Summer is always a great time to just eat whatever for supper and not worry about the timing issues. When school starts up (which I dread for lots of reasons) you are a slave to a schedule, that is if you are me it is... Bedtime is like a ticking time bomb at our house... I need to know what we are having for supper that morning or the whole evening goes downhill fast.With Menue Planning, When I am able to plan a good week or dare I say a month of good meals that are family-friendly usually we save more money and my time is spent better in ways that can enrich my life.
Where do I Begin?
I like two methods: 1 start where you are, and give your self permission to be flexible.
why am I meal planning? and What is my goal?
How to implement the Why you are menu planning:
1. How am I going to remember the meals that I have planned out?
2. How am I going to implement meal planning and follow through?
3. Do I like prep work, Or how much of a cook do I want to be?
4. How much time do I have to get dinner on the table each day?
These 4 questions are so important for a good menu, once you know those answers to these 4 questions, then you can start menu planning.
I have two ways that work the best for my family,
Option 1 (great for procrastinators)
Menu plan week to week
build your menu around what is on sale.
Use the sales and adds that are current for this week when you go grocery shopping to help you buy meat, produce dairy, and perishable items that are on sale from your local grocery store.
For example, if Chicken is on sale I will have at least 3 meals of chicken that week. I will sometimes roast two chickens so I have one to eat for supper and the other chicken to shred for quesadillas. I will also decide what to do for lunches and breakfast, but I don't worry too much about those meals because cereal and muffins are not that hard to plan for. I really love this blog for all their amazing easy recipes
When planning for a week of dinners, I write it down on a post-it note and have it in the fridge for the week, that way it's an easy reminder. I will often make one trip to the store the day after the add hits, so I have time to see what's on sale and what I need for the week. super simple, and my go-to when I don't have a plan like Option 2.
 |
| Get this free template here |
Option 2 (great if you have a plan and a trying to stockpile good deals on groceries.)
Monthly menu planning is fun... (I can't lie, I have to tell myself this because if I don't I won't get my monthly menu plan going.)
You will want a good foundation to start with if you have a freezer, and storage space this may be the way to go.
For a month of dinners, I use a cheap calendar. (you know the ones that you get in the mail, or are at the dollar store.) Or I print them like this one from simply unscripted
I start by labeling each day of the week a category for dinner: Monday-Pizza, Tuesday-Mexican, Wednesday-Italian, Thursday-Meatless, Friday- Grill, Saturday-Comfort food, Sunday- quick and easy. These categories make it easy to plan each day of the week instead of saying hmm... what should we have on this Tuesday, also My family likes knowing that it's Friday pizza night! Wha Who! It makes your life easier having a label for each day of the week. That is why you are only going to have some type of spaghetti once or twice a night in a month... and so on. does your family get tired of spaghetti too because you make it too often?
Then I plug in what I think my family will eat, and then make notes for when I need to go the store for an item. it's really that simple!
Tips for doing a Monthly meal plan
When I first started I spent a good hour looking through my cook book, or Pinterest to see what sounds good for supper, I still do but more as a free time thing than for meal planning. So give yourself a good hour to plan, make yourself a good snack, and plan during a quiet time when you can focus and not be interrupted. I have even prayed to my father in heaven to help me plan, and those months always seem to go smoother.
Some of my great meals are the ones that I can make from memory, like a chili dinner, or a pork chop dinner, and casseroles. I like to keep things simple.
I use a menu planning software called Cook'n, I like it, but I usually find that a cheap calendar works just as well, especially if you are not "a cook that has to have a recipe" and just wants to have supper on the table.
Stock up on items you use often when they are on sale, this helps save a lot when menu planning, I know that I can use Pasta Sauce in lots of other ways than just pasta sauce. so.... I have about 30 jars stored because I got them on sale for half the cost. I like to stock up on about 25-50 items per year so about 1 item per week that I know will last for at least 6 months.
My favorite way to meal plan is to always have a couple oops meals, you know the nights when your not feeling like cooking, or getting dinner on the table, that is when I have frozen pizza or everything I need to make a soup, or a salad, or even mac and cheese for the kiddos. Those meals come in handy, but don't make it a crutch!If you like to cook, use your kitchen tools, that will also help with knowing what you want to cook and what you have time for... don't underestimate the power of your mixer and food processor!
Here is a link that I thought was also helpful and full of great advice!
If you are wanting a good footing on how menu planning works, MomsByHeart.Net has some amazing blog posts.
I would love to learn how you get supper on the table, are you the family where you are like- let's go out every night and now you need to "figure it out" been there-done that lots of times!
What is your reason for or your WHY you want to start or keep doing Menue planning?
No comments:
Post a Comment