I really
dislike shopping with my kids. It's a lot of, "Mom! I want that!",
"Mom, I'm tired.", "Can we go home and play Mario Kart
yet?" Or even just straight up "Waaaahhhhh" from being too
tired. So I decided to plan my meals ahead. Anywhere from 2 weeks to a whole
month, depending on my financial status. I have a list of meals that I know my
family loves. I have a list of things we need that I've been writing as things
diminish in my pantry and I know we use often.
Knowing your family and their favorites is the most important part. Knowing
your schedule is another important factor. I work part time. My husband has a
time-consuming Lego hobby. Plus there are the daily tasks and chores of keeping
house and home schooling. On the nights I work, my husband has to do the
cooking. On the nights I'm off - I pick it up. So when I'm picking meals I have
to pick the easy ones for his nights alone. I also try to incorporate things we
get on WIC. We get beans, brown rice, cheese, fruits and vegetables, among
other things. All healthy stuff. Beans and rice are one of my easy choices for
my husband to cook. He likes to add sausage and onion to it. None of us
really like brown rice. So to compromise, we mix half white and half brown.
Even my kids love it. It also makes the bag of white rice stretch farther.
When I'm planning, I also check the sales and try to match my meals with them.
I print coupons based on what we use and try to match them with stores sales.
So here's how you get started. And yes... It's going to take time and effort,
but it pays off later.
Start by making a list. Write meals that you know you and your family eat
regularly and love. Know your ingredients or list them with the meals. I keep
mine in a notebook but you could use a binder. Especially with the clear page
covers so you can just flip through while planning.
Step two, is knowing your budget. We know when big bills are due and plan
around them. I prefer to plan at least two weeks at a time, but maybe you can
only do a week per stretch. Once you know your budget, count the days and pick
a dinner for each one. Throw in a couple of lazy meals. Some days you aren't
going to want to cook. So make it something easy to put together or make that
the take out night. Either way, writing it into your list will remind you. Then
pick breakfast and lunch items to fill in. I always keep peanut butter on hand.
Tuna works well too. Snack things like chips, cookies, desserts - whatever
little things you need to have on hand get added to your list next.
Now if you're really on a roll and want it super organized, take it a step
further and actually list the items by category i.e.- meats, frozen, can aisle,
snack aisle... You get the idea? I don't often have the patience and I'm still
getting used to my stores here, but sometimes I aim for the ballpark. This
makes your trip easier and faster. Also organizing your coupons to match your
aisles helps too.
Now the fun
part (not) of shopping! Coming home, you might have a kitchen looking something
like this picture.
Another thing
to keep in mind is how much storage space you have around your kitchen. We are
fortunate enough to have a large pantry. But we are limited in freezer space.
We don’t buy a large amount of freezer foods at once. Sometimes we have to go
back to the store for things like bread, fresh veggies and fruits, or more
freezer items.
Sometimes
when I buy onions and bell peppers, I will chop them up and keep them in the
freezer. Just remember that when you pull them out to cook not to let them stay
thawed. They can get a little mushy. Cooking them right away tastes better.
I hope this
is helpful in getting you started on meal planning. Be sure and leave a comment
on anything you think I missed! Love hearing from you all.