How To Meal Plan Like A Pro!
Meal Planning is such a helpful tool. It allows you to create a budget, stay in your budget, know what you're going to cook every day, and usually helps deter that inevitable soccer game that you forgot to plan for (or attend)!
Step 1. Set your budget.
Step 2. Look at your schedule. Write down all the appointments you and your family have. This gives you an idea of what kind of meal is appropriate. For instance, you don't want your kids to eat lasagna before swim class, or a light salad before the big game. You also don't want to waste your time slaving away in the kitchen on an eat and run kind of day.
Step 3. Take an inventory. Look at your pantry, fridge, and freezer; see what meals you already have most of the ingredients for. Jot down the ingredients needed to complete that meal. Fill in what day that meal is best.
Step 4. Look at your shopping list. What few items could you add to that list to make the most of it? For example, If you only needed sour cream and cheese to pull off a Mexican meal out of your inventory, and that is the base of your list, then your only potatoes and butter away from a whole other dinner (baked potatoes or potato soup).
Step 5. Check the Ads for whatever store you like to frequent and see if you can't pull some meals together out of their sale items. This is also a great way to keep your usual meals feeling fresh with seasonal produce varieties.
My final tip: I like to shop weekly, but I tend to plan on a monthly scale and then keep a monthly meal log. Writing down what we actually ate helps to avoid meal repeats, problem solve what isn't working for us, and saves time the next week since I can usually roll over a meal or plan a leftover dinner. It also gives me foresight financially into any holiday meals or hosting events we may have to budget for. Want to start meal planning more efficiently today? Grab a free meal planning template below!