Is dinner the most dreaded word in your mind?
What if that part can be figured out..?
If any of the above has crossed your thoughts, you are in the right place.
In this post I will walk you through essential steps for meal planning that will end in success.
Don’t worry, pizza night isn’t off the table, neither is any other take out.
Wouldn’t it be nice to know what’s for dinner every night and only having to devote thought to planning once a week?
Well if you say yes, let’s continue.
What is meal planning?
Meal planning is the simple act of taking some time to plan any number of your meals for the week. Plan for yourself or plan for your family. Plan to eat healthy, and plan a night out. Plan every snack and meal, or simply plan your lunches so you don’t spend money on restaurant food during the week.
Credit: projectmealplan.com
Why is meal planning important?
Meal planning saves money and time in the long run, by preventing overbought food, or excess time spent on running back and forth to the store rather than one trip.
This also promotes a healthier diet and spending less on take out and eating out.
Benefits of meal planning
- Cost effective- Meal planning saves money in the long run by not wasting foods you never use.
- Saves time-Running out to get ingredients here and there rack up some serious time, especially when you don’t have a plan for dinner
- Saves sanity- Nothing bothers me more than hearing what’s for dinner every, single day..
- Reduces waste-When in a rush it can be hard to figure out exactly how much you need, usually, I end up getting too much
- Better diet- Even if you aren’t calorie counting it’s good to know overall what nutrition everyone is getting out of meals.
What steps to take to meal plan
- Figure out what everyone is willing to eat
- Create a weekly menu plan
- Save the recipes you would like to make for at least 6 days(or save them on pinterest)
- Create an organized grocery list (based on department)
- Go shopping or use a pickup service like walmart grocery(and get $10 off your order with this link!)
- Dedicate one day to prepping any ingredients or portioning them out to make your life easier
How do I make a meal plan?
Figure out what your family enjoys eating first.
Next, write down, print out or pin on pinterest the recipes you would like to make.
Then, create a comprehensive grocery list organized by area of the store, that way you don’t remember something in another area and have to backtrack.
Either go shopping, or use a grocery delivery or pickup service to get your groceries.
Invest at least one day for prepping, portioning and organizing your meals for the week.
Finally, take a load off, grab your favorite drink and pat yourself on the back for solving the dinner dilemma.
I would love to know your thoughts on this post and the help it provided you!
Please leave a comment or share if you enjoyed.
Don’t hesitate to reach out to me by email for questions or anything at: hello@adayatmoms.com
Until next time,
