One of the hardest tasks as a wife and mother, at least I feel, is deciding what to eat for dinner. I feel like it is an uphill battle. One that you’re pretty well screwed one way or another. I have five humans living in my home, and that is NOT an easy task planning what to eat to somewhat please them all and make something you like to eat for yourself. With toddlers, you never know what they will eat. One day spaghetti is the best invention on earth; the following week, I might as well be serving worms. Next is a teenager that has an expensive pallet, steak and lobster are his favorites and maybe throw in a slab of prime rib and a burger. Lastly, my sweet husband, he honestly will eat anything except avocado and tomatoes. He is the easiest of them all.
A few years ago, in an attempt to save money on groceries, and try to make my life a little easier, I started making a meal plan for a week at a time. Before this, I would make the regular grocery trip, without a list, without a plan, and after $300 get home to find with the ingredients I chose, there are no real meals? Anyone else? And if you go to the store when hungry, watch out! You really won’t have any meals. You might be set for snacks for the week, but that’s about it!
OK, back to the plan.
I have to admit, the meal planning process was laborious at first! Going through my fridge, freezer, and cupboards to see what I already have and then build meals around that took a little time. However, I didn’t want to have to buy all the ingredients for every meal over and over. Having an idea of what we do have saved a lot of money. Those spices add up!
I had recipe books I flipped through to find some meals. Of course, the staples we eat (and still eat) like spaghetti (the toddler has balanced out to like it 99% of the time), pizza, tacos/taco salad, and a few more. I remember I was given a casserole recipe book. This was packed full of recipes and recipes of you guessed: casserolesâReuben casserole, tater-tot casserole, turkey stuffing casserole, and on and on. Looking back, my husband and I call it the “casserole” phase of life because that was literally all we had for dinner.
Then came Pinterest, ohhhhhh sweet, sweet Pinterest. Where had you been all my life! I have a lot of yummy recipes saved, tried and true to check out my boards here. It is helpful to have so many options all right on my phone, revolutionary! Unlimited meal ideas! I have a pretty monstrous sweet tooth, so the scrumdiddlyicious board filled up quick. I still use a recipe I found called the World’s Best German Chocolate cake, my husband’s favorite. A treat for him every year on his birthday, which happened to be this past weekend. If would like to try it yourself, here it is!
Worlds Best German Chocolate Cake Recipe
A few things I learned about meal planning
Go through the freezer, pantry, and fridge.
Look at expiration dates and dispose of what are past date. This one drives my husband crazy. He was a bachelor until he was 34. When we were engaged, he was still living at his farmhouse, and sometimes, I would go there for the weekend. I cleaned out his fridge once, and 95% of all his stuff was past expired! So, of course, I threw it all away! He was shocked when he opened his fridge to see…. well….. hardly anything. The man has a steel stomach, so nothing bothered him.
Wipe out the fridge.
Things drip, drop, crumble, and spill often. Always wipe out your fridge and clean up before you fill it again. Sure, this sounds tedious, but believe me, it helps you keep on top of your fridge’s cleanliness. There is an odd satisfaction in starting each grocery haul anew. I personally don’t like using bleach or any other toxic chemical in my home and especially around the foods we eat. I clean out my fridge with a product called Tough and Tender from Melaleuca. I use all the companys laundry and cleaning products as well as toothpaste, body soap, and even some snacks! Shoot me an email if you would like to learn more about this amazing product line.
Gather up the fam-bam.
Optimally, it works best if you start with an insight into your humans’ cravings to determine if you can accommodate any of them during the following week/weeks. I like to ask them all what is one (realistic) meal they would like if they don’t care than there is no reason to complain about any meals made. The kids love having a say, most of the time, on what we eat. I think it makes the not-s0-yummy meals feel a little more bearable when they know their suggestion will be coming soon! I find family life a bit less frustrating if they are willing to give me some input.
Grab your notebook, calendars, and schedules. I usually go pretty basic, but you can always get something cute to make it more fun.
I always look ahead to see what is happening in the weeks ahead. Different times of the year bring different responsibilities. Basketball games take us away from the house at dinner time 3-4 times a week during the season. Dance nights can get hectic along with Church meeting nights. I like to make sure the meal I plan fits the night. Sometimes there is prep, and I need to get the meal in the crockpot early. THIS has been one of the top reasons we were able to stop eating out so much. If I had a quick meal ready or packed sandwiches and chips for the road to a game, we didn’t have the excuse that we HAD to grab fast food.
I decide how many weeks I will be planning, shopping for. I started off with just one week at a time, mainly because we didn’t have a deep freezer or extra fridge at that time. Now, except for the Covid-19 Pandemic (I was lucky to be able to buy for 2-3 meals at a time due to scarcity), I plan for 2-3 weeks at a time. Sometimes a little longer if a Holiday ends up at the end of that time. Next, on a notepad, I write Monday (date) activity, Tuesday (date) activity, and so on for all the days I will be planning for. Similar to this, feel free to steal my meal plan ideas đ
Get your Pinterest logged in, recipe books out, and notes of meal requests from your family.
Now, taking into consideration the activities that happen in the evenings, what ingredients you already have to use, and the meal requests start jotting down in the spots available. After you have used up those options, start looking for what meals you want to make. I usually try to rotate meats, so one day is chicken, one beef, one fish, then maybe some pork. I don’t like having the same meat every night, and I think my family appreciates this? Lol, maybe? By taking a look at what I have on Monday, I will choose different main meat for Tuesday. During the school year, almost EVERY Wednesday night is tacos. This night is crazy because we have to get everyone fed and the door to Awanas at our church. Tacos are versatile (salad, tostada, tacos) and easy to fix. Plus, they make great leftovers.
Get your grocery list ready.
By this time, you have all your days, dates, activities, and meals written out for each day you plan during the week/weeks. Now, you want to write down all the ingredients you need to buy. I have done this for so many years now, and you know how it is; we tend to use the same 20 meals, so I pretty much know what I need for each meal without looking. Of course, if I am trying a new recipe, I have to refer to that and write down what I need on my grocery list.
For example, Taco night: I know I will need seasoning, refired beans, taco sauce, shredded cheddar cheese, lettuce, black olives, taco shells, soft tortilla shells, and Catalina dressing.
A treat sure I have these items, or I write down what I need.
See! Easy Peasy!
Continue through each meal each day, writing down the ingredients, sides, and desserts, you may want to add, and before you know it! You are done.
Overwhelmed?
I am sure this sounds like A LOT. And honestly, it WILL feel that way the first few times you do the process. Like any new task, it takes a while before it feels orderly or routine.
I promise you by making a meal plan, involving your family, and writing it all out with your family schedule in mind. You will not only be saving a lot of money but also losing a lot of stress, which is a great thing. Saving money comes from being prepared, and not having to eat out. Savings also comes from the list and being disciplined to sticking to it. When you have a plan, you KNOW what you need, which eliminates a lot of extra junk you either don’t need for any recipes or don’t need in general.
I have been doing this for 12 years now and really couldn’t imagine ever stopping? I only typically meal plan dinner, unless we have company visiting or there is a Holiday. During those times, I will plan the breakfast and lunches and make sure there are plenty of snacks on hand. During the usual weeks, I try to cook a little more in quantity, so there are leftovers for lunch the following day. My husband (thankfully) and I love leftovers, so this is great! I am still adjusting the food needs and how much I need to make because of my teen. What once left plenty for the next day, now sometimes barely feeds us all that night!
I would love to help you with your meal planning and happy to give any tips or additional ideas! Please feel free to comment with any questions you may have or any suggestions you have from your own experience. If this brought any value to you, please send on to someone else you know that would benefit as well!
Bon appétit!
XO,
Sydney
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