Meal planning is one of my favorite things to do. Not sure if it’s because I love cooking or if at the end of the day dinner is what brings my whole family together, or maybe both, but I love it. I love trying new recipes or making a tried and true family favorite. Cooking is my zen.
So, I’ve posted a little bit about meal planning on my social media (check me out), and I’ve had a lot of questions or inquires. Basically “tell me more.” So I figure I might as well devote a blog post to one of my favorite things to do and talk about!
I wasn’t always a meal planner. Actually before having kids, Nick and I were actually the opposite of meal planners. We would chat about 4:00 pm everyday and see what we were in the mood for for dinner. Eighty-five percent of the time it was going out to dinner or some sort of take out, and the other 15% was a simple cooked meal.
BUT… after having kids, that all changed we do home cooked dinners 6 out of 7 nights a week. We always have PIZZA on Fridays! My favorite! I started meal planning because one of my best girlfriends was talking one night about how she meal plans and about her grocery list and how much she loved it. She is one of the most organized (list friendly 😉) people I know! I envy her mad skills. So, I decided to jump right in and try it out. Let me say….
GAME CHANGER!
Meal planning has made my life so much easier! I head to the grocery store usually once a week, unless we need fresh buns or something. But even then, I know ahead of time and can plan it into my day or send Nick on his way home from work. Grocery shopping with three kids is hard and running in to grab 1-2 things is the worst because, you know, buckling and unbuckling is the not fun at all … car seat mamas you know what I’m taking about!
So let me get started. I am very systemic in my meal planning and usually stick to it. Sometimes I may switch a meal around, but sticking to it is what makes it work and easy!
I’ve also found that sticking to some sort of loose theme helps with quick meal planning. For example, in the summer, I like to grill at least twice per week, have some type of Mexican dish, and have a salad night. Friday’s are PIZZA nights and Saturday’s are my swing night… go with the flow. Sunday’s are almost always set aside for a large chicken dinner. I like to do that so I can have some chicken ready to go for lunches and salads for the week.
Right now I meal plan Sunday nights after the kids are all tucked in for the night. I start by taking a survey of our freezer and pantry. I like to use what we have instead of always stock piling more and more food in there. Once I figure out what meats and other main ingredients we have, I head on over to Pinterest and do some quick searching. Sometimes I pick a meal I’ve pinned and we’ve already put the approval stamp on and other times I choose something brand new. I guess that depends on my mood while I’m planning.
I always check the weather for the week as I start to plan which meal goes which day. Rainy days are for cooking on the stove, while on sunny days I say, “Bring on the grill master!” I also like to keep into consideration what is going on. If Nick has a late night at work, the kids and I usually eat something more simple, or even a left-over from earlier in the week. It’s a planned left over, so I make sure there is enough and then freeze it or store it appropriately until we need it. For example, this week we has a delicious Creamy Parmesan Chicken dish and there was a whole meal left after we finished. So, I froze the left over knowing that in 2 weeks Nick will have to work late and we will have dinner all ready to go!
I used to meal plan in a notebook, but now I have this cute pad paper that I jot it down on. Although the pad is cute and I kinda like that, the notebook was handy because I could look back at what I did a week ago, a month ago or even 6 months ago if I got into a meal planning slump. As I plan what we are going to have each day, I also make my grocery list. I jot down the ingredients I need to pick up and sometimes write a little note next to it, like:
Bread- sandwiches
Bread- side with salad
That helps me when I am grocery shopping to remember what exactly I’m using the product for therefore what I am really looking for.
After planning my meals for the week and jotting down my grocery list, I head back into the kitchen to take a survey of anything else I may need to add to the list. I always have my staples I get every week:
Milk, plain Greek yogurt, yogurt cups, vanilla almond milk, fresh deli meat, cheese slices, pouches (baby food & toddler ones (they are life!)), apples ~ green and red, fruit (whatever is in season and on sale is what we get. Except apples, we always have apples. My kids literally eat one apple a day), veggies: cucumbers, peppers, broccoli and carrots are always stocked in our fridge, but I also get anything else that’s required for our meal plan or is on sale.
While I’m at the store. I really try to stick to my list. The one thing I do buy if it’s not on the list but on a good sale, is meat. I will buy it and freeze it to use for my meal planning the following week.
Another thing I take into consideration when meal planning is the size of a meal. I try to plan bigger meals like a pan of lasagna or a large casserole early in the week, that way I can use the leftovers for our weekday lunches.
