I love to plan. Not just meals. I love to plan anything. I get excited when I plan my day and get to cross things off the list that I accomplished that day. In the midst of my planning though, I have to stay reminded that while a man plans his way, its the Lord who directs his steps.
With that said, let's talk about planning meals and the benefits that you can realize in your life when you plan meals for you and your family ahead of time. Careful pre-planning for meals can save you lots of time and in the long run it can save you money.
There are different types of shoppers out there. There are some that keep their pantry stocked with all of the staple items that they cook with on a weekly basis and additional items that they may occasionally use for varying recipes, items they see while perusing the grocery aisle and want to try at some point. Because they keep their pantry stocked with an array of items, they cut down on the numbers of times that they have to run out to the store to purchase items. They may grocery shop 2-3 times per month (or even less), purchasing the items that they need to maintain a well-stocked pantry for a variety of recipes and meals that they want to cook. Frequently you'll find multiple bottles of the same item in their pantry as they find certain items on sale and use those opportunities to stock up. We'll call them "Stockpilers".
Then there are the "Minimalists". That's me. I purchase just what we need for the specific meals that I've selected for my family each week. I have not done any research to see who saves the most money in the long run, but minimalist shopping works for our family's budget. It allows us to easily assess how much we're spending on groceries from one month to the next. Some pros to being a minimalist shopper is being able to account for just about everything in the pantry and we find that we rarely have waste. Some cons are not having those extra ingredients on the shelf when my family wants to splurge and make an impromptu meal.
My approach to meal planning is very simple. I maintain a list of my family's "favorite meals" along with a list of ingredients for each meal categorized ingredients for Chicken, Pork, Red Meat, Fish, Pastas, Comfort Foods, etc.
One entry on my family's "favorite meals" list may say,
Under the Heading Chicken:
Homemade Chipotle Night (Chicken Breasts, Black Beans, Mozarella Cheese, Tomatoes, lettuce, Pico De Gallo, Canned Corn, Cilantro, Tortilla Bread)
One day out of each week (usually a Saturday), I pull out my family's favorite meals list, our family calendar and a sticky note and list the meals that I'd like to prepare each day for the upcoming week. This list will become my Meal list for the upcoming week. The reason I pull out our calendar is because there are many times in the week that we have an evening activity out as a family (i.e., recital, dentist appointment, baseball game, etc.) and it could be wise from a time perspective on a specific night to grab dinner while we're out. On those specific days, I make a "no meal to plan" note for myself.
My weekly Meal List may look something like this,
Monday - Buttermilk Chicken Fingers, Fries, and Corn
Tuesday - Baked Spaghetti & Italian Bread
Wednesday - Baseball Game (No Meal to Prepare)
Thursday - Chicken Barbecue Turnovers
Friday - Homemade Chipotle Night
After I make my Meal List for the week, I'll grab a piece of notepad paper and copy down the list of ingredients from my family's favorite meals list. This list becomes my grocery store shopping list for the coming week. After I've listed out all of the ingredients that I need, I go to the pantry and then to the refrigerator and freezer and mark off all of the ingredients that I already have in-house. Whatever is left on my list becomes my grocery store shopping list for that week.
Because we are minimalist shoppers, we maintain the ingredients and food items that we need for our weekly meals. This results in us grocery shopping at a large wholesale store 1-2 times per month for our meats and at our local grocery store once a week for pantry-type items. By shopping each week using my Meal List, any additional trips to the store in the week are minimized.
Other times that I find myself adding items to my Meal List for the week are when I've run out of a pantry, meat, or refrigerator items. Whenever something is running low or has been used up, it gets added to my weekly Meal List to be replenished.
Since coming home from the workforce, I've enjoyed meal planning and preparing meals for my family so much more. When I worked, I planned meals but the meals were not as unique, creative, and tasty as they are now. I would actually plan by the month when I worked outside the home, printing off a month-view from a calendar and filling in meals for the entire month. My goal while working outside of the home was, "pick a quick & simple meal and get it on the table!" There wasn't much time to peruse for recipes that my family actually enjoyed. I kept our meals simple and quick.
I now have time to read and review varying recipes before preparing them and selecting meals that interest my family and have the time to make them. I also have time now to experiment with new flavors and ingredients and if my family receives them well, I add them to our favorite meal listing. This seems to keep my family excited about coming to the dinner table each week. I get the "What's Mom making for dinner?" look every evening after school and when my hubby comes home from work. Sometimes a dish turns out to be a flop, but thankfully I get more thumbs up than thumbs down.
So, what are the benefits to doing all of this?
Well, it saves you time. How can this save time you may ask? If you spend time during the week sitting and pondering over what to cook every day, you can cut that time out by meal planning. If you roam the grocery store aisles wondering what to buy, only to find yourself eating out 3-4 times each week because you're tired of spaghetti, taco, and hotdog night meals, you may want to consider planning out your meals! Meal planning can also save you money if you set a budget on what you want to spend on groceries. Once you setup a budget you can apply this to your weekly meal list, ensuring that your stay within your budget as you shop each month (and, monthly if you do wholesale shopping).
Purchasing what you need versus what you want because you see it on the grocery aisle, results in extra money in your pocket that wasn't spent frivolously. If you have extra weight that you're trying to lose, planning your meals will enable you to discipline yourself to eat what you've planned instead of grabbing food from the drive through.
Will it take time? Yes, but the benefits are endless and your may win some brownie points with the fam!
So, just to recap... Make some lists & start enjoying making meals for your family!
1) Favorite Meal List (one that you can maintain a compilation of the meals & ingredients that your family enjoys). Sit down and brainstorm a list of meals that your family enjoys and as you find new recipes, add them to this list.
2) Meal List - Generate this weekly at the beginning of each week
3) Grocery Store Shopping List - Generate this weekly at the beginning of each week as you take an inventory of the items from your Meal List before you head off to the grocery store.
If you're a minimalist, only pick up the items that you need to prepare your meals and/or to replenish your refrigerator and pantry.
One last thought for meal planning... take time to read some recipes! I used to be terribly afraid of trying any recipes that didn't include chicken, salt, and pepper. It wasn't until a friend challenged me to search online for a recipe and just go for it, that I became courageous in the kitchen using my family members as guinea pigs. What I've found is the more that you experiment, your cooking skills become refined and you grow to learn what seasonings work good in difference recipes. And, you'll discover what meals match your family's tastebuds and you can search out recipes that include the ingredients that your family enjoys. Doing this will diversify your family's favorite meal list so that there is more than spaghetti, tacos, and hot dogs on it.
Happy Planning.....and, happy eating!
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