Meal time is the most stressful time at our home. We're all coming in hungry from work (or mom's day out). Not knowing what to make for dinner just adds to the stress. I know that weekly planning will be the best option for me, and probably doing it on Saturday or Sunday night. I can determine which nights in the upcoming week I need to cook a quick meal, a fancy dinner, or have leftovers. I can check my pantry to see what I need and do the grocery shopping as the meals are planned. I know that after I've done this a few weeks, meal planning will get easier because I can recycle plans. Also, this will keep my grocery bill down because I will know exactly what I need to buy instead of buying something I might use that would end up spoiling. And, I can plan healthier meals!
I've found a few cute menu planning printables online...click on the image to go to the source for your free printable:
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| http://projectsforyournest.blogspot.com |
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| http://www.lovelyliving.com.au/ |
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| http://www.theprojectgirl.com |
Do you meal plan? Any tips?
I just printed off a monthly meal planner a few days ago but it's still blank, lol. I thought about going all out and shopping for a month since we get paid basically once a month. Maybe if I spent most of our food budget up front then we wouldn't overspend. When I do make a weekly plan, it is so much easier because you don't have to think about what to eat and you really do save money at the store. I do like the freedom of being able to switch it up, so I don't have it so set that I can't switch a night if I'm not in the mood for what I wrote down. I also like the idea of doing the crockpot night when you know you have little time to make dinner, like Wednesday for church. Another thing I really want to do is freezer meals of things we really like. We've gotten way off track with meal planning, but I think I sometimes make it too hard in my head and forget it isn't that hard to make a list, write down what I need. The montly thing is probably overachieving, so I think I will go back to weekly. lol I change my mind too much.
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