Everyone has different levels and degrees of busy and different seasons of chaos, but taking a little time to plan out your menu will save you time in the long run, I promise! Today I have a few ways to help you take the work out of your menu planning. We’ll start small with a goal of simply crafting next week’s menu plan. Every Friday I have menu planning on my schedule in lieu of a cleaning task. I have it on my to do list, so I actually do it.
Here are a few ways you can create a menu plan:
Plan Around Themes (meatless Mondays, kids’ choice Tuesdays, breakfast for dinner…) Cook Once, Eat Twice(this is my favorite – I cook extra every night either for leftovers or to be made into a different meal. Roast chicken on Monday turns into chicken quesadillas on Tuesday.)
Use Someone Else’s Menu Plan – I’m An Organizing Junkie has Menu Plan Monday where she shares her plan and her readers link up theirs as well.
Shop Sales (I don’t do this because of the extra time it takes, but I know it’s a huge money saver)
I have a few criteria I use when menu planning for the week – lots of veggies and fruit, at least one meatless night, one salad night, pizza night makes the rotation a couple times a month (sometimes homemade, sometimes delivered), cook once and eat twice at least once, and keep it simple. The goal is to have a healthy, (mostly) home cooked meal on the table – nothing fancy.
Want to see what was on the menu this week?
Monday – Grilled Pork Chops (beer and mustard marinade)
Butternut Squash
Mixed Veggies
Tuesday – Leftovers
Wednesday – Rotisserie Chicken (a favorite cheater meal in this house!)
Mashed Potatoes
Mixed Veggies
Thursday – Turkey Taco Salad (ground turkey with taco seasoning and lime)
Friday – Veggie Lasagna (sauteed mushrooms and zucchini)
Italian Bread or Rolls
Saturday – Out for Cinco de Mayo
Sunday – Leftovers
Want to try your hand at menu planning this week? Think of a couple favorites that you can make, something easy like rotisserie chicken, and a big salad another night. (I love salad nights because it’s a one-dish meal that’s good for us too!)
Here’s a link to a couple posts I’ve done in the past about meal planning.
Any menu planning tips you’d like to share? What works for you?
You make the planning sound so simple. I’m intimidated by the planning part of it and don’t do it. I pay for it during the week because I end up going to the store to get stuff for dinner and I’m in the kitchen e v e r y night. I’m going to give this a try. I’m sure it’s better than my exhausting strategy right now. Once again, you’re awesome! THANK YOU!
Aw, thanks! If I make the time for it, I do it, that’s my ‘secret’. Give it a whirl for a couple weeks, I bet you’ll surprise yourself! xo, Becky
CeeCee Says
I’m curious about your comment that planning a weekly menu using sales ads is more time-consuming. I always intend to use this method, but never really get around to it. Could you elaborate on why you feel it’s time-consuming?
I used to clip coupons and try to shop sales, but found that I wasn’t using the coupons or we weren’t eating up all the food. So….I just shop at Costco (you can only use their coupons, but milk is $1.67), Trader Joe’s (love their cheap and healthy food!), and occasionally Target (tends to be cheaper anyway). We don’t get a newspaper for coupons and I don’t search online for coupons. So I don’t worry about getting the ‘best’ price anymore, because I have made peace with this process for now. But…I do use retail me not for online deals and coupons. Hope this helps! xo, Becky
Two months ago, I started meal planning for the whole month. I have a little white board calendar that I use to plan meals. The best part about it is that I can easily erase something and plunk something else in there if later in the month, something else sounds better, or an event comes up that allows more/less prep time.
It takes less than 10 minutes to plan meals for the whole month, and I tend to save a lot of time and money because I’m only shopping for things I know I’ll use. It’s been great!
I give my kids a night each week to pick the meal. We have to eat what they pick and the rest of the week, they have to eat what I pick. In the beginning my youngest daughter was often picking Mac and cheese or chicken nuggets, but over time, her tastes have evolved because she is exposed to all the things that I pick on non-kid choice nights.
I LOVE to meal plan! I have meal planned for years and it definitely saves time and money! One tip I have is to review your schedule when planning meals. For example, if my boys have a baseball game one night, I know that I need a “quick” meal rather than one that takes extensive time to prepare. Another tip I have is when making spaghetti sauce or chili (etc.) make a larger batch than necessary and freeze half. Then, you’ll have another meal “ready to go” when you’re in a hurry !
One of the best things I have ever done to help streamline my meal planning is to never “toss out” a menu. Basically, just a few months ago after I typed my standard 2-week menu, I put the meals into a Word document. Two weeks later, I did the same thing and so on. I now have a list nearly two months long of various healthy, fun & tasty meals my family eats. My husband loves to cook, too, so we do have a new meal or two at least that get added to the master list each month.
I love having this master list because I do watch grocery ads, print coupons and like to use what we have before buying more. I’m able to see what we have- lets say I know we have tilapia filets in the freezer, 6 chicken breasts, lots of fresh veggies etc.- the first meals I choose off the list are ones that use those proteins/veggies. Then on Wednesday evenings I spend 10 minutes after dinner with my marker and the 4 grocery circulars we get and quickly go through and circle things we normally eat or special items that are on sale. From there, I pick the rest of our meals. I then do my main grocery shopping at Walmart since they price match and take coupons so I’m not driving all over town chasing sales. It’s really great. It might sound scary or intimidating, but it really isn’t.
I’m pregnant, have a toddler and coach at a high school so it’s not like I had a ton of extra time (does anyone really?) to make massive changes all at once or elaborate plans. I started small and have just built our list a bit at a time but it is saving us a fair bit of time and money each month.
I found it helps to limit myself to one new recipe a week. New recipes always take more time to prepare than than things that I’ve done before. Also, it’s harder to know how much can be prepped ahead if you’ve never made it before.
I use my mom’s system – Sun-New Recipe; Mon-Poultry; Tue-Pasta; Wed-leftovers or egg dish if no leftovers; Thur-Meat; Fri-Fish; Sat-eat out or pizza in. Tonight we’ll have a Salmon Nicoise Salad because that’s what we have on hand; but next week it might be fish chowder or grilled shrimp. I like that I am not bound by an actual recipe, but by a blanket food group for each day. Has worked great for the past 15 years of marriage and we get to try new recipes on Sunday when we have time to cook. I write down what we do eat on my personal planner so that we get a little time between various meals. If we have leftovers from Wed-Sat, we eat them for lunch over the weekend. Easy peasy!
I could really use some ideas… i have eater who only eats white meat ( chicken) and hates sauce of any kind the rest of use are really sick of grilled chicken …. any ideas out there?? I’m desperate. i would love to meal plan but find it very intimidating to start…… i dont really know why except that i really hate to cook. PLEASE HELP???
Erin Says
I meal plan a month a head of time. This isn’t the most cost efficient but it is time efficient which is almost more important to me right now. I try to always buy items from my local grocery store that are on sale (fruits, veggies, stock up on dry goods, soups, etc). So I will meal plan with my stock pile. I also will only cook 3-4 times a week. Normally a large meal Sunday, leftovers Monday, a medium sized meal Tuesday with leftovers Wednesday and Thursday is grilled cheese or breakfast night. On the weekends we will eat out or grill. For now this is what I have found to be the easiest but as my daughter gets older and eats more and as we have more kids, I know I will have to adjust. 🙂 I also clip coupons but always forget to use them except at Target, I am the best at getting the lowest prices at Target because of their cartwheel app, double coupons and the redcard!
Tina Says
I love meal planning and while I don’t clip coupons I do shop my own cupboard and freezer first. Then I go through the circulars and see what deals I can get while still staying in budget. We eat lunches and suppers together ( family of 4) so I am a believer in cooking once but eating twice. For example, if we have a supper of chili on Monday, I will use the leftover chili to make chili cheese fries on Wednesday. Roast chicken turns into chicken stock and quesidillas, left over bbq steak can be steak po boys… As long as my family doesnt eat the same food 2 days in a row they are great. I am also a lover of salad so after I grocery shop, I prep all my veggies so its easier to throw together a quick salad.
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Happy Mommy Says
You make the planning sound so simple. I’m intimidated by the planning part of it and don’t do it. I pay for it during the week because I end up going to the store to get stuff for dinner and I’m in the kitchen e v e r y night. I’m going to give this a try. I’m sure it’s better than my exhausting strategy right now. Once again, you’re awesome! THANK YOU!
Clean Mama Says
Aw, thanks! If I make the time for it, I do it, that’s my ‘secret’. Give it a whirl for a couple weeks, I bet you’ll surprise yourself!
xo, Becky
CeeCee Says
I’m curious about your comment that planning a weekly menu using sales ads is more time-consuming. I always intend to use this method, but never really get around to it. Could you elaborate on why you feel it’s time-consuming?
Thanks.
Clean Mama Says
I used to clip coupons and try to shop sales, but found that I wasn’t using the coupons or we weren’t eating up all the food. So….I just shop at Costco (you can only use their coupons, but milk is $1.67), Trader Joe’s (love their cheap and healthy food!), and occasionally Target (tends to be cheaper anyway). We don’t get a newspaper for coupons and I don’t search online for coupons. So I don’t worry about getting the ‘best’ price anymore, because I have made peace with this process for now. But…I do use retail me not for online deals and coupons.
Hope this helps!
xo, Becky
Krys Says
Two months ago, I started meal planning for the whole month. I have a little white board calendar that I use to plan meals. The best part about it is that I can easily erase something and plunk something else in there if later in the month, something else sounds better, or an event comes up that allows more/less prep time.
It takes less than 10 minutes to plan meals for the whole month, and I tend to save a lot of time and money because I’m only shopping for things I know I’ll use. It’s been great!
Clean Mama Says
I love the idea of a dry erase calendar – great for quick changes!
xo, Becky
Liz Slater Says
I give my kids a night each week to pick the meal. We have to eat what they pick and the rest of the week, they have to eat what I pick. In the beginning my youngest daughter was often picking Mac and cheese or chicken nuggets, but over time, her tastes have evolved because she is exposed to all the things that I pick on non-kid choice nights.
Clean Mama Says
This is a great idea that can morph into them making it too when they are old enough! Thanks for sharing!
xo, Becky
Surrounded-By-Boys Says
I LOVE to meal plan! I have meal planned for years and it definitely saves time and money! One tip I have is to review your schedule when planning meals. For example, if my boys have a baseball game one night, I know that I need a “quick” meal rather than one that takes extensive time to prepare. Another tip I have is when making spaghetti sauce or chili (etc.) make a larger batch than necessary and freeze half. Then, you’ll have another meal “ready to go” when you’re in a hurry !
Clean Mama Says
I love having meals ready in the freezer – especially for those crazy on-the-go nights!
xo, Becky
Sarah Says
One of the best things I have ever done to help streamline my meal planning is to never “toss out” a menu. Basically, just a few months ago after I typed my standard 2-week menu, I put the meals into a Word document. Two weeks later, I did the same thing and so on. I now have a list nearly two months long of various healthy, fun & tasty meals my family eats. My husband loves to cook, too, so we do have a new meal or two at least that get added to the master list each month.
I love having this master list because I do watch grocery ads, print coupons and like to use what we have before buying more. I’m able to see what we have- lets say I know we have tilapia filets in the freezer, 6 chicken breasts, lots of fresh veggies etc.- the first meals I choose off the list are ones that use those proteins/veggies. Then on Wednesday evenings I spend 10 minutes after dinner with my marker and the 4 grocery circulars we get and quickly go through and circle things we normally eat or special items that are on sale. From there, I pick the rest of our meals. I then do my main grocery shopping at Walmart since they price match and take coupons so I’m not driving all over town chasing sales. It’s really great. It might sound scary or intimidating, but it really isn’t.
I’m pregnant, have a toddler and coach at a high school so it’s not like I had a ton of extra time (does anyone really?) to make massive changes all at once or elaborate plans. I started small and have just built our list a bit at a time but it is saving us a fair bit of time and money each month.
Clean Mama Says
This is such a great point Sarah! What a great idea to keep the menus to use in rotation, thank you for sharing!
xo, Becky
Clean Mama Says
I love this master list idea, Sarah! No wasted time recreating the menu plan wheel!
xo, Becky
Anna Says
Love this, I’m totally a believer in meal planning! It’s amazing how much time and money it saves in the long run. 🙂
Anna
http://www.askannamoseley.com
Clean Mama Says
Thanks Anna!
xo, Becky
Christy Says
I found it helps to limit myself to one new recipe a week. New recipes always take more time to prepare than than things that I’ve done before. Also, it’s harder to know how much can be prepped ahead if you’ve never made it before.
Clean Mama Says
That’s a great point Christy!
xo, Becky
KM Says
I use my mom’s system – Sun-New Recipe; Mon-Poultry; Tue-Pasta; Wed-leftovers or egg dish if no leftovers; Thur-Meat; Fri-Fish; Sat-eat out or pizza in. Tonight we’ll have a Salmon Nicoise Salad because that’s what we have on hand; but next week it might be fish chowder or grilled shrimp. I like that I am not bound by an actual recipe, but by a blanket food group for each day. Has worked great for the past 15 years of marriage and we get to try new recipes on Sunday when we have time to cook. I write down what we do eat on my personal planner so that we get a little time between various meals. If we have leftovers from Wed-Sat, we eat them for lunch over the weekend. Easy peasy!
Clean Mama Says
Great system – I love that it’s your mom’s! I like the fish night idea -I might need to add that into our rotation!
xo, Becky
We Clean Cincinnati Says
I love lists! You should make a page with links to all your lists for people to download.
Clean Mama Says
I have some here:
http://cleanmama.blogspot.com/p/free-printables.html
Kim Says
I could really use some ideas… i have eater who only eats white meat ( chicken) and hates sauce of any kind the rest of use are really sick of grilled chicken …. any ideas out there?? I’m desperate. i would love to meal plan but find it very intimidating to start…… i dont really know why except that i really hate to cook. PLEASE HELP???
Erin Says
I meal plan a month a head of time. This isn’t the most cost efficient but it is time efficient which is almost more important to me right now. I try to always buy items from my local grocery store that are on sale (fruits, veggies, stock up on dry goods, soups, etc). So I will meal plan with my stock pile. I also will only cook 3-4 times a week. Normally a large meal Sunday, leftovers Monday, a medium sized meal Tuesday with leftovers Wednesday and Thursday is grilled cheese or breakfast night. On the weekends we will eat out or grill. For now this is what I have found to be the easiest but as my daughter gets older and eats more and as we have more kids, I know I will have to adjust. 🙂 I also clip coupons but always forget to use them except at Target, I am the best at getting the lowest prices at Target because of their cartwheel app, double coupons and the redcard!
Tina Says
I love meal planning and while I don’t clip coupons I do shop my own cupboard and freezer first. Then I go through the circulars and see what deals I can get while still staying in budget. We eat lunches and suppers together ( family of 4) so I am a believer in cooking once but eating twice. For example, if we have a supper of chili on Monday, I will use the leftover chili to make chili cheese fries on Wednesday. Roast chicken turns into chicken stock and quesidillas, left over bbq steak can be steak po boys… As long as my family doesnt eat the same food 2 days in a row they are great. I am also a lover of salad so after I grocery shop, I prep all my veggies so its easier to throw together a quick salad.