Life is busy. Our days are busy. Our nights are busy. The last thing we want to spend our evenings doing is cooking dinner when we hear, “What’s for dinner?!?” But, we all need to eat, and I believe that we should eat well (at least most of the time). If you are like me – short on time and dislike meal planning, here are some ideas that have made meal planning SOO much easier for me (and has also helped us eat better).
Start by making a list of the main meats your family enjoys (assuming you eat meat) – chicken, turkey, beef, pork, fish, venison, etc. I also added a vegetarian section to my list.
Under each type of meat, list the meals you make regularly. I know, I know… this takes a little bit of time, but it will be SO worth it when done!
Search Pinterest, cookbooks you use, or ask friends for some new recipes. I am ALWAYS on the hunt for a new recipe. If you find one, share it with others! If you are looking for a few new ideas to add to your list, here are a few of our favorites.
Add the new meals to your main list. I typed mine up for easy use, and now I just handwrite new ideas when I find them.
You can also do this same process with sides – vegetables, starches, fruit, etc. if you wish. If you know it’s a meal that your kids (or your spouse) may not love (or even try), make sure to include a side/veggie/fruit that they do like! Another easy way to get some added nutrition regardless of the meal is by adding a smoothie!
Use this list as a meal planning tool when choosing your meals for the week ahead. You won’t have to merely “think of” what to make. Simply look over the list and choose a few choices. Don’t forget to plan for leftovers during your week too!
This part can be a tedious process to begin, but your future self will thank you (trust me)!! Also, to make things EVEN better, I rarely have to actually take time to sit down and meal plan anymore. Since I plan my meals a week at a time and organize our life in a planner/binder, I have many weeks at a glance. You could also just use your regular calendar for this. After we eat a meal that was delicious and easy, of course, I flip ahead a few weeks in my binder and write it down to have for dinner on a particular day that week. No thinking involved and another night of a great dinner on the books. Particular dinners like chili, tacos, egg roll in a bowl, soups, sweet potato sloppy joes, BBQ chicken, etc occur quite frequently in our home since they are favorites. Those I add to our meal plan more often, mixed with some new recipes, grill meals, recipes that may be a little more complicated, freezer meals (freeze your leftovers for a quick dinner/lunch another day), or recipes we don’t have frequently.
So, usually, when it’s time to go to the grocery store for the next week, I can look at the week ahead in my binder and most days already have a meal planned (that I often “planned” for weeks ago as long as I stay on top of things). Sometimes I may have to add one more meal, change meals around due to our plans, etc,. but it saves SO much sanity for me. I don’t mind “meal planning” anymore, as it’s such a quick process! Anything to make getting dinner on the table easier, right?!?
What are your favorite dinners that seem to fall into your meal plans often? Please share so we can start enjoying them too!
