Creating a meal plan your family will love doesn’t have to be hard or time consuming. You can easily make the best meal choices for your family with a one and done approach. Read on for tips on making a great meal plan that works for your family.
So you’ve tried the subscription box dinners, the online meal planning services, or free meal plans from bloggers. They just never seem to work out for you. The recipes are new to you and take twice as long to make. The subscription box is pretty pricey or your family just didn’t like the recipe and you end up throwing away the meal and then getting a pizza or going through a drive thru.
The problem with “done for you” meal plans is they don’t know your family’s likes and dislikes. The “done for you” meal plans cater to such a large group of people and can’t meet each family’s individual needs.
I’ve tried all of the above mentioned meal plans. Inevitably I always go back to making and creating my own meal plan: one that I know my family will approve and like.
Why Should You Meal Plan?
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Saves Your Sanity
Knowing what’s for dinner removes a burden off your shoulders. You won’t be searching through your refrigerator and pantry in the late afternoon trying to come up with a healthy and decent meal to make for your family.
The pressure is off because you have a plan in place.
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Save Time
Planning your meals once for the week, next 2 weeks, or the whole month will save you time. When you spend a set dedicated time to plan out your meals, you prepare yourself for the upcoming week.
Do you ever get to the afternoon and then think about what you are going to make for dinner? You may spend time looking for a recipe on Pinterest that uses ingredients you have on hand at home. You may even head to the store to pick up something for dinner hoping that you will be inspired to decide by the aisles of choices surrounding you.
Deciding what’s for dinner last minute takes up more time than having a plan already in place.
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Save Money
Having a meal plan will keep your wallet happy. When you have your meals planned out you go to the grocery store on a mission to get the ingredients for your specific recipes.
This makes your grocery shopping trip streamlined because you are going with a prepared grocery list. You are buying what you need to feed your family. No more buying what looks good for dinner.
Also, you will avoid spending money in the drive-thrus and restaurants. When you have a plan in place and the ingredients you need are at home, you are less likely to go out for dinner.
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Eat Healthier
Creating a meal plan means you know what ingredients are going into your foods. You are in charge of selecting recipes that are healthy and meet your family’s dietary needs.
The foods you make at home are usually less processed and more nutritious than restaurant foods.
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Having Help
With a set meal plan other family members can help with dinner preparation.
Have you ever gotten stuck at work and your family is at home waiting for you to come make dinner?
Now they can get started without you. The recipe and ingredients will be there and you can assign the task of cooking dinner to an older child, grandparent, or spouse.
Different Types Of Meal Plans
Weekly
Weekly meal planning is done once a week. You pick a day each week to write out the meals you’ll be serving for dinner and only grocery shop for the items you need for that week’s meals.
Biweekly
Scheduling two weeks worth of meals can be an added time saver.
Monthly
Monthly meal planning is my favorite! You plan out dinner meals for the whole month. This significantly cuts down on trips to the grocery store, freeing up more of your time for other activities.
Themed
Assign each day of the week to a specific food theme. This can be a fun way to have a more flexible meal plan as you can change up the recipes for each themed night.
Some themed ideas include:
- Mexican
- Italian
- Pizza
- Soup
- Left-overs
- Crock-pot
How Do You Make A Meal Plan?
Pick Your Meal Strategy
Decide the type of meal plan you want to use. Weekly, Biweekly, Monthly or Themed.
There is no right or wrong way to meal plan. You are just intentionally making a plan for your meals that works for your family and schedule.
Once you know what type of meal plan you want to create, next you will start deciding what meals you like to make.
Grab the free Meal Planning printables at the bottom of this post to get you started and organized.
Make A Master Meal List
This process of making a master meals list will help you now and in the future when creating your meal plans. Take 5 minutes and do a “brain dump” writing down as many meals that you can think of on a piece of paper.
They can be meals you’ve made or meals you’ve had at a friend’s house. Just write, write, write. When the timer stops, count up your meals. I bet you have at least 15-20 meals on your list.
Select Recipes
Look through your cookbooks, recipe box, and on Pinterest for your favorite recipes. Ask your family for their favorite meals. You could also ask friends to share their families favorite meals with you. Then add them to your master meal list you made during your brain dump.
Decide How Many
Decide how many meals you need to plan for each week. A good number is 5 meals. Why just five meals? With a family’s busy schedule you may not be home each day of the week. One night may be scheduled for eating out and another night can be left-over night.
With 5 planned meals you will be well prepared for your week without wasting food or money on something that won’t get eaten.
Keep A Running Grocery List
A running grocery list is just a grocery list that you are continually adding to when you run out of an item or think of a grocery item you need to purchase.
This list can be on a white board or chalk board in your home, a piece of paper, or on your phone.
If you use an online grocery service, add the items to your cart.
Shop
You have your meals planned on paper and you have your grocery list made. It’s time to head to the store and shop for all your meal items.
A great way to speed up your grocery shopping is to place like items together on your shopping list. Group items by type such as produce, meats, frozen, dry goods, and paper products.
You can print out this grocery shopping list. It’s organized by sections in the grocery store. It will help you streamline your shopping trip.
If you have a grocery shopping service available in your area, take advantage of it. Having someone else do the shopping for you saves a lot of time. It will also help you save money as you won’t be tempted by impulse buys.
You’re only buying the items you put in your online shopping cart. The best part is, it will be delivered to your car or your front door!
Tips For Choosing Meals To Make
Look At Your Schedule
When making your meal plan be sure to look at your upcoming schedule. You don’t want to make a new recipe on the same night you drive kids to sports practices and not get home until after 7 pm.
Also take note of any holidays or special occasions you may need to plan a special meal for.
Ask Your Family
Survey your family. Ask them to tell you their favorite dinner meals and add it to your master meal list.
You can also ask your family to get involved in the meal making! Have family members choose their favorite recipe and have them on the meal plan schedule to prepare it.
Keep It Simple
Try to select recipes that are simple to make. During the week you probably don’t have time to become a gourmet chef.
Slow Cooker Or Instant Pot
The slow cooker or instant pot are a time saver. Just place your ingredients in that morning or when you get home from work and forget it! Dinner will be hot and ready to serve in the evening.
Organize Your Recipes
Keep all your recipes in one place. Whether that’s in a recipe binder, on your phone, on Pinterest, or in a recipe box. Having them in a set location will make meal planning a smoother process.
Benefits To Creating Your Own Meal Plans
Your Family Will Enjoy Meal Time
The biggest benefit to creating your own meal plan is you knowing your family will like it. Complaints about the meal will be a thing of the past. You are choosing the recipes you know your family loves to eat.
No Wasted Food
No more wasted food or leftovers sitting in the fridge. No more money wasted on odd ingredients that you will never use again. You’re making meals you know your family likes to eat so this will eliminate wasted food.
Dietary Needs
Tailor your meal plan for your dietary needs. Choose recipes created specifically for the way you eat (Paleo, Keto, vegan, gluten free, budget-friendly, just to name a few).
New Recipes
Try out new recipes when you have time. New recipes take extra time to prepare because the recipe is not familiar to you. So, by scheduling a new recipe when you have time, you eliminate pressure and can enjoy creating in the kitchen.
Have family members give their input of new recipes they would like to try. An even better idea is to get your family in the kitchen cooking the new recipe together. You can create family memories while feeding your family.
Give It A Try!
Meal planning does not need to be hard. You are just choosing to simplify mealtime by having a plan in place that fits your family’s needs. You will also save yourself time and money with your new meal plan.
Every time you go through the process of meal planning it gets easier and you become more familiar with the best plan that works for your family. Your time will be spent enjoying the meal you made with your family!
Fill out the form below get the Meal Planning printables and start creating your family’s best meal plan!
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