Concerned about your family's eating habits? Not eating the right
amounts of the right foods? Eating too much fast food? Can't seem to
find healthy snacks for the kids? Follow these tips to make planning
your meals a breeze and ensure better nutrition for your family:
If you don't know where to begin, a great place to start is to simply jot down all of your family's favorite meals. Pull out a blank sheet of paper, draw a big long line down the center of the page (from top to bottom), and start writing out your list. In the left-hand column, write out a list of family meals that require extra prep work or longer cooking times. In the right-hand column, jot down the meals that are quick and easy to make.
Now, how long are your lists? If you have more than 20 different meals in your list, you should be able to plan out your menu for an entire month. If, on the other hand, your family's a little more particular, you may wish to plan for only one or two weeks at a time. FYI: Crock-pot recipes are great since you can simply add the ingredients to the crock-pot on your way out the door in the morning, and you'll return home to find a fully-cooked homemade meal! Another great idea is to double your recipe when you make a meal. Feed the first half to your family that evening, and freeze the second half to have a quick and easy meal on hand for another day.
Next, pull out your family calendar. Take note of the most hectic days, and pencil in some of the meals that you've listed on the right-hand column of your page (i.e., simple meals for crazy days). Then, add the rest of the meals on your list to the days that remain. Now you've got a plan! Make a copy of it to use each month, or go crazy and switch it up a bit from month to month, whatever you prefer. Simply having a plan (i.e., Rotation Menu) in place goes a very long way toward better nutrition and less stress for you and your family.
Look over your calendar again. For some of the meals that you've listed, you can complete much of the prep work the night before (i.e., cutting up vegetables for stir fry; pulling meat out of the freezer to thaw). Jot a note to yourself (or use some kind of symbol) on the day before you've planned that meal as a reminder. Of course, for this to work, you'll need to look at your calendar every evening and actually DO the prep work!
Now that you have your menu plan ready, you can easily create your grocery shopping list. What ingredients will you need to have on hand for each meal? Jot them down. Again, having copies of these lists per meal or per week or per month will save you time and energy. In fact, if you're interested in even greater efficiency, sort your list according to the aisle layout of your favorite grocery store.
Need some added motivation? Still think it's not possible? Well, if you're anything like me and positively abhor cooking, you'll love these resources:
Plan a girls' night out with some friends. Meet at Dream Dinners or Entrée Vous in Lexington, and in an hour or two, put together some fabulous meals for the month. It's definitely pricier than doing all your own grocery shopping, but it's cheaper than dining out. It'll save you time and energy and stress. Plus, your family will likely eat healthier meals than it might otherwise. Well worth it, in my book!
Order your groceries online from a delivery service. Schwan's and Amazon.com offer a wide variety of foods and can help you save the time, energy, and frustration that comes with getting out to the grocery store to do your shopping. Again, you'll pay a bit extra for the convenience, but if you're not able to get to the store as often as you'd like, these services could be your saving grace.
Have someone else do all the planning for you. Sign up online to receive free weekly menu plans, corresponding recipes, and grocery shopping lists at Wovenfare. This is the perfect solution for anyone who has a tough time creating a plan. Simply read the premade shopping lists, buy the items at your favorite grocery store, follow the recipes, and cook super yummy meals that your family will love.
Finally, if all you really need is to be held accountable actually making a plan, join forces with The Organizing Junkie and her "Meal Plan Monday" series. With so many other women participating in this series, you're sure to learn some great meal planning tips. And, the best part? You'll actually DO your meal plan each week!
If you don't know where to begin, a great place to start is to simply jot down all of your family's favorite meals. Pull out a blank sheet of paper, draw a big long line down the center of the page (from top to bottom), and start writing out your list. In the left-hand column, write out a list of family meals that require extra prep work or longer cooking times. In the right-hand column, jot down the meals that are quick and easy to make.
Now, how long are your lists? If you have more than 20 different meals in your list, you should be able to plan out your menu for an entire month. If, on the other hand, your family's a little more particular, you may wish to plan for only one or two weeks at a time. FYI: Crock-pot recipes are great since you can simply add the ingredients to the crock-pot on your way out the door in the morning, and you'll return home to find a fully-cooked homemade meal! Another great idea is to double your recipe when you make a meal. Feed the first half to your family that evening, and freeze the second half to have a quick and easy meal on hand for another day.
Next, pull out your family calendar. Take note of the most hectic days, and pencil in some of the meals that you've listed on the right-hand column of your page (i.e., simple meals for crazy days). Then, add the rest of the meals on your list to the days that remain. Now you've got a plan! Make a copy of it to use each month, or go crazy and switch it up a bit from month to month, whatever you prefer. Simply having a plan (i.e., Rotation Menu) in place goes a very long way toward better nutrition and less stress for you and your family.
Look over your calendar again. For some of the meals that you've listed, you can complete much of the prep work the night before (i.e., cutting up vegetables for stir fry; pulling meat out of the freezer to thaw). Jot a note to yourself (or use some kind of symbol) on the day before you've planned that meal as a reminder. Of course, for this to work, you'll need to look at your calendar every evening and actually DO the prep work!
Now that you have your menu plan ready, you can easily create your grocery shopping list. What ingredients will you need to have on hand for each meal? Jot them down. Again, having copies of these lists per meal or per week or per month will save you time and energy. In fact, if you're interested in even greater efficiency, sort your list according to the aisle layout of your favorite grocery store.
Need some added motivation? Still think it's not possible? Well, if you're anything like me and positively abhor cooking, you'll love these resources:
Plan a girls' night out with some friends. Meet at Dream Dinners or Entrée Vous in Lexington, and in an hour or two, put together some fabulous meals for the month. It's definitely pricier than doing all your own grocery shopping, but it's cheaper than dining out. It'll save you time and energy and stress. Plus, your family will likely eat healthier meals than it might otherwise. Well worth it, in my book!
Order your groceries online from a delivery service. Schwan's and Amazon.com offer a wide variety of foods and can help you save the time, energy, and frustration that comes with getting out to the grocery store to do your shopping. Again, you'll pay a bit extra for the convenience, but if you're not able to get to the store as often as you'd like, these services could be your saving grace.
Have someone else do all the planning for you. Sign up online to receive free weekly menu plans, corresponding recipes, and grocery shopping lists at Wovenfare. This is the perfect solution for anyone who has a tough time creating a plan. Simply read the premade shopping lists, buy the items at your favorite grocery store, follow the recipes, and cook super yummy meals that your family will love.
Finally, if all you really need is to be held accountable actually making a plan, join forces with The Organizing Junkie and her "Meal Plan Monday" series. With so many other women participating in this series, you're sure to learn some great meal planning tips. And, the best part? You'll actually DO your meal plan each week!
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