When a friend first told me about her strict shopping list and meal planning, I was skeptical. Did all that effort really make life easier? Well, eventually, I got tired of figuring out dinner every night. Once I started planning in advance, I never wanted to go back!
I’m sure that there are many ways families fall into meal planning a month at a time. Here is how we did.
- Start with a good shopping list. We created a shopping list document including all our regular purchases. Its posted on the fridge so we can circle items as we notice we are running out. For extra ease, we organize the list by aisle at the grocery store.
- Plan one week. Get a calendar and plan out just one week, then fill out the shopping list accordingly.
- Expand. After you’ve gotten used to planning one week, expand to two or even a whole month. If you haven’t already, you could also start planning sides. Print out multiple shopping lists, date them, and fill them out accordingly.
Tips:
- Make a list of meal and side options. Its easier if you have a list of all the recipes you make to look at as you fill our your month calendar.
- Decide on any rules. We have a rule about having fish once a week and at least one vegetable every dinner.
- Plan at least one item picky eaters will eat at each meal. Try not to have several meals in row that picky eaters refuse.
- Consider designating certain types of recipes to certain days of the week. For example, I pick my least busy morning to be the weekly crock pot recipe. Also, I use weekends for meals that need lots of prep time.
- Don’t forget special days, like holidays, birthdays, eating out, or company coming to visit.
- Make a list of new recipe ideas.
- Take inventory of the freezer before you sit down to make the menu so that you can note what items are frozen and what needs to be made fresh.
The truly advanced meal planner can plan all the meals for a month around sales and coupons! Now that is truly impressive and something I’d like to learn!
