Throughout the month of February, I concentrated on organizing the kitchen. Knowing where everything is and knowing what you have will make meal planning a simpler process. Getting into the habit of planning your meals weekly or monthly will save you time and energy. You will find yourself not having to think about or stressing over "What's for dinner?"
Planning your meals will save you time and money. Your family will enjoy healthier meals with less stress. You will find yourself spending less time and money at the grocery store.
Things to consider as you plan your menu:
1) Look at the calendar and determine what the schedule will be for each evening. If you won't be available to cook, a crock pot meal may be a good option for that night.
2) Look in the pantry, refrigerator and freezer. See what ingredients you have that need to used. Challenge yourself to make a meal with you've got on hand. You may come up with a new recipe that your family loves!
3) Planned leftovers- Plan to use leftover roast chicken in soup. Use leftover chili as a pasta topper.
4) Cook in bulk- Cook a large package of ground beef and freeze for tacos, spaghetti sauce, sloppy joes, etc. This saves cleaning up those greasy skillets each time you prepare hamburger. You can do the same things with chicken- cook, shred and it's ready for casseroles. Instead of just cooking one casserole, buy double ingredients and put together another one for the freezer.
5) Have "theme nights" such as Taco Tuesday, Pasta on Thursday, Friday night Pizza night.
There are many options for recording your menu plan. If you prefer to keep your menu plan digitally, you can choose one of the many menu planning computer programs available. You may want to be sure it syncs with your smart phone so that you can access it as you are shopping for groceries. If you prefer paper, you can search "menu planner" and find numerous menu plan templates that you can copy. Another great option is to put your planned meals on the calendar whether it's paper or digital. Whatever method you choose,
I would love to hear from you. Do you plan your meals? If so, what tips do you have to share with the rest of us?
Planning your meals will save you time and money. Your family will enjoy healthier meals with less stress. You will find yourself spending less time and money at the grocery store.
Things to consider as you plan your menu:
1) Look at the calendar and determine what the schedule will be for each evening. If you won't be available to cook, a crock pot meal may be a good option for that night.
2) Look in the pantry, refrigerator and freezer. See what ingredients you have that need to used. Challenge yourself to make a meal with you've got on hand. You may come up with a new recipe that your family loves!
3) Planned leftovers- Plan to use leftover roast chicken in soup. Use leftover chili as a pasta topper.
4) Cook in bulk- Cook a large package of ground beef and freeze for tacos, spaghetti sauce, sloppy joes, etc. This saves cleaning up those greasy skillets each time you prepare hamburger. You can do the same things with chicken- cook, shred and it's ready for casseroles. Instead of just cooking one casserole, buy double ingredients and put together another one for the freezer.
5) Have "theme nights" such as Taco Tuesday, Pasta on Thursday, Friday night Pizza night.
There are many options for recording your menu plan. If you prefer to keep your menu plan digitally, you can choose one of the many menu planning computer programs available. You may want to be sure it syncs with your smart phone so that you can access it as you are shopping for groceries. If you prefer paper, you can search "menu planner" and find numerous menu plan templates that you can copy. Another great option is to put your planned meals on the calendar whether it's paper or digital. Whatever method you choose,
I would love to hear from you. Do you plan your meals? If so, what tips do you have to share with the rest of us?
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