How to Meal Plan Like the Boss You Are

Meal planning. I don’t know about you, but when it comes to organization and keeping my home running smoothly, this is the area I struggle the most with. I’d start out strong and then inevitably by mid-week I’ve decided I didn’t want chicken pot pie for dinner, I ran out of salad, and all of a sudden the rolls for lunch disappeared.

I was talking to a friend recently and I thought her meal planning strategy was genius - don’t label which day you’re going to make the food, just choose your foods for the week and go from there! I have been building on this strategy for a few months now, and with the help of a whiteboard inside my pantry, I can confidently say dinner time has become less stressful, less wasteful, and when it’s time to go shopping, my refrigerator is actually pretty empty. It may be obvious to some, but as I mentioned, meal planning has always, always been a struggle for me.

To start a successful meal planning journey (yes, I am calling it a journey because it took me years to get to this point!!) take the following steps:

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Inventory your pantry, refrigerator and cabinets

• This doesn’t have to get crazy and overwhelming, just make a quick list of what you have, what you need to replenish that you use frequently and toss half-opened / half-used and expired items.

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Make an extensive list of your “go-to” foods/recipes

• Also note favorite foods / least favorite (important for kids!)
• What do you make for your family on a regular basis?

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Look at your family calendar

• Do you have special food nights your family looks forward to? (I.e. Pizza Fridays)
• Any work / school functions that week where you don’t need to cook?
• Any get-togethers where you need to cook extra?

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Choose your shopping timeframe

• Would you rather go weekly / twice a month or monthly?
• If you decide to space it out more than weekly, what can you pre-cut and freeze?

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Choose your meals based on all of the above

• Remember to plan for what you need to “use up” that’s leftover in your refrigerator or pantry (as an example, I may use half a carton of beef broth or half a can of tomato sauce in a recipe, so I’ll keep that in mind and make a recipe a few days later that includes those ingredients to use them up
• I usually try one new recipe a week or every two weeks. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself to try something new all the time!

I have always heard, "If you  fail to plan, you are planning to fail" (thank you, Benjamin Franklin). I can definitely say that my years of poor planning in the meal department has led to more eating out, wasting a ridiculously large amount of money on groceries that went bad, and feeling like "there's nothing to eat" when my fridge is actually full. 

It's HERE! My 4-page meal planner takes the 5 steps above and rolls them into a quick and easy system to make meal planning low-stress, less wasteful and FUN. Yes, less of a chore, and actually fun. Check it out on Etsy, below...

SHOP THE MEAL PLANNER

What do you find most stressful about meal planning? Tell me, below!