Meal Planning

Meal Planning is something that everyone has a different way of doing. You just have to do what works for you and your family. For me, it's just my husband and I. We both work full time, so we both do something quick for breakfast (granola or oatmeal for me, oatmeal or Pop Tarts for him, etc.), I usually am able to eat something at work, and he takes something easy (ramen, sandwiches, leftovers, etc.), so dinner is the meal I focus on. It's the one meal during the day we get to eat together, and we have time to slow down and enjoy.

I have read about a lot of neat ways to meal plan, and have a lot of friends who have come up with really creative ways to go about it.  Some people do better with a written list, or a menu on the fridge, etc. Dorkasaurus Rex, better known as thatssorosie on Tumblr has a genius way of putting her meal plan together. I'm not going to lie, I'm totally jealous and wish I had thought of it. And if I wasn't already in the swing of the digital plan, I would totally switch over. You can read all about how she does it here on her blog. I'm telling you, it's a genius idea, go check it out. Especially if you're just starting! I go with a spread sheet. I use Google Drive, so I can pull it up on my computer, phone, or tablet where ever I am. That way, if I haven't had time to do my grocery shopping and have to grab just a bit on the way home to make the meal for the night, I can pull up my plan then and see what I need. The way I have things arranged on my meal plan template, leaves the items needed for that meal in the bottom cell, so the majority of my grocery list is right there!

I also try to make sure the meals I plan are at least semi-cohesive with one another. For example, if I'm making spaghetti squash lasagna, I'll most likely have left over mozzarella and marinara, so I'll make something like meatball subs. Or if I make Chicken Asparagus Roll-Ups, I'll  use the extra asparagus either in another dish, or as a side. If I buy cheddar cheese to make Jay's Favorite Chicken, that's the type of cheese most of my husband's sandwiches for lunch will have. Just doing this will save you a lot on groceries!

Meal Planning is something I really love because, while time consuming initially, it saves me a ton of time and stress in the long run. Having everything planned out saves me headaches at the store, keeps me from buying extra things we don't need, and helps me stay within our budget!

I'll be posting more about meal planning in the future, so keep reading! In the meantime, try copying and pasting my template into a document of your own, and see if you can make it work for you.