A Simple Method for Meal Planning
Today I’m sharing my simple method for meal planning. There are so many ways to meal plan. Theme nights: Meatless Monday, Taco Tuesday, and so on. You can find tons of beautiful printables to inspire you. Menu board ideas abound on Pinterest. Some people have meal plans that they rotate through on a regular basis.
I don’t get that fancy.
Meal planning, simplified.
To meal plan, I pull up my calendar app and get a note pad. My favorite note pads are the long ones that have a magnet on the back and hang on your refrigerator. (Like these.)
I write the days of the week and the date, skipping a couple of lines between each day. If I have an appointment on a certain day, I make a note of it.
Some people plan breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. I don’t. We have a list of breakfast and lunch possibilities and we choose from those.
I am a person who can eat the same thing for breakfast every single day for a long time without becoming bored. Right now I am loving overnight oats. So I pre-make a bunch of jars with the dry ingredients and add the milk and fruit to a jar before I go to bed.
My daughter makes breakfast for the grandbabies. Having a list helps with variety in their diet and makes sure we are using up the food we have. Breakfast examples would be: cold cereal, scrambled eggs, waffles, oatmeal, granola, or baked oatmeal.
We have a similar list for lunch: bean and cheese burritos, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, grilled cheese, quesadillas, meat, cheese and crackers, or leftovers. I usually have salad, soup or leftovers for lunch.
Breakfast and lunch for the kids include a fruit or vegetable.
What’s for dinner?
Dinner is the main meal we plan for. I do use the “Meatless Monday” idea because it reminds me to try to include one meatless meal each week.
Some families do not like leftovers. We do. So when I plan my meals, I plan things that will last for two meals. We think lots of things like chili and stew are better the second day.
One thing I take into account when meal planning is if I know I’m going to be gone during the day. I plan a slow cooker meal or leftovers for that day.
Busy times are not ideal for trying out new recipes. I tend to stick with our tried-and-true favorites, with an occasional new recipe thrown in once in a while.
I look at what we have available in the pantry and freezer. Then I think about some things we haven’t had in a while that the family likes. I usually ask Grampy if there is something he would like me to make. Then I write the meal ideas on my notepad, along with a bread or vegetable if I will be making that. If I need something from the store, I add it to my shopping list.
I make sure to mix things up so we don’t have only chicken for a week straight. We alternate beef, chicken and pork. We usually have chicken the most often since it’s the least expensive.
Where do I get meal ideas?
I know most of the things my family likes just because I’ve been making them so long. If I’m needing inspiration, I have a shelf of cookbooks I’ve collected over the years. (Yes, I still have cookbooks and a recipe box.) I occasionally search online for recipes.
If the recipe I’m planning to make is in a cookbook and I haven’t made it in a while, I look it up to make sure I have all the ingredients. I also write down the page number it’s on. Most of our favorite recipes are in my recipe box or in one of my cookbooks. I use a few online recipes, but once we decide we really like one, I write it out on a card and put it in my recipe box.
Be flexible!
My meal plan can be very flexible. I often swap things around, depending on how my day is going or sometimes if I just feel like making something different on a particular day. But I do find that I am a better steward of our food budget when I take the time to meal plan.
Occasionally, I have been known to throw the meal plan out the window and we’ll just have scrambled eggs and toast for dinner one night. And that’s okay, too.
Our meal plan is a guide. Its main purpose in my home is to keep us from ordering takeout because we didn’t plan ahead. On that note, on the occasions when we are going to go to a restaurant, that is noted on our meal plan.
Meal planning is a good habit!
I try to set aside time each Sunday afternoon to do my meal planning. Then it’s done and ready for the new week. I’d rather spend a little bit of time planning once a week than find myself staring into the refrigerator every afternoon wondering what I’m going to feed this hungry bunch of people in my house!
If you struggle with the daily “what’s for dinner?” dilemma, give meal planning a try. I think you’ll find you save money and time even if you only plan one or two meals a week.
