The Basics of Menu Planning

Menu Planning

 

Menu planning is a simple way to save hours of time, money, energy & headaches.   This is why many families do it.  However if you over complicate it, it will be more of a burden then a help.

Daily life can get crazy.  There's homework, school, after school activities, basic household work and so on.  Cooking is something I enjoy.  But I do have to take steps to keep it simple & sensible.   To make the job of feeding my family easy & enjoyable, I rely on menu planning.

What is Menu Planning?

Basically it's just planning ahead of time what meals you will cook.

Benefits of Menu Planning

• plan meals based on what is in your pantry, refrigerator & freezer(shop your stockpile)
• cook what's in season, saving you money
• prepare healthy meals, encouraging your family to eat more vegetables & fruits
• Get more joy from cooking, because you'll be more prepared
• Avoid the 5 p.m. "What am I going to make for dinner" panic and the drive-thru 

How far in advance should I plan my menu?

It's really up to you & your family.  Some seasons may be busier than others.  Summer brings soccer & baseball games, parties, weddings & vacations.  A simple menu plan for a month could be helpful for a the busy season.  Winter may be calmer for your family, allowing you to prepare more involved meals with a longer prep time.  I currently use 1 week menu plans.  This works great for our family right now.  I do recommended planning at least 1 week up to 1 month at a time.

Get your family involved

Get your family together one evening for an hour(maybe less) and talk about what meals they would like to have on the menu plan.  What are their favorites?  What do they dislike?  You don't want to prepare a meal that only 2 out 4 people will eat.  Most families don't mind having the same meal every 2 weeks.  You can compile a nice list of meals with your family and rotate the menu every 2 weeks.

Tips for successful menu planning

Have a daily theme.  For example:  Sundays are pasta; Monday's are Chicken; Tuesday's are Mexican; Wednesday's are crockpot; Thursday's are pizza; Friday's are sandwiches/soups/salads; Saturday's are chef's choice.  Repeat your theme weekly when creating your meal plan.

Freezer Cooking.  Cooking in advance can be a huge time saver & money saver.  If you know you will repeat a meal 1-2 weeks or even 1 month down the road, go ahead and prepare a double batch tonight and freeze the rest.  That way when that meal comes around again, you'll be all set.  Visit the Recipe Index and Freezer Cooking sections of this blog for ideas and inspiration.

Plan with the seasons. I find our summertime menu plans easier, because the food is lighter and easier to prepare.  Create menu plans based on in season fresh vegetables & fruits.  Tomatoes, corn, peppers, onions, zucchini and eggplant are just few summer vegetables that will be cheap during the season.  Implement them into your summertime meals to save money!

Shop your local farmer's market weekly:  The farmer's market is a great place to buy produce.  It's local, fresh, in season & you'll save money.  You will taste the difference.  Produce that has been shipped across the US to your local grocery store loses freshness along the way.  At the farmer's market, the produce was likely picked the day before it's being sold, possibly even the same day.  Freshness means a ton when it comes to produce.  As fruits & vegetables sit awaiting shipment, they begin to lose nutrients.  And after all, what's the point of eating your veggies if your not getting everything you can from them.  Check out the farmer's market.  I promise you won't be disappointed.  Plus, it's always great to support local business!

Use your Coupons!  You can buy a lot of staple pantry items for next to nothing by using a coupon during a store sale.  When I menu plan, I rarely need anything other then fresh produce for 1 week of meals.  I've stockpiled staple items at rock bottom prices and have everything I need on hand.  For more information about couponing, check out this post.

Do I have to cook every single day?

Short answer...no.  Just because you decided to make a menu plan doesn't mean you have to cook every day.  During our normal week, I cook 5 days.  I love to cook but I also enjoy the 2 days per week that I don't.  On Wednesday's, my mom & dad take the kids to their house(Fondly called MiMi day!).   After my husband gets home from work, we head to their house and have dinner with the family.  It's always great!  We sit around and talk, catch up with each other and spend some quality time together.  My mom loves doing this!  

The other night of the week that I don't cook, we go out to eat.  This day usually takes place on the weekend, however if there's a particularly busy day during the week, I may schedule for take out opposed to going to a restaurant.  I also make sure to budget for these nights.  

Here's a look at my family's menu plan for this week:

Breakfasts

Cold Cereal x4(I get cereal very cheap, usually around $1 per box)

Oven Baked French Toast, bacon, fruit

Baked Oatmeal, fruit

Eggs, sausage & fruit

Lunches

PB & J, pretzels, fruit x2

Breakfast Lunch-kids choice x2(my kids love this as well as breakfast dinner!)

Lunch meat Sandwiches, baked chips, fruit x2

Dinners

Grilled Smith Dogs, potatoes, veggies

Pineapple Chicken, fried rice, veggies(recipe for chicken will be posted tonight)

Taco Night!

Take out(my son has a doctor's appointment late afternoon & we will not be back to cook)

Chicken Pasta, veggies/salad

Grilled Chicken Legs, stuffing, veggies & salad

Snacks

Popcorn x2

Fruit/Veggies x2

No Bake Energy Bites

Crackers w/PB

I also add a small list of freezer cooking that I intend to accomplish during the week.

Freezer Cooking

Crockpot Refried Beans(recipe coming soon)

No-Bake Energy Bites(I don't freeze these, but plan to make them for the week)

Baked Oatmeal x2

So there's a peek into this week's menu for my family.  I try to incorporate fruits & veggies into every one's diet daily.  Our breakfasts & lunches are flexible.  If the kids feel for PB today instead of tomorrow...no biggie.  I feel the same about our dinners.  Some days end up being flopped around due to unforeseen challenges that pop up.  So even though I planned Taco night for Tuesday, which is a super easy meal, it may get used on Monday if the day becomes too hectic.  Remember your menu isn't set in stone.  As long as you have a plan for the week, don't worry if meals have to be switched around from the original plan.  Things come up and sometimes you're going to have to rearrange for your own sanity!  When one of those days(anyone with a toddler knows what I mean) rolls around just be sure to make a sensible switch to an easier meal and reserve the more complicated meal in it's original place.  Try to avoid...this day was horrible, let's hit the drive-thru!

Live Frugal. Live Happy.