Let me start by saying that I am, in no way, an organization/planning guru. This is something that I have come up with by researching other methods and combing pieces to work for me and my style/personality.
Something that I absolutely hate to do is figure out what to have for dinner each night and my hubby is absolutely no help with this task either. Our conversations usually go a little something like this:
Hubby: What are we having for dinner?
Me: I don’t know, what sounds good?
Hubby: I don’t know, what do we have?
Me: I don’t know, go look?
Hubby: Well I don’t know what we need to make anything?
Me: Well what do you want?
Hubby: I don’t know, what sounds good?
Needless to say, we usually end up going out and grabbing fast food. Ugh!
In the past, I have actually created a menu for the week (in no organized fashion) and found that it made my life less stressful just knowing that I didn’t have to think about what to make for dinner. However, I’m no good at consistency so there have been weeks where we eat out all week.
Today, I actually sat down and was determined to plan some meals and my shopping list for the rest of the month. About a year ago, I first attempted a meal planning system by making a Master list of meals that I typically make. When I started planning today, I referred to that list, did some recipe searches on the web and came up with my meal plan (in Excel).
| Week of March 14th | Week of March 21 | Week of March 28 | |||
| Sunday | Meatloaf | BBQ Brisket | |||
| Monday | Tex Mex Stir Fry | Hot Dogs | Chicken Enchilada Casserole | ||
| Tuesday | Hamburgers | Leftovers | Leftovers | ||
| Wednesday | MacNCheese with Smoked Sausage | Spaghetti | Taco Salad | ||
| Thursday | Grilled Chicken Salad | Leftovers | Leftovers | ||
| Friday | Beef Enchiladas | Meatball Subs | Out | ||
| Saturday | BBQ Monterey Chicken | Out | Garlic Basil Applesauce Pork chops |
I started my list by reviewing what I already had and planning meals around that. Once I had my list together, I scheduled it out trying to alternate chicken and beef and mixing in some really easy quick meals. I’ve also added in some Leftover days which are when hubby has school so it’s easier to just heat something up since he’s only home for a very short time before heading off to school. You’ll also notice that I added in a couple of Eat Out days….everyone needs a break from cooking right? However one of those days I know we will be celebrating a birthday by eating out so that’s why I scheduled it for that particular day.
Stay tuned because on Tuesday I’ll be posting Part II which will include making a shopping list and collecting the recipes for the meals I’ve planned.
Until then, check out some of the Meal Planning finds I discovered on Etsy.
If you have questions, I’d be glad to answer them. You can ask in the comments or email me! Also, if you already have a meal planning system, I’d love to hear about that too!
Happy Planning!
2 comments:
This is such a good idea. I've been meaning to do something similar for several months now, but just haven't sat down and made myself do it! Maybe this weekend! (That's what I said several months ago.. ha!)
A plan like that will make everything easier including shopping. I plan a week at a time and grocery shop once per week. I can't stand that "I don't know, what do you want" conversation. Look, you have the ovaries, you will always be expected to decide what to fix....or is that just me???
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