Have you ever wondered how to meal plan but don’t know where to start? Honestly, it’s a really easy process and one that can be done in under one glass of wine 30 minutes!
Being the irritating Type A personality that I am, I love a good list, so meal planning is right up my alley.
While I don’t meal plan every single week, on the week’s that I do, I find I save a bit of coin at the supermarket (buying things that are on a list is much cheaper than flinging various random items in a trolley!), it takes me less time (again, having a list speeds up the dreaded grocery shopping process) and whenever the kids ask, “Muuuuuuum, what’s for dinner?” I tell them to go and look at the chart on the fridge #winning
So here are my tips for how to meal plan like a boss!
- Print out a meal plan. As luck would have it, I have one in The Shop that you can download FOR FREE! Yep, it’s completely free and available now. Simply click on this link, click on the ‘FREE Printables’ category, download & print out the meal planner and you’re good to go.
- Gather your supplies. I like to grab a notepad and pen (to make a list of grocery items as I go), my phone (for recipes I’ve published on this blog) and cook books/magazines that have recipes in them that I’d like to try.
- Flick through your magazines/cook books/blog posts and choose a couple of recipes you’d like to try. Write them on your meal plan, along with the page number of the recipe (that way you’ll know where to find it when it comes to cooking it) and fill in the remaining days with meals you’re going to make.
- Make a list of grocery items you’ll need as you fill out your meal plan and BAM! In roughly 20 short minutes your meal plan and grocery list for the week is done!
Grab your FREE Meal Planner right here!
Meal Planning Tips and Tricks:
You could laminate the meal plan if you wanted to and fill it out each week using a whiteboard marker (not a sharpie…it won’t come off) This would eliminate the need to print out a new meal planner each week. Or, you could try Amanda from Cooker and Looker‘s clever idea. She keeps her meal plan in a frame on the kitchen wall and writes on the glass with a whiteboard maker each week. Genius!
Keep your meal plan in a handy place (on the fridge, on a clip board etc) so you won’t forget what you’re cooking each night.
Consider what commitments you and/or your kids have in the afternoons and plan your meals around them. For example, I’m off for a lumbar puncture tomorrow (FUN!) so Wednesday night’s meal will be a simple bowl of mac & cheese that I’ll make today. It can stay in the fridge and be reheated tomorrow night. Too easy!
Meal Planning is a great way to try something new each week. Flick through cookbooks etc and pick a dish you’ve never made before, or get the kids involved and ask them to choose something new (FYI: That’s a great sneaky tactic if you’ve got a fussy eater…they can choose a meal, maybe even help you cook it which might even tempt them into eating the meal when it’s served!)
So there we have it. My simple tips for how to meal plan like a boss.
Is meal planning something you do or are you more of a wing it for dinner type of person? (I like to live on the edge and be a bit of both!)
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