If you’ve been reading along you’ve probably noticed that I really enjoy cooking and finding new recipes! I’ve talked about my love for the new Skinnytaste cookbook and why I love shopping at Aldi and Costco. So today I wanted to share how I meal plan (and why) – I think sometimes planning your meals in advance can feel daunting, but it really isn’t! Here is the method I use to plan our meals and shop/prep accordingly.
Research
This is definitely the most fun part of meal planning, in my opinion at least! I love finding new recipes and looking through cookbooks. My two most-used cookbooks right now are Skinnytaste Fast and Slow and The Best 30-Minute Recipe. I love both these cookbooks because they’re a) fast recipes! b) not super complicated/require a million ingredients c) I’ve never made anything from them and not enjoyed it! My favorite websites to browse for recipes are Damn Delicious, Gimme Some Oven, Pinch of Yum and of course Skinnytaste! I’ve had great success using recipes from all these bloggers.
So step 1 is taking my cookbooks/bookmarks and looking through them. I write down recipes that look good and I want to try. Honestly, a lot of what I make ends up being repeats (we’re all creatures of habit!) but I usually get a few new recipes from just browsing. While I’m looking at a recipe I write down any ingredients I don’t already have (I stock up on staples like broth, pasta, rice, etc at Aldi).
As a note, I usually don’t try recipes just from Pinterest anymore because I’ve had some SERIOUS Pinterest fails. I love recipes if they link to a blog/site, but I would be cautious before making anything where the recipe is just listed in the pin!
Make a List
Once I’ve written down everything I need I reorganize my list – the key is to organize it by area of the store! This makes your shopping faster and easier. You don’t have to walk back to an area because you forgot you needed bread, etc. Trust me!
Schedule – with flexibility!
Once I’ve decided what I want to make I pencil the meals into my planner. (I’m currently using The Happy Planner and LOVE it!) The key is to put any meal with super perishable ingredients as close to your shopping trip as possible – salads, anything veggie based. Another key to reduce food waste is to group meals with similar ingredients together. Big salad one night, then maybe tacos where you can use lettuce soon after!
Tip 1 – I also schedule leftover days if I’ve made something big (Especially in the crockpot – the Skinnytaste recipes are usually for 4/6). I also include “fridge” clean out or “fend for yourself” days. This means that I want to be sure we eat all the leftovers before adding more things! If you’re like me you find random containers in the back of your fridge and don’t remember when you made them….so we’re trying to be more conscious of our food waste this year.
Tip 2 – Be sure to leave open nights for doing takeout, or going out! I know we often go out with friends on the weekend so I’ll leave most Saturdays unplanned. If we don’t decide to go out I can usually make something from basics we have on hand at all times – chicken, salmon, ground beef, etc.
I hope this post shows that planning your meals in advance can be enjoyable and not stressful! I’m usually able to plan two weeks at a time in less than 30 minutes, with probably an hour of shopping time. Plus having a plan will make you save money by not buying random food you don’t eat, and be healthier because eating at home is SOOO much healthier than eating out! Enjoy!
