Simple Meal Planning

Do you hate scrambling to figure out something for dinner last minute? Dread noticing that it's 4:00pm and your family will be expecting some sort of meal soon? Meeeeee toooo!!! Another problem I had was the number of times I went to the store each week was getting out of hand. Taking 3 small children with me was really draining physically,  mentally and financially  Everyone knows how you walk in the store to by milk, bread and bananas and end up spending $50. I knew something had to change but I was complacent about doing anything about it. However, a few weeks ago I noticed a lot of monthly meal planning ideas on Pinterest but planning for a month seems kind of daunting so I started planning 2 weeks worth of meals. Even with breaking it up into 2 weeks, I was running out of ideas. My husband suggested that we eat the same thing each day. So, Sunday would be chicken tacos, Monday stir fry, Tuesday spaghetti and so on. Ummmm no. I need a little more variety than that and the option to try new recipes . We then decided that each day would have a theme. Knowing that Monday is Mexican or Italian night really helps narrow down the recipes that my family enjoys or ones that I have been wanting to try. I print out a cute monthly planner from imom.com and get to work. I keep my calendar on the fridge for easy viewing and to help with compiling my shopping list. Doing 2 big shopping trips per month and 2 smaller trips to stock up on things like milk, bread & produce have really helped us stick to our budget and saved my sanity.

Here's our dinner theme schedule. You can use mine or switch it around and add new ones that fit your schedule and favorite meals.

Sunday: Something new
Monday: Italian or Mexican
Tuesday: Soup, Salad and/or Sandwiches
Wednesday: Asian
Thursday: Crockpot meal
Friday: Something simple & easy (usually something like quesadillas, hot dogs, sandwiches, or leftovers)
Saturday: Breakfast for dinner

Five to ten minutes is all you need! Go ahead, try it out and let me know if meal planning has simplified your life...even just a little.