Meal planning ensures that we eat well, use the ingredients we have, and get a variety of foods in our diet. We use magnets to organize our meal plans.
This post contains Amazon affiliate links. If you click through to Amazon from this page and purchase anything, we will get a small profit for referring you without any additional cost to you!
I meal plan for us for a week to ten days in advance. I start by comparing our schedule with an inventory of what is in the freezer (meats, frozen steam-able veggies, pre-made meals that I have cooked in bulk, and convenience foods (fish fillets, pierogies, french fries, etc.)).
I also have the non-perishable ingredients we typically use for our meals in our pantry and spice cabinet. This is a list of everything we have in the pantry that I made the other day. Nesting, maybe?
I used my 1" button machine to make magnets with the days of the week on them (these are the same as the magnets I made for E's calendar).
I cut paint samples and wrote our typical meals on them. We have about 30 - 40 in our regular rotation. I only write the main dish on the card, then I make a vegetable/side to go with it depending on what we have in the freezer, pantry, or as leftovers. I try a new recipe about once every two weeks which I write on a post-it until we decide if it is a keeper based on how much time it took to make and how much we liked it.
I didn't organize by color/meal type you easily could. I just wanted to use the paint samples so it would be colorful and pretty!
Here are some additional items about how we make this work for us:
- I ask my husband for input on what meals he's in the mood for when I'm planning. When the kids get older I will ask them, too. Everyone can pick at least one meal a week based on the choices available.
- I think about our schedule. If I have a night where I am meeting a friend for dinner or I have a late meeting, I will make something that my husband and E like but I'm not very fond of eating. I try to have dinner finished when he comes home even if I'm heading out since he gets home later than most people.
- We have leftovers once a week since there are only three of us. I plan this night after a few nights of cooking meals that are to serve several people.
- We have easy meals several times a week such as breakfast for dinner, crock pot recipes, etc. My husband also has a few go to dinners that he makes himself if I am out with E or if it's a heavy grief or toddler tantrum day so dinner didn't happen. We agree that the world will not end if dinner is not made and other things are sometimes more important.
- We go out to eat about once every week, either having dinner with friends, family, going to a restaurant, or getting take out. This happens more on the weekends, but it is a budget item that we prioritize for our family. We love our sushi and Groupons! .
- What might seem like two sides (quinoa salad and a steamed veggie) is a dinner in our house. I love, love, love that my husband is NOT a meat and potatoes guy because I can cook vegetarian several times a week which is healthier for us and saves money.
- I grocery shop once a week to every ten days. I get fresh produce (my husband also goes to the farmers' market once a week for produce) and our regular items when they are on sale.
For more meal ideas follow us on Pinterest:
I love your day of the week magnets! They're so cute and a great way to keep track of the meals for the week =)!
ReplyDelete