Meal Planning Made Easy
What’s for dinner? It’s the first thing I hear when my kids get home from school. On a bad day, I don’t have a clue. I’ve forgotten to take the meat out of the freezer to thaw or I didn’t have anything particular in mind for weeknight dinners when I bought groceries that week.
Things are much easier when I have a plan. I call it my meal calendar. I start by asking my family what they’d like to see on the menu. Inevitably the 9 year old pipes up, “I want spaghetti!” The teenager always wants Fettuccini Alfredo, and my husband normally doesn’t care. Honestly, my kids would be thrilled if we had pasta every day, but personally, I’d like a little more variety.
Thinking of my family’s favorite meats, poultry and seafood (ground beef, chicken breasts, pork chops, and shrimp), I match each to a favorite recipe—making sure it isn’t too time consuming.
Spaghetti and Meatballs
Grilled Chicken Breasts
Italian Meatloaf
Pork Chops Veracruz
Shrimp and Veggie Stirfry
Then, to round out the menu, I add in any favorite side dishes or accompaniments.
Spaghetti and Meatballs
Garlic Bread
Mixed Salad
Grilled Chicken Breasts
Grilled Zucchini
Rosemary Rosed Potatoes
Italian Meatloaf
Mashed Potatoes
Green Beans
Pork Chops Veracruz
Brown Rice
Glazed Carrots
Shrimp and Veggie Stirfry
(It’s all there—a one dish meal!)
I then assign each meal to a day of the week, take a quick inventory of my fridge, pantry, and freezer, and add all of the ingredients that I don’t have on hand to my grocery list. It also helps to post the menu on the fridge so the EVERYONE in the family can see “What’s for Dinner!”
Remember, you can adjust the meal calendar to the number of days you cook each week.
Sometimes I only have time to cook three days a week, especially during the school year when the kids have lots of after-school activities. My kids love to see a “Take Out” or “Eat Out” day on the meal calendar.
This may seem like a time-consuming process—but believe me, once you get the hang of it you’ll be able to knock all of it out in about 15 minutes. And you won’t believe the time and stress it will save you in the long-run. Besides, you don’t have to do it but twice a month. Crank out two weekly menu calendars and alternate them within a month.
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