Meal planning is one of the best ways to eat better, spend less and be organized for the week ahead. Meal planning can also be also be very intimidating when you first start. I have listed my top 10 tips to make meal planning easier for you.
1. Check your calendar
You weekly schedule will be your guide to meal planning. Do you have a dinner date? Are friends coming over? What extracurricular activities and school events do your children have? By looking at your schedule, you will be able to determine how many nights that week you will need to cook. Just because there are 7 days in the week doesn’t mean you are going to be cooking 7 meals. You schedule will also determine what kind of meals you are able to make each night. If you have a busy day, you are going to want to schedule a quick and easy meals. Save the longer prep meals for the day when you know you will have more time to cook.
2. Start with the ingredients you have on hand
Start by checking your pantry, fridge, and freezer for items you need to use this week. Incorporate those items into the meals you are going to make for the week. This will not only help you reduce waste; it will also help you save on your shopping bill.
3. Make a list of favorite meals
Put together a list of your family’s favorite meals. As you cook new meal, you can start adding the ones that your family really enjoyed eating to your list. The more you meal plan, the longer your family favorites list will grow. When you are choosing meals for the week, choose most of your meals from you family favorite lists. This will not only save your time, but you know your family will enjoy the meal. How you keep this list is up to you. Some people like to write their favorite recipes down in a binder, some use a journal. For me, I make a list of all of our family favorite meals in a notebook and I save our favorite meals recipes under my Favorites Board on Pinterest.
4. Write down the recipes
Nothing is worse than going to make dinner and not being able to find the correct recipes. While meal planning, make sure you take note of where the recipe is located so you can quickly find the recipe again when it comes time to cook. Another suggest is to write down or print out the recipe, so you have it on hand when you start your meal.
I also will write down the suggested prep time and cook time for that meal. This will help you know when you need to start prepping the meal. If the recipe states 2 hours to cook a meal, you’re going to want to have 2 hours for that meal to cook, otherwise you may be eating later than you normally plan.
5. Check serving size
Always check the serving size of the meal you are planning. If there are going to be 6 people for dinner, make sure your meal will provide enough servings for everyone. If the meal servings don’t match how many people you are serving, you do not need to discard the recipe. You can always double the recipe or ½ the recipe to make it work for your family. Also, if you are a family that likes to use the leftovers, then double the recipe so that you will have leftovers to use for the next day.
6: Make a shopping list
This step will save time (and money) in the long run. First make a list of everything you are going to need from your meal plan. Check through your pantry, fridge, and refrigerator and cross off everything that you have on hand. What is left on the list is what you are going to need to buy. Take the time to rewrite your shopping list. When your rewrite your shopping list, group the ingredients in categories so they will be easier to find in the store.
7. Simpler is easier.
Keep your meal planning simple. The simpler you keep your meal planning, the easier it will be to follow. The easier meal planning is for you, the more successful you will become in meal planning.
Meal planning doesn’t mean you have to spend hours looking through recipes to find something new to cook. Don’t plan a new meal for every night. Start with your family favorites and then plan maybe one or two new meals for the week. It takes more time and energy to make something new, so I find it easier to work with only one or two new recipes a week.
8. Be Flexible:
If you hold to tight to the plan, you are going to be disappointed. Things don’t always go the way we plan. It’s okay to change up the plan every now and then. Dinner plans fall through, or children have last-minute school activities. Don’t be hard on yourself if you don’t follow your plan exactly.
9: Emergency meals
Always have meals on hand that you can cook without much prep work. Life doesn’t always go as we plan. The same goes for meal planning. There will always be that last-minute meeting or children getting sick. To prepare for these emergencies, always have the ingredients for a quick meal to throw together if you are in a pinch. My family’s favorite is Macaroni and Cheese. I always have a box of macaroni and cheese in the pantry to make if I am in a pinch.
10. Establish a routine:
I think the most important tip I can give you is to establish a routine. When you have routines established, it is easier to get tasks completed. Plan on what day and time you are going to meal plan and stick to it. Plan a time and day you are going to go shopping and stick to it. You need to find the routine that works for you. My routine is to meal plan and get the shopping list ready on Friday night. Then I go shopping early Saturday morning when the stores are not as crowded. Some people like to do it all in one day. Find out what works best for you and stick to that plan. Regardless of which strategy works for you, the key to success is to be consistent.
Meal planning is a great way to eat better, spend less, and be better organized for the week ahead. Though it may seem overwhelming at first, it will pay off in the long run. Do you have any tips or tricks to meal planning that you would like to share? Please leave them down below in the comments.