So, I mentioned a little while ago that I have jumped back on the meal plannin wagon… It is true. We meal plan. Ie. I make a list of what we will eat for the week ahead, 3 meals a day… with snacks of course.
Now, prior to jumping on the wagon, meal planning sounded like something for the most organized of people… moms with clean floors and wrinkle free clothes. They probably wash their sheets every week, dust every Monday, Wednesday, Thursday… and might possibly make everything on their meal plan from scratch. Meal planning sounded a little advantageous for me. What if I failed? What it I planned for a roast, but we bought $5 pizzas from Little Ceasar’s instead. And so, my intimidation of the meal plan grew. It was too much planning anyways…
But then we travelled around New Zealand for 3 months, living out of our backpacks, a cooler, and some cardboard boxes…. to hold our groceries of course. And that my friends is when I started to “loosley” meal plan. I had to plan what we would eat, what we could transport without a fridge… make sure we consumed perishables in time, etc.
As I have shared before, we came back and instituted our meal plan. Dinners for a month at a time.
Things have evolved since then, but at the request of a few, I am going to share my system, and a sample meal plan.
I try to plan my meals before I grocery shop, but sometimes I do it after… now that I can keep a mental list running in my mind of the meals my family enjoys. This gives me flexibility when I go shopping, in case there are any sales etc. ( I am not a coupon queen, cuz I don’t really get it and I don’t use lysol) I usually make the plan on Thursday or Saturday. Thursday is usually our grocery shopping day, and then we might top things up Monday… Thursday I am out in the morning, but we don’t have events in the afternoon, so I usually go grocery shopping with the boys after swimming. Fridays I clean and tackle the laundry from the week last few days. (at least that is what it is designated for in my mind…)
I start with a blank sheet, and choose 3 home made snacks/treats. All 3 of the males in my house love little snacks… I make these throughout the week, usually while making another meal. I then write down each day of the week, and B L D under each. Then I plan, starting with all breakfasts, then lunches, then suppers.
For example:
You might notice a few things here… I sure do. We like smoothies. As a mom I LOVE smoothies, because my kids think they are better than ice cream, and I can fill them with all types of healthy things to keep them from going psychotic. I also like the croc pot, and use it several times a week. My husband makes some meals, and he and my brother in law plan Wednesday dinners together, because I am at work during supper time.
Another thing you may notice is that I keep it pretty simple. Not to fancy… lots of veges. Proteins and carbs in most meals… sometimes I go on an egg kick for breakfast, and sometimes I have talked myself into hating them. Its weird. Anyone else feel this way about eggs?
Most parents can attest to the 30-45 minutes before dinner (while you are trying to make it, or think of what to make) as “hell hour” At least thats what I secretly call it. My kids are hungry, and in dire need of my attention, my 3yo probably wants to help me and is standing closer to the knife and cutting board then I am. My husband is trying to milk the last of his work time before supper, wind down and bed… and I am wishing he could take the kids for a walk, but it’s -20 outside.
Enter the meal plan. I feel a little sense of accomplishment at actually making the food I set out to make, I thank myself for taking the time to meal plan earlier in the week… I am in the swing of it because I referred to it at lunch… and I have set the boys up with an activity or tiny snack because I can anticipate what it is I am doing next.
So, that is my system. It takes 30-45 minutes to plan our meals, and I usually do it while drinking a coffee. I hand write our meal plans and keep them in a sheet protector hanging on the fridge. No Pinterest Meal Plan boards here… yet.
How about you? What is your “method” ?
My lists are handwritten too, although haven’t graduated to the sheet protector level just yet…but I should! I tend to meal plan about once a month for a week- so for that week making food is less stressful…not sure why I can’t sustain this throughout the month but gonna give it another try. Love that you sit down with a cup of coffee 🙂
I found the sheet protector in the office and felt like a genius of sorts… I need to find more uses. 1/4 of your month is pretty good! on the right track. 😉 You do have twice as many children as I do, so I will revisit my meal plan success when I catch up to you… it may or may not go by the way side.