This is my system: once a month (at the end of the month) I sit down with a blank calendar for the upcoming month. I go through my recipes (I use an index card file) and pick out a recipe for each night that month (of course, I always leave openings for date nights and I plan around events we know we're attending ahead of time). I then fill the calendar with a main dish and a side dish (or two) for each night. I type it up and print it out and put it up in my kitchen.
This way I can then grocery shop by simply looking at all the recipes I have planned for the week, make a quick note of the ingredients I need and go shopping once a week! It's nice because if you have a night where whatever you happened to have planned isn't going to work out (say that meal takes an hour to make, but you only have 20 minutes) then you can swap it for another recipe that is easier to make because you already have all of the ingredients!! Another great thing about it is that I go an entire month without repeating a meal. Hooray for variety!
(Oh and if you need any new easy recipes, just go here)So planning ahead works for me! For more tips, check out Rocks in my Dryer!
8 comments:
I have been trying something similar, but just one week at a time. I think this might be a good idea to try though...
I've been trying one week at a time too. It has made grocery shopping really easy, and less frequent. I wish I could see all your meals though - I'm getting tired of my regular recipes.
I've been doing nearly the same thing. I started out doing a month at a time, but decided to switch to once a week, in the hopes of planning my meals around foods on sale. Um, yeah....that hasn't really happened. BUT, I do still meal-plan! It really does make my life so much easier. The times when I don't have something planned, chaos ensues!
This is a great idea! I normally plan mine a week or 2 at a time, but at least if I put it all on a monthly calendar, I wouldn't repeat either!
I really like this idea. When you told me about this a few weeks ago I started thinking more and more how easy this looks. It wouldn't take long to do and it would make dinner time so much easier. Thanks for the idea!
Great Idea! I actually try to plan meals every 2 weeks. Sometimes I am good sometimes not. It definitley helps when planning a grocery list.
I just had to comment on your blog photo...She is SOOO cute! I love the chocolate everywhere. I haven't gotten that adventurous with my one year old daughter yet...lol
i totally need to start doing this. i was good for planning and cooking for a bit, then i got pregnant, and i hate cooking when i'm preggo. oh well.
my tip for making meal planning easier, is doing your grocery shopping online. you can shop while you kid is sleeping and then have it delivered (so you don't have to lug those bags up your staris!!) love it (albertsons and vons both have online shopping)
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