Three meals a day and a few snacks in between – everyday! What to cook and how to keep the family healthy? There are probably dozens of answers for this question, but for me, it all comes down to one: meal planning. I believe meal planning is the most effective way to set yourself up for success as a mom in the kitchen, yet we all fall behind or struggle to be consistent with it.

I have been getting many requests on putting together a beginner’s guide to meal planning, and to be honest, there are many approaches and no way to do it wrong. Creating a menu plan is not really complicated and it doesn’t take a long time. You can get some really cool benefits from this simple process!

A meal plan saves money:

When you plan ahead what you will be spending in groceries, you are more likely to stick to a budget and do less impulse spending! You can also stock up on non-perishables and items you can freeze when they go on sale, and buy in bulk more often!

A meal plan saves time:

Less trips to the grocery store or supermarket, less time going through the aisles (because you know exactly what you’re going to buy and where to find it – broken down by department!), less time figuring out what ingredients go together… you get the idea. You can also do meal prep ahead of time: precut, marinate, pre-measure, mix, make a double batch to freeze half…

A meal plan saves sanity:

No stressing over missing ingredients, emergency trips to the store, or impatient kids asking “What’s for dinner? When are we having dinner? Will we ever have dinner?” Less stress means being a nicer mom!

A meal plan improves nutritional value:

When you plan your menu, you can deliberately shop for, prep, and add more healthy ingredients and fruits and vegetables into your recipes.

A meal plan helps with family unity:

Eating at the dinner table is a valuable practice that keeps families together. When you avoid the drive-through, you say yes to your health, to your wallet, and to a happy family.

MEAL PLANNING 101

If you don’t know where to start and want to make a meal plan that works, here is a printable meal planning sheet I designed for you to download and practice with.

Make a Meal List

Gather the family around and have them play the game “my favorite recipe/dish/food/snack is ____” and collect this data to make a list of all the meals you need. I cook every day, three times a day, so I usually need 7 breakfast ideas, 7 lunch ideas, and 7 dinner ideas for a week-long meal plan. Adjust for meals you don’t have to make during the meal plan rotation.

I add in healthy snacks in between – at least three per day, because when you’re really hungry, you will eat the first thing you find.

I involve my family in this process because if they helped make the menu, they are more likely to eat what you cook. Your meal plan will be more successful if you include meals that are familiar and everyone likes, and the more you cook the same meals, the more you will learn about portion size and cost, because it varies by family. Life get so much easier when you know exactly what you’re spending and how long food lasts between each grocery trip.

Another reason to create this meal compilation is to assess where you are at in your journey. You will find patterns in the data that will be helpful as you start your meal menu. You will see that your family already has a routine and you can use that routine to your advantage, to put the power of meal planning to work for you.

Assign a day to each meal

Once you have everyone’s favorite healthy dishes and know how many meals and for how many people, you want to think about an ideal day to make that recipe.

For example, Mondays used to be our busiest during the school year because the girls had voice lessons across town, so we had an easy lunch that day. We spend three long hours at church on the Sabbath day, so we need a hearty late breakfast on Sunday. Our meal plan will have some changes over the summer break, because it’s all about distributing it all in a way that works for you and what you have time for given the commitments and moods of the day.

Very important: make sure you have a variety of meals each day, but don’t introduce a lot of new recipes at once.Sometimes you can add variety simply by changing up the side dishes or changing the sauce or dip you usually serve.

Before you add new meals to your rotation, you can check Pinterest, cookbooks, recipe magazines, and explore together, sometimes brainstorming on what ingredients to substitute. As a vegan family, we substitute a lot to make sure our meals plant based only. There are so many resources, both online and offline, to come up with easy, healthy, tasty meals!

Make A Personal Shopping List

Write a grocery shopping list with the items you need for the meals. I do two weeks at a time, and incorporate a lot of veggies, fruits, and almond milk, so we go to the supermarket in between meal menu rotations. The plan is to stick to what is on the list, and no throwing “whatever looks good” on your cart, because that means sticking to your healthy plan and sticking to your frugal budget.

Avoid buying things just because they are on sale, especially because you may end up not knowing what to pair it with and having to throw it out. People in the USA throw so much food away :(. Throwing food away hurts my heart because I know what it’s like to be hungry and not know where your next meal is going to come from. When you buy only the ingredients of what you will cook, you will cook with those ingredients, so you won’t throw them away.

When it comes to fruit, veggies, and other perishables, checking often so you can eat them before they go bad is the key. Always check your fridge, freezer, and pantry before your next shopping trip!

 

Make A Recipe Book

Now that you know what you will be cooking, it is a great idea to write down your recipes and make a recipe book so you can have a reference. You can use plastic sheet protectors and a three-hole binder so the pages don’t get damaged and dirty, and you can manipulate it better.

If you already have a blog, you can post the recipes on your blog or keep a collaborative Google Doc (I do both!) so you can access the recipe list and ingredients when you’re on the go. Some people also use Pinterest.

The meal plan has been an inspiration for my daughters to learn how to cook. It’s easier to actually teach them how to cook something they’re interested in learning when you know when you plan to make it. As they help choose ideas, help shop and read labels, help prep and cook, we all have fun and cooking is more fun.

Use Your Menu Plan

I know what it’s like to make a meal plan and forget about it. If you’ve done that, you’re not alone (and neither am I) so the only productive thing to do is get back on track. This week, I plan to place my meal plan on the refrigerator door so we can refer to it when we are preparing meals, and so everyone knows what we are having to eat – without too many questions while I try to get my work done.

Your meal plan is just one of the steps to make consistent, timely, yummy meals at home, so the more you consult it, the better prepared you will be in terms of shopping, prepping, and cooking, so the meal can be served – and enjoyed.

Meal Plan on your own terms

I’ve shared my meal planning basics, but make sure to start small, do it your way, and give yourself a break. You don’t have to be a great cook to be a meal planner. I used to hate cooking and just a few years ago I didn’t even know how to make toast… and here I am. The best step you can take is to stop putting it off and get started!

Meal planning seems to be so daunting, but it really isn’t once you give it a try. You’ll learn as you go, in the trenches, mostly through trial and error, but that is valuable experience that will make it easier as you go. There’s a bit of frustration when we are trying something new, so keep the goal in mind when you feel like giving up.

Have you ever tried meal planning? How do you feel about meal planning? Share what worked for you, what didn’t? Share your meal planning approach, and your best Meal Planning 101 tips for moms to save time in the kitchen. And let me know how you like the free printable meal planning sheet!

[ela]

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