So, I have been meal planning for quite a few years now. And our family absolutely loves the structure that it gives to our busy weeks. I plan our evenings around our busy, active lifestyle and my parenting schedule with my two older children.

Our meal plan isn’t overly complicated and isn’t always 100% healthy. But it gives us variety to our weeks and has helped us save thousands of dollars. We typically only eat out when the meal plan calls for it. Meal planning takes the guess work out of what to have when you get home and everyone is hungry, prevents you from visiting the drive-thru and prevents you from using excuses like, “I forgot to thaw out meat.” or “Oh shoot, I’m missing one ingredient … let’s order out!”.

Here are twenty things that have helped us make weekly meal planning and preparation successful over the last decade.

  1. Have a VISUAL system available. Digital formats of most things are great. But I love having our meal plan front and center in our kitchen. This is not only for yourself – but also for your family. Everyone will know what needs to be thawed out or started each evening. This is especially great if you are the one that is busy one evening. We have a dry erase board and markers displayed inside of our pantry door.
  2. Take a peek at your weekly calendar and plan around what is going on for your family that week. Plan more complicated meals that require preparation and bake time on the nights that you don’t have as much going on.
  3. Use one night for leftovers or cleaning out the freezer. We call these “grab-and-go” nights. Typically, everyone is grazing with what’s out on the counter and eating something different. But this helps prevent food from going bad or spoiling – and frees up some Tupperware containers in the process! These nights are great when everyone is coming and going at different times.
  4. Plan one day that works for you for meal planning each week and one day that works for shopping each week. This format will give you some structure. I meal plan on Sundays for the next seven days and do my shopping on Tuesdays. Do what works for you and your schedule.
  5. Grocery shop only one day, unless something really calls for a second shopping trip. Sticking to one set day has saved me thousands of dollars. There is rarely something that you really NEED to have to complete a meal. It also frees up an extra hour or two each week.
  6. Keep a stocked pantry. I am a huge Aldi fan. We keep an “Aldi stash” in our basement. This is basic essentials and items that are way cheaper there than at my local grocery store. I will by a half dozen of these items in one trip and it will last us several months.
  7. When planning our nights, I take a quick glance at the cupboards, the fridge and the freezer. I try to use up we have on hand first and then shop for missing ingredients. After that I “create” new meals that we haven’t had in awhile or try new recipes and shop for those ingredients.
  8. Allow your family one night out a week. Sometimes this coincides with a date night, celebration or gathering with other people. Sometimes we just plan a night out to our favorite restaurant. This makes eating at home feel less monotenous and gives your family an opportunity to check out some local favorites. When you plan for these splurges, it makes it a really special outing for everyone. We use this is an opportunity to use gift cards and coupons or try new local restaurants and explore supper clubs.
  9. Prepare all of your fruits and vegetables one day a week. This will make it way easier for your entire family to choose healthier snack options, too. You can also prepare meat similarly and place grilled meat in baggies or Tupperware containers to expedite the cooking process later in the week.
  10. Portion out all snacky items like crackers, nuts and treats into portion-controlled snacking containers. This will make it easy to toss in backpacks and lunch bags during the week.
  11. If there are certain items that you purchase from certain stores, keep a permanent running list of those items, so that you aren’t reinventing the list every time you shop.
  12. Stockpile canned and frozen veggies so that even when fresh produce runs out (that’s a GOOD thing!), you will still have some veggies available to add some color and nutrition to your family’s plate.
  13. Plan “picnic meals” for busy activity nights. We do this often. We either stop to eat at a park or eat at a ball game. We have even had “car picnics” during the colder months in between multiple activities and classes.
  14. Use your Instapot or crockpot. Try sloppy joes, shredded meats, soup, chili, or boiling potatoes, sweet potatoes and onions. This can be a huge timesaver later in the day and will leave your house smelling wonderful.
  15. Think quick and easy. We have loved having grazing boards and cheese and crackers with fruits some nights. Or sometimes we opt for quick breakfasts for dinner, cereal nights or each member enjoys their favorite can of soup. Not every meal has to involve “cooking”.
  16. Go to the bar. Try salad bars, baked potato bars, taco and nacho bars or yogurt parfait bars to give everyone the chance to put what they want on their plate and mix things up a bit.
  17. When taking your list to the store – plan on sticking to it to save money. Even better, order convenient online store pick-up to prevent you (and your kids!) from tempting and unncecessary purchases.
  18. Don’t forget to use the grill, the countertop griddle or the wok. Get out your unused kitchen appliances or grill things up to prepare ingredients in another way.
  19. Make a theme night! We have had fun with these and often dress up. We’ve done homemade supper clubs, nights based on a movie them, quirky holidays or an 80’s night with throwback favorites.
  20. Don’t be afraid to be flexible. We often draw arrows all around on our meal plan as plans change or treat the family to an occasional night out if someone asks us to meet them somewhere. It’s okay – you’ll have a meal all planned out and ready for next week!

 

Here are some of the meals that you’ll regularly see on our meal plan:

  • Tatertot casserole
  • Taco bar
  • Breakfast for dinner (homemade pancakes/waffles, breakfast burritos, turkey sausage/bacon, egg mcmuffins)
  • Baked potato bar with veggies
  • Grilled cheese & everyone’s favorite soups
  • Homemade nachos
  • Rice bowls from the wok
  • Salad bar