5 Ways to Make Menu and Dinner Planning Easier
This strange phenomenon exists which is that humans need to eat in order to survive.
There's no way to get around it. Whether you're old, young, short, tall, single, married etc..
Which means that EVERY DAY FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE you are responsible to make sure you eat, and if you have loved ones that depend on you, that they also don't starve.
If you're reading this post you already know some form or prep, planning, and prioritizing is coming your way and you are NOT wrong.
1. Planning for the Week Always Makes a Huge Difference:
It can be Sunday, Monday, or whenever you have the time to sit down for twenty minutes but it just makes sense.
- Look through your fridge, freezer, and pantry to see what needs to be used up etc... what ingredients you have and so forth.
- Decide what to make based on those ingredients and what you need to buy.
- Make list and time to go shopping.
VIOLA!!
2. Sometimes a "rough idea" works better if you're not the "planner type":
Plenty of people find a weekly menu very restrictive. So sometimes what's easier if a basic idea.
Such as:
Mondays- Meatless (vegetarian so maybe a chili, tofu, hearty vegetable stew and rice, sushi bowls etc..)
Tuesday- Some type of Taco (chicken, fish, ground meat)
Wednesday- Meat (bbq beef pizzas, pot roast for example)
Thursday- Chicken
You get the idea!
Having a plan like this works well for people that don't want to be confined to a specific menu and instead prefer more creativity in the kitchen, Still, this idea shows that small amount of structure goes a long way.
3. Make it More Enjoyable for You:
Join a new Facebook group with recipes, get a new cookbook (libraries have plenty), try your hand at a new cuisine. Fun can also mean less "work", so maybe focus on doubling one meal a week for the freezer as a way to just take a little load off. Make it a goal to collect fifteen crockpot recipes for example.
4. One Meal a Week is "Free":
I used this a lot when I was commuting two hours a day, while doing construction on our house and had just had our 3rd child.
When you're planning your weekly menu, one day is super chilled. For example, deli subs and frozen fries, take out that night, a pan of leftovers from the freezer, bought rotisserie chicken, or basically anything you don't have to think about. It doesn't require mental or physical energy.
5. You don't have to make dinner right before dinner:
I don't know about you but when my kids come home it's the last thing I want to be doing. I'm helping with homework, playing on the floor, getting baths under way, and they're normally hungry when they get home.
I make dinner while they're in school during the day normally, I have friends that make it the night before because they work full time. You can prep a lot on Sunday for the week if that works for your lifestyle. Regardless, there's no right or wrong time to do it.
Ready to get started?
Here's our favorite DD resources.
Our new grocery pad is FUNCTIONAL AND GORGEOUS!
Our planners come with weekly menu planning, as well as a daily spot to write what you're cooking each day!
Try some of these free printables!
