Meal Planning

What Exactly Is Meal Planning? 
Simply put, menu planning is writing down what your family is going to eat for the week, developing a grocery shopping list with the  necessary items for the menu, grocery shopping once per week, and
preparing the meals you have chosen. Sounds simple enough right?
(If not, don’t worry, we’re going to help you make it simple.)

What are the Benefits of Meal Planning?
1) Get Dinner On The Table Faster
No guessing games here or scrambling to figure out what you can make with the ingredients you have in the house, no body's got time for THAT!

2) Run To The Store Less Often
No more "honey pick up these three ingredients at the store for dinner" conversations. Instead get all your shopping done once a week, and make sure you have what you need to prepare every single dinner for the week.

3) You’ll Eat Better
This has been the BIGGEST change for em and my family. We no longer settle for crappy food because it is convenient. We spend the time up front preparing so we can be successful throughout ENTIRE week!

4) It Saves You Money
Over the past 18 months I have calculated the amount  of money saved from meal planning and would you be shocked to hear that it averaged $200/ MONTH. Why?! Simply put we are no longer eating last minute fast food are rushing to the grocer store to get ingredients for our unplanned dinners. So think about what you could spend $200 on. More on this below.

5) It Saves You Time
We are all BUSY people and no one has extra 30-40 min everyday to spend at the grocery store and in the kitchen making meals. Most recipes can be doubles and leftovers frozen and BOOM you have dinner for later in the week. Genius, I think not just SMART!

7) It Is Easy
Once you get the hang if it, meal planning is SIMPLE. you will discover meals you LOVE and meals you wanna chuck out the kitchen window.

How to Plan Your Meals 
I always plan and prep on Sunday. I sit down with my family and ask them these questions
*What kinds of things do you want for dinners this week?
* What do you want for lunches?
* Have you checked the cabinets for things we are running out of?

NOTE- keep in mind the choices you and your family are making. Make wise decisions, for example, when my daughter asks for unhealthy choices like rice crispy treats, I suggest an alternative like granola bars.

I have created a binder in my kitchen with recipes and previous meal plans that I LOVE for easy reference. DO THIS cause it's a HUGE time saver.

Write down your meal plan. I'm a very visual person so having a calender with what I'm eating for every meal (including snacks) and hanging it on my fridge makes sticking to the plan easy.

We then MAKE A LIST!!!
This is our grocery store BIBLE and we DO NOT DEVIATE!!! I set this rule from the beginning and all of us know, if it's not on the list we don't pick it up. This will save you from buying extras that are not needed. Your list includes all ingredients needed for the recipes your are making and the foods your family asked to be added to the list. I typically organize my list on my iPhone based off where they are in my grocery store. as we shop I delete off the list.

Saving Money with Menu Planning
Have you ever looked back at the end of the month and added up
your grocery bills and dining out receipts for the month? I did recently and was shocked at how freaking expensive dining out can be!!! I encourage you to try it one of these months – it can be downright scary! Just save all your receipts (make sure to ask for them when you dine out) and put them in an envelope. At the end of the month total them up and see what you discover.

I think you might also be surprised how much those quick “run in and run out” trips to the grocery store add up as extra items seem to “jump” into your shopping cart. Unless you are incredibly disciplined,
I am willing to bet that most of us come out with at least a few more items than we go in for each time (this happens to me EVERY time I go in to Target). So only shopping once a week is most certainly going to save you money. How about dining out? Even if you only eat out once a week, (and I know for a fact many families eat out much more than that) you are probably spending $80 a month on dining out (and that is a
conservative estimate). Even just going to McDonalds with an average size family can be close to $20 these days.

If you add up the money you save from dining out less, grocery shopping less, and buying during sales, you will have a nice lump of pocket change. It should not be hard to save AT LEAST $100 per
month following these methods.

Sample Meal Plan