Ever leave the grocery store with a cart full of groceries and as you are driving home wonder, what am I even going to make this week? Me too, and it rarely ends successfully and often results in me returning to the store another time or two and sometimes even three. It’s both time-consuming and not budget friendly so I’ve found a system that helps me keep those shopping experiences at bay – menu planning. If you’re thinking about how do I menu plan for the week, this post is for you!
Step 1 – Schedule Your Planning Session
Each week I carve out a little time to make a plan for the week. I try to make this time as enjoyable as possible so I look forward to this little planning session. Sometimes this looks like me taking a coffee out to the deck and planning the meals while listening to the birds’ chirp, or you can find me doing it in my bed or on the couch while watching something good on tv. Is it just me or is everything better with a coffee drink of some sort and/or a candle?
Step 2 – Take Inventory
Before I sit down to plan, I like to go through and see what I have on hand. I make a list of proteins, vegetables, fruits, and staples I use each week like rice, pasta, and other grains and sides. By doing this it will allow you to plan effectively so that you are using up items you have, reduce your food waste, and save you money each week since you will be purchasing minimum items to accompany what you already have to work with.
Step 3 – Look At Your Week Ahead
Now it’s time to pull out the calendar and see what you have going on for the upcoming week. Consider if there will be days you are really busy or out of the house most of the day. I like to make a note of those types of days and plan instant pot or crockpot meal ideas to keep things really simple for them. I also look at if we have any special celebrations or if we are going to be out for dinner on the weekend and make sure to factor that in so that I’m not planning and buying items for meals that we don’t need.
Step 4 – Find Inspiration
Now that you have your inventory list in tote, it’s time to start compiling your menu options for the week. I like to go on Pinterest for this step because it’s so simple to search by menu item, crockpot, etc., and find meals quickly. I have a board called Dinner This Week. When I find a recipe to make, I save it to this board. This allows me to easily access the recipe when it comes time to cook. Then I go to the menu template I created and enter what I am making that day. This brings me to step 5.
Step 5 – Use A Menu Template
Use a Menu Template each week and create a Shopping List. I created one a while back in Google Docs that I can easily get to while using my phone or computer but use whatever you are most comfortable with. Once I have my week planned out, I can grocery shop. If I know I’m going to order my groceries for delivery, I will plan my menu at the same time as I am putting in the shopping order. This is my favorite way to do it, but lately, we have been going to our local grocery store because the Mr. prefers to hand-pick his items. I get it, though; we’ve been burned a few times and received items that were not in their prime. But if it’s a busy week, I don’t mind taking the gamble.
I hope this helps you on your meal-planning path. If you have any tips, please share them in the comments below. I’d love to hear if you do it another way!
Until next time,
Lisa
