I haven't always done this, but since I started doing it for the last couple months I've noticed some real changes in our home. Mostly in my attitude. I feel less stressed about dinner, a bit more organized when I take the time to meal plan, and I feel like it helps me from over spending at the grocery store on food/things that we don't need to really eat.
My family's schedule is a bit crazy, so this really helps us since we're not usually eating dinner till about 8 pm! I would encourage you to Tailor this to your family and make any necessary changes to make this work for your busy family.
I buy my groceries for the month. This is what works for us, so I've been doing it this way for years. But, if you buy your groceries weekly for your family this too can still work for you. I make a list of meals we're going to make for the month based on tried and true dishes we love, new recipes I might wanna try and from there I make my grocery list and go shopping based on what I need for meals.
Every Sunday, I sit down and take about 15 minutes to plan out meals for the week to come. I go through our pantry and take stock in what we have and make dinner plans.
Then, I write each days meal on our chalkboard in our kitchen as a visual reminder as to what we're having each night. This visual reminder helps me remember to take out meat from the freezer each morning so that's it's ready for me when I get home from work, and I can start prepping dinner.
Seriously, that simple and saves me weekly. I stress less because of this. And, I really like to take the time to make a meal for our family and sit down to connect over our day. Doing so, makes life run a little bit smoother.
You could also, utilize some of the amazing free print ables in blog land to keep track of your meal planning and weekly meals. I really like this one, and this one. You can print them for free to help you keep track.
I'd love to hear if you already do this, how this works for you and your family? If you're not doing this already I challenge you to start next week and see the difference it makes for your family!
Happy Meal Planning!!
