Plan with Me!

Hi Friends!

Do you meal plan? I can’t remember a time that I didn’t meal plan. Even before I was a large family momma, I planned my meals. If I don’t plan before going to the store or placing my grocery order, I feel super overwhelmed. Not to mention I will overspend and still not have what I need!

My method of meal planning has changed over the years. There were times that I planned a week at a time. During those times, we were on a much tighter grocery budget and I planned all three meals plus a morning and an afternoon snack for the kids. As they grew, I threw in a bedtime snack. As they have gotten older, I have become more relaxed with planning breakfast, lunch, and snacks. I know what breakfast and lunch items I need to have on hand. For snacks, I usually shop at Sam’s Club early in the month. I will spend between $100 and $150 dollars on snacks and sides for lunches. The kids have learned that they can’t eat all the snacks at the beginning of the month because momma won’t buy more until next month.

Now my meal plans consist of planning the evening meal for the whole month, however, I only purchase my groceries weekly. This is because we are a busy family and it seems like something always comes up. My pantry is stocked with plenty of staples, so if a plan needs to change, I always have something on hand. If I have a meal on the meal plan that doesn’t get used, but I have already purchased the ingredients, I move it to another day in the coming week. Doing that helps keep me on budget, especially if we unexpectedly had to go out for a meal.

I start with a blank calendar for the month and the very first thing I do is add any activity that may interfere with meal time. For the month of May, we have a vacation planned, a graduation ceremony, Mother’s Day, a night that I will be away as well as our oldest girls, and lastly Memorial Day.

After I have the special days or activities added, I start with my easiest days. Each day seems to have a theme. On Tuesdays, we usually do a “Taco Tuesday” which really just means any type of Mexican food. That’s an easy one to plan because I don’t think there is a single Mexican-style food that my family does not like. We are usually running out the door quickly on Wednesday evening, therefore, I have made that night either a crockpot night or something super quick. One of my kids’ absolute favorite Wednesday night meals is a homemade Lunchable. I even try to make sure to get a mini candy bar for their dessert! Thursday night is Breakfast for Dinner night. We love breakfast casseroles, chicken and waffles, and big, Southern breakfasts. Friday nights vary by the season we are in. Right now, they consist of casseroles.

For years, I would stress myself out on Sundays. I remember so many big Sunday meals after church at one of my grandma’s homes or at my mom’s. I tried replicating that. But, I have come to realize that I can’t always come home and cook a huge meal right after church. My family is starving by the time it’s done. So, I will do a crockpot meal, leftovers, or takeout after church. My husband gets home from church earlier than the rest of us, so sometimes he will take care of lunch. That’s always a wonderful surprise and is very appreciated.

I try to add a few new recipes to try each month. On the days that I am stuck coming up with a meal, I will look for recipes online. I print the recipe out and if we like it, it goes into a recipe binder that I keep. If we don’t like it, then I toss it. My kids know that on the nights we are trying out a brand new recipe, they are not allowed to complain or say they don’t like it until they actually taste it. Once they have tried it, if they truly do not like it, then they have the option of making a sandwich. More often than not, they like a dish that they initially thought they would not.

Once I am finished planning out my meals, I print it out. I will either put it on the fridge or I will put it in the front of my planner so that it is easily found.