Making a meal plan is a huge lifesaver, time saver and money saver for us. It takes a little bit of planning but the benefits of knowing what you will make for dinner each night is totally worth it.
Here is how I create my weekly meal plan.
- Research Recipes – There are always new recipes I want to try (on Pinterest) but I never have all of the ingredients. So I do a little research and select 1 new recipe to try (not every week). Once I’ve selected a new recipe I add the ingredients to my shopping list.
- Make a shopping list – We have a list of essentials that we buy each week like bananas, milk, orange juice, etc…
- Shop the sales – If Harris Teeter has a special on London Broil I’ll buy one or two and freeze them.
- Survey your stock and make a list of possible meals – After I’ve gone shopping I make a list of all the possible meals I could make.
- Select meals based on your calendar of events for the week. – If we have a really busy day I usually plan a slow cooker meal for that day. On weekends in the summer we usually grill out.
- Write down your plan and post it on the fridge, calendar or somewhere everyone can see it. You can use this free meal plan printable I made.
- Every morning look at the meal plan – I look at my meal plan each morning so I can set out meat to thaw, prep food or pick up any extras I might need. This prevents a 5 o’clock panic.
It’s really simple and such a huge help with keeping my family well fed. PB&J every night gets old.
My Meal Plan for this week….
Possible Meals
- Chicken Tacos
- Spaghetti
- Slow Cooked Cuban Pork
- Sandwiches
- Pork Ribs
- Stir Fry Beef
This week:
Monday – Pork Ribs (because they are thawed and need to be cooked)
Tuesday – Sandwiches (because Jude has a swim meet)
Wednesday – Slow Cooked Cuban Pork (because it’s a busy day) *new recipe
Thursday – Spaghetti (because the kids love it)
Friday – ? (This is usually family movie night with a pizza and popcorn)
Saturday – Beef Stir Fry
Sunday – Chicken Tacos (Because Pastor Tyler talked about them at church this morning and we haven’t had them in awhile.)
I am going to start doing this! Sure will help out on the grocery shopping too!