The following are some of the top reasons I menu plan each week for our family:
1. Thinking about what we will eat inevitably results in healthier,well-rounded meals guaranteed for us to enjoy eating.
2. I don’t have any stress about 4:30 pm rolling around and not having an inkling about what I’m going to make for dinner.
3. I can take full advantage of sales and base what we eat off the deals of the week to further my savings.
4. I always have everything I need on hand.
5. We can look forward to special meals that sound like fun to try.
6. I’m not running back to the store for that one thing I should have gotten, but I didn’t because it’s all written out before I leave home.
7. We have less waste because I buy everything we will use.
8. It greatly reduces the need to grab something out, which would be more expensive and unhealthy.
9. Planning ahead means I can prep for another meal in the week while working on the meal we will eat that night if it uses some of the same ingredients, saving me valuable time.
10. I just feel better with a plan (I know…Type A personality).
*The next few posts I’ll be writing about Menu Planning, so let me know if you have any questions I can answer in upcoming posts! Stay tuned for how to create and organize your own menu plan…
January 15th, 2011 at 2:51 AM
Hi Jessie,
I have been thinking I need to do this – menu planning sounds like a good idea, not sure why I have been resisting.
Look forward to reading some of your posts regarding the subject.
Blessings,
Yvana
January 15th, 2011 at 6:58 AM
Thanks Prof! Hope it helps you start!
January 17th, 2011 at 4:22 AM
I use an app for meal planning called meal board. Once you’ve entered the ingredients for the recipe all you have to do is select the meals for each day and it will generate a grocery list. I love it!
January 17th, 2011 at 4:58 AM
These are good tips, Jessie. My system may not work for everyone, but it’s another suggestion. I prepare a large meal and dessert on the weekend. We then eat that one meal Monday – Friday. We are both able to be home for lunch, so we eat our large meal at mid-day and eat a light meal in the evening (yogurt, fruit, cheese, granola). So, there is no cooking during the week and no clean up in the evening. This system will not always work for us, but it is during this particular season of life.
January 17th, 2011 at 4:02 PM
Dana-thanks for the tip! Too bad I’d have to steal TJ’s touch to make it happen…guess I’m stuck with the old fashioned way for now! ;0)
January 17th, 2011 at 4:04 PM
Melissa-I love how your system works and may help someone else who can pull it off for their season of life too! We did something a little similar this week by making a whole turkey and using it all week this week for our lunches and dinners. Last night we used the turkey for baked turkey taquitos!
January 17th, 2011 at 10:31 PM
[...] now that you know the reasons behind menu planning and how I actually do it every week, I thought I’d list what our menu [...]
January 18th, 2011 at 7:45 AM
I like reading this blog,good advice!
January 18th, 2011 at 9:14 PM
Thanks for commenting Anon! Glad my ramblings are helpful!
April 24th, 2011 at 8:50 PM
[...] next week. I dig up recipes I’ve put on hold to try and I re-visit old favorites. I base our menu for the week around what is on sale to get the most bang for my buck. The weeks of planning have [...]
January 2nd, 2012 at 8:08 AM
[...] switched to menu planning for an entire month to help myself at this phase of life. With two kids, it’s become hard [...]