for 2 weeks just because the grocery store I like to shop at is 30 minutes away.

2. Gather Your Resources:  Need some inspiration?  Head to pinterest, favorite foodie blogs, cookbooks (check out your library) or your own collection of recipes.  You can see my giant recipe binder in the picture above that I put together before my third was born.  It is SO helpful!

3. Pick Your Meals: This is the fun part and the most time consuming for me.  Write down what meals you’d like to feed your family for the next 1-2 weeks.  I usually do this on the back of my grocery list.  Generally for breakfast and lunch I don’t necessarily plan I just have the foods on hand that we eat the most like bread, eggs, yogurt, oatmeal, fruit for smoothies, the ingredients for pancakes and waffles, and tortillas, cheese, Annie’s Mac N’ Cheese, tuna and any lunch meat we might eat.  We keep it real simple around here.  We only have about 5 breakfasts and lunches that we rotate between.

Also when I write down the meals we’re going to eat I make a note of where the recipe is located if it’s not in my personal recipe binder.  Like if it’s on a pinterest board, or a certain cookbook or blog.  When they become a regular go to recipe for our family I make a hard copy and put it in the recipe binder, that’s when you know a recipe has really made it:)

4. Make Your Grocery List: Go through the recipes and write down what ingredients you need to buy to make it.  Double check cupboards and your fridge to make sure you don’t buy multiples of anything.  You can see a picture of my grocery list (above under the blue pen).  I have it organized the way the store is organized, so as I shop I am following the order of the list, it keeps me from having to zig zag back across the store with 3 kids in tow.  I had to chuckle to myself the other day when I saw another women with a typed grocery list, it made me feel a little less crazy!

5. Shop: Now it’s time to hit the store.  Try to stick to your list to save time and money.

6. Hang Up Your Meal Plan: Once I get home and unpack my groceries I hang up my list of meals on my fridge.  Each day I can look at my list and pick what we’ll have for dinner that night.  I take into consideration the busyness of that particular day, if we have leftovers I can stretch,  and what I feel like eating/preparing that night.  Sometimes I forget what meals I planned if I loose this list.  I have  ingredients and no recollection of what they’re for. Keep the list, it’s important.

So there you have it. Get planning ladies.  It will save your sanity I promise.  You will feel so organized and on top of things.  Just the way you deserve to feel.  Your family will appreciate a more organized evening topped off with a hot meal and so will you.

Let me know if you have any other tips for meal planning, I’d love to hear in the comments below.

This post was shared on the following real food/natural living blogs: Kelly The Kitchen Kop, Frugally Sustainable, Raising Homemakers, My Humble Kitchen, Little Homesteaders, Dandelion House, Girl Meets Nourishment, Food Renegade, Small Footprint Family, The Prairie Homestead, Natural Living Mama, Nourishing Joy, Homegrown & Healthy, Time Warp Wife, Growing Home Blog, Real Food Forager, Richly Rooted