Meal Planning

"What's for dinner?"

You glance up at the clock as your husband walks in the door after a long day at work and then at the empty stove. oops! Its 5:30 and you still have nothing out for a meal! Meat? frozen. Veggies? we're out! Potatoes? I don't think they are supposed to smell like that...

I love to cook, but am terrible about cooking the same ten meals over and over again if I do not plan ahead. Since discovering the usefulness of a Home Management Binder, meal planning has become a necessity! Not only does it make your day easier to glace at the chart and know exactly what you need to remove from the freezer, you save money by preparing meals that use some common ingredients and by only shopping once a week! 

On Saturday mornings (because we go shopping on saturdays!), I usually sit down with my coffee and some scratch paper (multiple pieces) and start the meal planning process.

First, I find the meals I want to make and gather recipes I need. Second, I jot down each day of the week, and fill in which meals we will have each day. I then draw a line down the middle of the page. On the right hand side, I write down all of the ingredients and groceries I need to buy. After this list is complete, I grab a second piece of paper and make my real grocery list, putting each item in order from the back of the store to the front. (No zig-zaging throughout the store for me!) Last, I grab my Weekly Meal Guide (which is in a clear page-protector) off the fridge door and my dry erase marker and fill in which meals we will be have each day (these should be written down on the FIRST piece of scratch paper!) and Viola! You have a Week worth of meals, planned out, with all of the groceries freshly placed in your fridge, pantry and freezer! 

Meal planning has been such a huge help to our family. We have pizza on friday night. always. If we have enough leftovers, Thursday night is leftover night. For the remaining 5 days, I ask for input for 2 meals from Jimmy and I choose 3 that somewhat correspond with the things he chose! Done! Yes, it takes some time, but I am much less stressed during the week. I have started to enjoy sitting down and planning meals my family with love and discovering new recipes to spice up our diets! Click Here to get a free Meal Schedule Printable I made just for my readers!  

So begins your journey to Home Management!

-Paige