easy meal planning
Do you think menu planning takes too long or is too complicated? I think people who don’t take the time to make a meal plan end up causing themselves a lot of stress and are more tempted to eat out and spend more money. A few minutes of your time can save you hours in the long run. Here’s how to plan a menu without much effort. The key to easy meal planning is in the recipe.
1. Make a list of foods your family likes – each person should be able to think of at least a few favorites. If they can’t think of any, just start listing a few foods you know they don’t like and they’ll probably quickly think of a few they’d rather eat. Or you can simply keep a running list of foods your family likes as they come to you.
2. Use the grocery store: Look around the frozen food section at the grocery store for meal ideas. It’s tempting to buy all boxed ready meals and frozen meals, but they’re loaded with preservatives, sodium, and many other things you don’t want to put in your body. Just use this shopping trip to collect ideas.
3. Create a recipe book: Get a 3-ring binder and plenty of sheet protectors and extra paper. Review your recipe file and place your favorites on the sheet protectors. If you have recipe cards, just tape some to a piece of paper and put them in your binder. So you’ll have all your favorite recipes on hand for when you make your meal plan. You can put any other recipe in another file or throw it away. Your cookbook should only contain recipes that you use frequently and enjoy cooking and eating.
Then take 10-15 minutes to write down 10-15 meals that you want to prepare. Be sure to write down any ingredients you don’t have on hand for those meals. Take that list to the grocery store and then you’ll have all the ingredients you need to make those 10-15 meals. Each day you can choose one meal from your list, and when they’re all checked off, it’s time to go back to shopping.
