How I Manage....Meal Planning

Again, I am not an expert...but there are certain things that have worked for me that I'll share here.  Meal planning was a HUGE issue for me when I first was married.  First of all, if I lived by myself I'd probably be a vegetarian for the simple reason that cooking meat stresses me out.  A lot.  I also tend to not think about food until I'm hungry...really really hungry.  I also tend to get super cranky when I'm hungry so lets face it, just not a good combination.

Early in marriage I tried a lot of different approaches to meal planning but too many times we'd get to 5pm and I still had no plan.  Plus, going to the store every day or every couple of days turned out to be really expensive.  It just wasn't working.  Then I tried some online programs that provided meal plans and grocery lists.  In theory this would work really well but I wasn't enjoying the meals - they were either too plain or included ingredients I didn't like.  (I'm a little picky when it comes to eating).

Then I moved to crock pot meals - the blogs always made it look easy enough to preplan a few meals at the beginning of the week, dump into the crock pot and dinner every night!  Except we REALLY didn't like most of those meals.

So then as our family grew, I needed to cook for people regularly because of our ministry and people were depending on me to cook for them Every. Meal. I knew something had to change.  So here is what I do now.

I keep a list on my fridge of all the bulk items we have in the freezer and pantry.  When I'm ready to meal plan I take my lists and see which of those items I want to cook with this week and fill them in on a Sunday through Saturday list.  Then, trying to use a variety of proteins I fill in the rest of the day with meals that we like, haven't had in awhile and "fit" with that particular day.  Some busy days we do easy prep-ahead casseroles.  Other days when I have more time I do more "last minute" cooking and get things on the table right at dinner time.

As I fill out the menu, I write down all the ingredients I need to buy while I'm at the store (grocery shopping happens on Friday nights...and I manage that by not taking the kids!)  When I get home, I leave everything I bought specifically for a meal in a grocery bag before putting it away.  That is my signal for everyone else to stay HANDS OFF.  And because I know what meals I've planned on the things in the bag don't get forgotten about because it says on my fridge when to use them!  When food is just in the fridge or pantry it is fair game!

If I see we are stockpiling leftovers, I adjust my meal plan for the week and turn one night into a leftover night.  Usually I bump a meal that will keep well for next week or I can freeze what I need to to make sure it stays useable.  If I find we are going through food faster than I expected, we throw in a spaghetti night.  Flexibility within the plan is key to making it work, staying sane and not wasting food.

My sister had an idea for meal planning that was pretty sweet.  She took a deck of cards and split it with her husband (he got one color, she got the other). They both wrote on their cards meals that they enjoyed.  Then at the beginning of the week, they decide how many meals need to be made, draw that many cards and the hard work of coming up with ideas is done!  She just shops for the ingredients needed and then she is good for the week.

Any other thoughts on how to make this meal planning thing easier??