Meal Planning 101

I have tried countless methods of meal planning and have come to one conclusion: there is no perfect meal planing system. I have also learned that, as it comes time for me to leave one method behind, not to view it as a failure but as a learning experience. So, rather than run through each of my past systems, let me share with you what is working best at the moment. : )

I keep my pantry, refrigerator, and freezer stocked with the foods and ingredients that are essential to the meals I cook. I try to only buy these on sale or in bulk. I recently moved close to a Costco and have loved the availability of bulk organic goods. The price is comparable to grocery store prices on non-organic goods, so even if I'm paying a little more than I would on the cheapest versions, I feel much better feeding these foods to my family than some super processed, hormone laden "food." We're trying to get to the essential ingredients of life, right? If it required more than water, dirt and sunshine, I don't want it. I cannot currently buy 100% organic ingredients or cook everything from scratch, but what I can, I do. Every little bit is that many fewer chemicals going into your children's growing bodies.

Back to meal planning......

On Sundays I think about what meats I have in the freezer. Then I sift through tried and true recipes and new ones online. I think about what we have going on in the evenings that week. For example, every Wednesday we have a tight schedule with dance and church so we eat Chick-fil-a. There is usually one other night we have something going on, so it usually ends up being four dinners I need to plan. I also know which nights will require crock pot dinners if it's a busy evening. Once I know what meats are available and what recipes I want to use, I make a checklist on the home page of my phone called, "This Week's Meals." I also have a sticky note on my home screen called, "This Week's Recipes" where I paste the link to any online recipes I'm using that week or make note of which cookbook and page it comes from. That makes it easy to make my grocery list, which also goes on my home screen, as well as making it easy when it comes time to cook that meal.

So by Sunday evening, I know how many meals I need to prepare, I have selected my recipes, saved my links and made my grocery list. Monday morning I drop my oldest daughter at kindergarten and stop by the grocery store on the way home. (Since it's first thing in the morning, I have the luxury of having store mostly to myself, a car cart available for the other two kids, and generally happy moods since no one is hungry or sleepy.) I usually only have to get fresh produce, milk and sometimes a few specific ingredients that I don't keep stocked because I don't use them often. For example, my bill this morning was only $26 for the week's ingredients and two gallons of milk. Then it's as simple as sitting the meat in the fridge the night before to be ready to fix dinner for the following night. I try to do whatever prep work during the day as I have a spare moment, such as cooking bacon, chopping vegetables or browning meat. That doesn't always happen, but when it does, it's much easier to throw dinner together and rather than stressing because everyone is starving, it's 7:00 and you're still desperately trying to finish cooking, dinner is already mostly taken care of and you can relax and actually ENJOY cooking!