I thought I'd start my "How Do I?" series with meal planning..... a subject that i'm not particulary fond of, but one that must be done...
If you know me, you know that I really hate to cook. I could bake all day (maybe) but I'm not big on cooking a meal.
I'm also not good at meal planning every week, and now you're probably wondering why i'm even bothering wtih this post......
Thanks to Pinterest, my meal planning has been so much easier! I really wonder how we survived before Pinterest.
I typically try to plan enough meals for two weeks, taking at least one of those days for dinner out, and one for leftovers. If DJ is not planning on being home, or if he has to prepare dinner, I might not plan a meal, but we'll heat up chicken nuggets, corn dogs, or i'll cook breakfast foods for the girls. I also take into account any trips we may have out of town.
We also have two nights per week where dinner needs to be ready when we get home or prepared within 15 minutes of walking in the door. On those nights, I try to use the crock pot, or take something out of the freezer that I've prepared before hand.
I meal plan right before a trip to the grocery store. I typically go to our large grocery store twice a month and spend around $200.00 each trip. (more on that to come). Then, I have weekly Target stops where we pick up milk or anything we've ran out of.
Back to Pinterest, and why I love it...... because I loathe cooking; I loathe planning just as much. I have the hardest time coming up with new meals to make, and I fell into a routine of serving the same meals on a rotation. Our meals would typically consist of a taco dish, spaghetti, homemade pizza, and chicken with vegetables. They were just boring, and I had a harder time getting Gretchen to eat.
So, this year, I've really tried to be better with meal planning and coming up with new meals to try. You can find some of my meal planing lists here as well as a few recipes I've tried out here.
I don't usually make a Monday meal plan, followed by Tuesday, followed by Wednesday. I've found that I skip around, so now, I write down meals that I'd like to cook, as well as a summary of the recipe, so I don't have to go back and search for it later. 9 times out of 10, I never find it anyway.
I do tend to stick with a chicken and veggies one night; but I try to change up the way I cook the chicken: oven baked, grilled, or with different seasonings, and we often have homemade pizza at least once, but I've been changing that up too. I've started making my own pizza crust, or i'll use crescent rolls and wrap pepporoni and cheese inside with a marinara dipping sauce. And, if we have pasta, I buy fun shapes rather than spaghetti.
I also refer to my Pinterest board "Dinner Ideas/Main Dishes" and come up with new dishes to serve. After we try them, I may add them into future meal plans, or I get inspired and add new meals with every meal planning session. Some of my pins are a flop, and i'll make a mental note to not try it again.
One of my new favorite blogs is Mix and Match Mama. I've found that it's easier to follow her on Pinterest and just re-pin foods that she has pinned that look yummy!
Now, when do I find the time to meal plan? I often meal plan while i'm on my lunch break at work. I will get on Pinterest and scroll through my DIMD board and then think of what we already have in the freezer, or what I typically cook in a rotation. I grab a notebook and write down a meal with its recipe and then later, I write a grocery list of what to buy.
I also make a note of if i'll need two or more cans of the same ingredients and put tally marks beside that item, so I'll know to buy more than one. If I remember, I'll double check when I get home the ingredients in my pantry so I don't end up with 5 cans of rotel or more!
In the summer, I try to meal plan on Sunday afternoons.
So, now that you know how I meal plan, i'll share with you my current meal planning list!
- Cajun Chicken Pasta
- Doritos Cheesy Chicken
- Spaghetti
- One Pouch Feast
- Tortellini Crock Pot Dinner
- Lasagna Rolls
- Cheeseburger Macaroni
- Turkey burgers
- Homemade Pizza
- Two Timin Pasta Bake
Most of these recipes, I've pulled off my DIMD Pinterest board, a few I typically cook, and the Cheeseburger Macaroni is a dish my co-worker suggested...
You'll see that I do a lot of one pot dishes, or casseroles. I know they're not the healthiest, but it saves me some time, and i'll try to sneak in a few veggies into the dishes (pureed squash or carrots, spinach, or tomatoes).
So, what's your favorite way to meal plan? Do you use a fancy app or website? Are you good at meal planning and thinking ahead?
Written by Unknown
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