Who has made a goal to eat healthier this year? Or just to get better planning out your meals for the week? I've talked before about meal prep and kitchen tools you need to simplify cooking, but have never touched on meal planning. So today that is what I'm going to do, go into detail about meal planning. Simplified meal planning that is.
Many times we tend to overcomplicate things and this is so true when thinking about what to eat each week. You think that you have to get everything perfect and create these fantastic meals for your family. So, you try some new meal planning system that has way too many complicated steps and then you end up getting too overwhelmed with it all, and you give up before you get started. Or, you are on a great roll and have things planned out for a few weeks, but life happens and suddenly you find yourself behind once more. Does this sound like you? I know I've struggled with this exact thing!
It shouldn't be overwhelming and frustrating, but it is. All you want is a solid plan for dinner that doesn't require too much brain thought so that we can feed our family a decent, nourishing meal without it turning into angry tears for us! Because at the end of the day, what our family wants from us is good food to eat while enjoying each others company. What if there was a way to just simplify the entire process and to make it easy to do?
Well I am here to tell you that YES! There is a way to simplify meal planning. There is a way to have the food in your kitchen and recipes at your fingertips ready to go. You can conquer meal planning. And it's not going to require hours and hours of your time! My hope that as I unpack my simplified meal planning routine, it helps you to getting what you want - a nice meal on the table for your family to enjoy without all the stress and overwhelm that can so easily come with trying to get dinner on the table each night of the week.
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Before we get into how to meal plan, I first want you to first download the meal printable kit. It has two meal planning sheets, a grocery list, a family favorites list, and a pantry/freezer inventory list to help you keep everything organized and all in one spot! I recommend printing off at least 4-6 meal planning sheets, enough for a months worth. You can also print off just one, laminate it, and reuse it over and over again. I put my laminated meal plan sheet on the front of the refrigerator so that I can see it anytime I am in the kitchen.
Here is my favorite printer, laminator, laminating pouches, and the meal planning sheets. Put them in a notebook in the kitchen and you are ready to start planning your meals. Get everything ready ahead of time, so that when you sit down to plan out your meals, everything is ready to go.
Who wants to be empowered in the area of planning meals? Are you ready to learn the secrets to meal planning? I know I am so let's get started! But before we get into the in's and out's of meal planning, we have to ask - what is meal planning?
Meal Planning
Simply put, meal planning is having an actual plan of what you are going to prepare for a certain length of time and knowing exactly what to buy at the grocery store. You also know when you are going to prepare the different dishes. Sounds simple, right? It is!
So why do we tend to overcomplicate meal planning? I think it's because you don't have a plan to how to actually meal plan successfully. Or you plan a couple of meals and forget to go to the store in a timely manner, or you don't have a plan at all and wonder the grocery aisles grabbing whatever catches your attention and hoping everything comes together. Or you start planning your meals for a couple of weeks and then stop doing it. Can you relate to any one of these? I know I can! I've done each of these things through the years.
After making tons of mistakes through the years, I have finally figured out how to successfully plan out meals week after week. I am sharing my meal planning process with you so that you can learn from my mistakes to be successful and empowered to conquer meal planning once and for all.
Here is how you can simplify meal planning each week. On your meal planning sheet, I want you to:
- Write down 4-5 dinners - This is enough meals for a weeks worth of dinner for the week. If you are eating out 2 times and have leftovers 1 time, you can reduce the number of planned dinners.
- Write down 3-4 breakfast ideas - I like to write out the things my family usually eats and make sure to rotate breakfast ideas around every couple of weeks. That way, we don't have eggs every.single.day.
- Write down 2-3 lunch ideas - You probably eat the same things for lunch each week - soups, salad, leftovers, and/or sandwiches. Write them down and rotate through your lunch options.
- Write out 1-2 baked goods you want to make (muffins, bread, cookies, desserts) -This is so you will actually remember to make some yummy muffins and treats that week! This is optional though, feel free to skip this one.
- Write down 4-5 snack ideas - When different ideas are written down, you will be more likely to try something new or to remember an old favorite.
- Write down a handful of side dishes for the week - Again, write them down so you'll make sure to have the needed ingredients on hand and on what day you'll need to have the sides prepared. This way you are not scrambling at the last minuet getting things together.
Here is how you can simplify the entire meal planning process to make it less overwhelming to you. Brainstorm and on the family favorites sheet, write down 20-30 meals that your family loves to eat. If you need help coming up with them, ask your family members! I'm sure they will think of dinners that you've forgotten about or not thought of.
After you have your family favorite meals written down, pick 3-4 each week to prepare. That only leaves you with 1 extra meal to pick from a recipe book. Or, you can pick all of your dinners from the family favorite master sheet.
The other way to simplify meal planning is to come up with 4 weeks worth of meals and rotate through those each month. This way, all the planning is already done and you don't have to think about a single thing!
The Next Step
Once you've picked your meals, look through your panyty, fridge, and freezer to make sure you have all the needed ingredients to prepare your meals. Pick a day that you are going to go to the grocery store and you are done! See, easy, right? To make grocery shopping even easier, order your groceries through Walmart or your local grocery store, and simply pick them up the next day.
So you see, meal planning does not need to be complicated or complex. All you need to do is write done a handful of meals that you want to cook, make sure you have the needed ingredients, and prepare the food for your family and friends. Because, at the end of the day, all your people want is to enjoy each others company over good food that feeds their souls. Remember that memories are made gathered around the table and it doesn't matter wither your meals are fancy or simple. It just has to be good food that feeds them.
Remember, do what works for you. Don't spend a lot of time worrying about the perfect meal planning system. Just take a few meal ideas, write them down, buy the ingredients, and cook the meals. I promise that meal planning is just like learning anything new. The more you do meal planning, the easier it will become.
My goal in writing this and creating the meal planning printable kit, was to give you tools that will help you conquer and feel empowered over your meal planning. If I missed something or if you have questions, don't hesitate to ask me! Likewise, if you have a tip or trick for meal planning, post it here in the comments below! Make sure to get the printable meal planning kit and lets start making some food for our family and have victory over our weekly meals!
One last thing, did you know that you can follow me on Instagram to see behind the scenes of my life and to see my meal plan in action? You can also have updates delivered straight to your inbox! Don't worry, I only email 2-3 times a month and its full of valuable tips, tricks, and information. There are some pretty neat things coming up for Emma Marie Designs and I want you to be the 1st to know!
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