How I Do My Meal Planning
I've
been meal planning now for quite a few years, and to be honest, it's
been a really nice routine to get into every week as it means that it
makes quite a few things easier. It makes figuring out what we're
having for supper easier, it makes grocery shopping easier (and
really cuts down on the random grabs), it helps me stay within my
weekly budget for groceries, and it just relieves the stress
surrounding the “witching hour” in my house.
My
routine for meal planning is simple (at least to me), and it takes me
about an hour to sit down and plan it out. I plan only our suppers.
Breakfasts are pretty easy, Keith and Violet make their own lunches
for school/work and we usually have leftovers or sandwiches at home
for lunch. I don't comparison shop, I don't do coupons. I do all my
grocery shopping at one store, and that is it. I really don't have
time to run around to multiple different stores to try to get the
“best price” and honestly, thinking about doing that just gives
me a headache.
I
try to start my meal planning on Wednesdays, and start by looking
over our upcoming week. Sometimes we have gatherings or busy evenings
that factor into my planning. Then I take a look at our previous
week's meal plan to make sure I'm not making a double, or to see if
there was anything that I didn't make (sometimes things come up and I
don't make supper one evening).
Once
I've gone through all that, then I grab my notebook, my recipe book
(where I keep all my recipes that we constantly use), and Pinterest.
I'll mark down what evenings we're busy, and then start looking
through my recipe book first, followed by Pinterest. I try to have a
good mixture of meals, and not always the same thing. We do eat quite
a bit of meat in this house, so I try to aim for 2 ground beef meals,
2 chicken meals, 1 sausage meal, a night for leftovers, and either
pizza or a rotisserie chicken for Friday's. I'm not big on doing
expensive meats, especially with kids right now, so I stick to what I
know they'll eat, and maybe experiment with 1 new meal a week. I also
try to do 2 Slow Cooker meals a week, as Keith work 2 evenings a
week, and he likes to try to eat before leaving. And those are the 2
evenings that we're busy, so having a slow cooker for those evening
really works out for us. I just prep it the night before, put it on
when we get up in the morning and it's ready for when we need to eat
early.
When
I've figured out what I want to make for the upcoming week, I'll jot
it down in my notebook, along with all the ingredients and quantities
that are needed. And once that is all done, I'll look through my
fridge/freezer/pantry first to see what I have on hand and cross it
off my list. Whatever is remaining for ingredients, I input into an
app that I have (List Ease), along with anything else that I need
around the house (house cleaning stuff, bathroom stuff, etc.)
What
I really love about the List Ease app (not sponsored at all, just
really love it), is that everything is categorized and I can input
the prices in and calculate the taxes as well. Which really helps me
with staying within my budget.
When
everything is said and done, it doesn't take me long once I sit down
and put my mind to it. And it really makes my life easier.
And
if you're wondering, this is what's on the meal plan for this week:
- Easter at my Dad's
- Waffles & Bacon
I'm
always on the hunt for new recipes to add to my collection. What are you guys making?
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