Meal Planning
Minimize the stress of deciding what to eat. Lessen not having ingredients on hand and making quick trips to the grocery store. Speed up grocery trips by knowing exactly what you need and save money by reducing impulse buys.
All of the benefits sound amazing but where do you even start? Below we have broken creating a meal plan into four easy steps to help you get started.
Step 1: Meal ideas
Brain dump and make a list of all of the meals and snacks that you normally make. This list will be a great quick reference anytime you feel stuck for ideas. If you’re looking to add in some new recipes give your children some recipe books to look through and see what catches their eye.
Step 2: start making your plan
Write out the days of the week or print off our meal planning worksheet here. Next write down any holidays, celebrations, or appointments that might be taking place. Now it is time to start adding in your meals. Reference your list of meal ideas created in the first step and fill in each day of the week.
- For busy days pick a meal that's quick and easy.
- It is ok to write add-in eating out or ordering takeout.
- Consider your leftovers and ways to use them up.
- Have ingredients about to expire? Add a meal that will help use it up.
Step 3: grocery list
Once your calendar is filled with meals make a list of all of the ingredients needed for each meal. Then head to your fridge, freezer, and pantry. Cross off anything you already have. Anything not crossed is now your grocery list to bring to the store.
step 4: Prep for meals
If you are new to meal planning I would leave this step off until steps 1-3 feel easy to do. If you are already comfortable with meal planning it is time to add in a prep day!
Block out some time on the weekend to get organized and prepared for the week ahead.
- Peel and cut veggies.
- Precook meats.
- Make sauces.
- Do baking.
Ready made Meal Plans
We have some meal plans already put together and ready to use for snacks and lunches. Including our brand new meal plan that is allergy aware!
