Are you always stumped when it comes to planning what to make for dinner? This will be your super simple meal planning solution.
Have you ever come up to the end of the day and asked yourself, What’s for dinner? and found that you had no idea what the answer was. It’s not that you’ve never cooked a meal before, but for some reason, your mind goes blank. (I don’t know about you, but I reach a point in the day when my brain just stops producing helpful thoughts.) It makes sense—you’re tired after a long day, you have other obligations, and you don’t want to get bored cooking the same meals over and over.
That’s a sign that you need backup. Meal planning comes to the rescue!
What is meal planning?
Meal planning is when you prepare a schedule for a set amount of meals ahead of time. For example, on a Sunday evening, you can plan the dinners for the upcoming week.
How can it help?
Planning your meals ahead of time helps you:
1. Prepare healthier food.
It’s easier to think of balanced, nutritious meals when you’re not scrambling.
2. Save money.
Without the plan, you may grab some takeout, or buy food at the grocery store that you don’t really need. With a plan, you’re clear on which items to buy.
3. Stress less.
With your plan in place, you have less to think about during the week.
Use a bullet journal or planner – Keep track of your meal plan in a notebook and keep it handy.
And for those of you who feel that you simply won’t take the time once a week to write up a meal plan, here are a few other things you can try.
MEALS BY DAY
Write a few options for each day. For example, you can decide that Sunday suppers will always be one of the items from this list: Mike’s chicken, chicken poppers, chicken and shawarma rice, orzo and chicken stir fry. Then make another list of options for the Monday. And so on.
When you come across a new dish that you like, you can add it to one of the days.
FAVORITE MEALS
Keep a running list of your family’s favorite meals. Again, keep adding to this list as time goes on. Whenever you can’t think of what to make for dinner, flip to that page, and pick a favorite that you haven’t cooked in a while.
BATCH COOK MEALS
Batch cooking is when you cook double the amount and put half in the freezer for another day. It’s good to keep a list of which meals you can easily batch cook, so you can reference it when you’re coming up on a busier season of your life.
QUICK MEALS
This list is for meals that take you just a few minutes to prepare—perfect for hectic days and running-late moments.
Happy planning!
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