What is it about meal planning that seems daunting? I mean, we all know what foods we like and what we like to cook! But for some reason, it's easy to get overwhelmed with meal planning!
Listen.
Planning meals does not need to be overwhelming. There are simple steps to take that will make meal planning easier, plus give you a plan that is easy to follow. Feeling overwhelmed with meal planning is not uncommon but there are ways to overcome those feelings.
You might be thinking you really don't need a meal plan anyway. After all, you've made it in life this far without one!
I did too! Until I realized that a meal plan might just save my sanity! I don't really know what exactly made me start meal planning, but the one element to helping me was that my husband planned them with me.
Yes! He did!
Monday morning before the children got up we would sit in the living room and make a menu for the week from Monday to Friday.
And let me tell you, I didn't dare change up the menu unless I had his support! There was something about doing it together that kept me accountable.
Ok, that's just the beginning. So let's jump into the rest of the details to this easy, simple, meal plan that you won't be able to help but love it.
If you have a growing family like I do, meal planning will save the day. Save your sanity, save the bellies the food is going into. 😄
If you get overwhelmed with the thought of meal planning you haven't processed all the benefits so that it looks like a good idea to plan your meals.
Let's face it, deciding what to make for just one meal can be overwhelming, never mind planning more than one at once!
Here are the benefits of meal planning, whether you cook just for one person or a large family.
Convinced yet? 😉
Listen, you make the decision for what you are going to cook, write it down, and you don't have to make anymore decisions when it comes to meals!
No more "stewing" about what to make and finally taking out food at the last minute and making a meal that has lots to be desired.
You can make meals that taste good but didn't take all afternoon to come up with! If you plan meals at the time of day that your brain works the best, you will come up with ideas that you wouldn't come up with in the afternoon. The time of day when over half of it's gone and the brain is becoming fuzzy!
Plus, you won't get frantic and just opt for boiled hotdogs. 😳
When you plan meals ahead, you can prep ahead so that when it's time to cook the meal, some of the work is done already. I like to stock my freezer with meats, so if I know what I am going to cook, I can take the meat out of the freezer ahead of time so that it's thawed out when it's time to cook it.
And since the meat is thawed, such as hamburger that needs to be browned, cooking it is much faster because I am not trying to cook a lump of frozen meat.
And last of all, meals can be on time!
You're not rushing around trying to get a meal on the table because you only decided what to make last minute. Therefore, the meal can be on time because you made the decision ahead of time and knew about when to start cooking so that it would be ready when you like to have your meal.
Basically what you are doing by meal planning, is cutting out stress. Truly!
So here are a few tips so that you are not overwhelmed with meal planning.
Here's how:
We need to get something else straight here first before continuing. At our house we have breakfast, dinner and supper while I know others call it breakfast, lunch and dinner. I just don't want you to be confused when I talk about the different meals. Supper is our main meal of the day since that is the meal we are all together.
When my hubby and I first started meal planning we would only plan supper from Monday to Friday. We would plan the whole meal including the meat and side dishes.
Eventually we figured out that wasn't necessary but we'll touch on that more later.
The reason for planning only supper is because that is the meal that stresses me out the most. So here is where you can decide which meal of the day is the most stressful to plan for. That is the meal you start with in planning your meals for the week.
You don't need a fancy meal chart to plan your menus, but if you do, HERE is a simple one you can download and print. Most times I just write my menus in a notebook. Use whatever works best for you.
Why plan meals for only Monday to Friday?
The main reason for planning meals for only five days of the week is to, yes, keep it simple. The second reason is that Monday to Friday are more guaranteed to follow a familiar pattern while the weekends can tend to be different from each other.
At least that's how it is at our house.
You are welcome to include the weekend, but it can be frustrating when you do plan the meals and then end up going to a friend's house for that meal or eating out.
The idea here is to not get frustrated. Because frustration leads to places we don't want to go.
Download the Meal Plan charts by clicking the links below.
Back to how much of the meal to plan. Start with planning the meat dish of your meal, and that's it. Like I said before, we did start out by planning the whole meal, but that's where I found myself changing things on the menu.
The side dishes of the meal seem to be a lot easier to add in once you know what kind of meat you are going to cook. Plus they generally don't take as long to prepare.
Once you have created the habit of doing a meal plan each week and you think it would be helpful to add in the side dishes, go ahead.
Starting with just the meat is a simple way to start and then you can take it from there and make it your own.
Are you beginning to see how simple meal planning can be?
If you plan meals this way, you won't have a chance to get overwhelmed with meal planning!
Let's do a meal plan together and you can see how simple this really is.
Now for the next part. WHAT to cook?
Now it's time to get out ALL the cookbooks and open the phone to check out MORE recipes online, right?
Wrong!
NO!
You can go to that later.
For now it's time to get out another piece of paper and write down all your favorite meals. And your family's favorite meals. Your "go to" meals.
Write down as many as you can think of. Like, write down at least 20 meals if you can.
To keep this in the simple category you are going to use recipes or meals that you have cooked before and meals that you and your family love. And then repeat them as much as you like.
Remember, we're working at cutting down on the stress!
Once you have made your list of meals, your "Master Meal List", THEN you can go to the recipe books or online and look at recipes. Yes, you can use new recipes, but you don't have to.
If you are an adventurous cook and like to try new recipes, sprinkle them in, but don't make up your list of meals with all new recipes. Maybe try one a week for now and see how the stress is in your meal planning.
By using that you have cooked before for your meal plan, it takes less effort on your part in food prep and in the cooking process. You don't have to concentrate so much on what you are doing and therefore, can handle it when the children run screaming into the kitchen.
Another plus to making this Master Meal List is that it helps you when it's time to go grocery shopping. You know what items you will need to buy because you know what goes into those meals.
And here is a link to the menu/grocery list above.
Meal planning does not need to be overwhelming!
Keep it simple. Plan one only meal a day for only five days of the week. Use simple meals that you have cooked before to cut down on the stress in meal preparation.
Try it out for one week and see how you feel!
I would love to hear how it goes for you!
Let me know below!
FREE Dress Pattern
Where should we send the pattern?
Get on the waitlist
Cutting out a pattern from fabric is the first, most important step of the sewing project. It’s so important because it’s where everything starts and determines the end result. Before cutting out a sewing project you first need to prepare your pattern and fabric, then lay out the pattern to ensure the pieces fit and
Read MoreMorning routines are such a great way to get the day started. But what if it just doesn’t feel like the routine you have is working? It worked when you started but for some reason it’s not working now. It doesn’t bring satisfaction, it doesn’t accomplish what it used to, and it just feels like
Read MoreHow can I save time when sewing? How can I get sewing done but not take so much time with it? To save time in sewing begin by pre-washing fabric, collecting all supplies together ahead of time, and removing distractions. This prepares you for the best sewing experience, besides other successful strategies for sewing efficiently.
Read MoreWhen it comes to sewing your own clothes, some of the benefits seem like a no-brainer while other benefits require some digging to find them. I had to dig a bit to find some of the benefits because I have been sewing my own dresses and other things for most of my life. Sewing your
Read MoreSewing a dress is so much easier with the right tools. And the right tools aren’t necessarily so fancy or complicated. The most used sewing tools in sewing dresses are basically, but not limited to, a pair of scissors, stick pins, and a tape measure. These tools ensure an efficient sewing experience as well as
Read MoreIt’s an hour before mealtime and you don’t know what you are going to cook. A half hour goes by and your mind is still a blank. Now panic starts to set it. WHAT to cook? Make a plan. It’s that simple. Truly. A menu plan for the week. The simplest way to create a
Read MoreSewing Your Dress
6 important steps to get started
Where should we send your FREE checklist?