Most of us love to shop, but grocery shopping doesn't exactly rank right up there with, oh say, shopping at Nordstrom's. Still, the grocery store is where we spend the bulk of our shopping time and money. Then there comes the actually cooking part of it. Somehow we are supposed to create and prepare delicious and nutritious meals for our families from this hodge-podge of food items that we've just purchased at the grocery store. And if you are like me, I can already hear you laughing. That's why they put a McDonald's right around the corner right?
No need to worry. All your problems will be solved if you will just implement these few meal-planning steps. For those of you who have already dug your heels in the ground and declared that you are not a list maker, my response to you is become one! I have never met an organized person who is not a list maker, it's just one of those annoying facts of life.
Prep Work
The first step in becoming a meal-planner extraordinaire involves a little shopping trip (yay!). So pack up the kids and head down to your local office supply store/Target/Hell-mart and pick up these few items.
- Dry erase board (this should be small enough to fit on the front of your refrigerator)
- Permanent marker (like a Sharpie)
- Dry erase markers
- Magnetic pen cup
- Eraser
- Magnetic tape
- List pad (I prefer the small legal pads)
Write the days of the week on your dry erase board using a permanent marker. Make sure the dry erase board, pen cup, eraser, and list pad all have magnets on the back; if they don't use the magnetic tape to remedy this. Now you are ready to begin meal planning.
Plan and Save
Once a week - before you go grocery shopping - sit down and plan out your family's meals for the week. It's a good idea to enlist your family in this process so you aren't always the one thinking of something to eat (if they balk at this do what I do with my husband - plan to make all things that he dislikes; he's suddenly much more willing to help plan meals after a week of stuffed bell peppers). Its also a good idea to review your family's activities for the week so you know if you need a crock-pot meal one night, something with minimal clean-up, or whether it's a FFY (fend for yourself) night. Write your meals beside their respective days on your dry erase board with a dry erase marker. It does you no good to plan meals if you don't have them written down somewhere and end up forgetting what you were going to cook on a certain night. Even if we plan on going out to eat or having a FFY night I write it down. Now take your list pad and make a list of everything you need based on your week's meal plan. Don't forget to include stuff for breakfast, lunch, and snacks, as well as regular household stuff. Having your shopping list always on the refrigerator makes it very easy to get in the habit of jotting down things that you need throughout the week. You can even train your husband to do this too (yes, it can be done - it has taken me 10 years, but he is trained).
Meal planning will not only save you time and brainpower, but money as well! Now go enjoy your newfound freedom - you are no longer a slave to the kitchen!
Meal Planning 101 Interaction
