Today I am going to share a few ideas on organizing a weekly menu plan. Over the past several years, I have heard several different sources say that one thing that is going by the wayside in our country is the family dinner hour. I have also heard the statistics that many families turn regularly to fast food or take out several times a week. Not only can our budget not handle this type of meal time but I don't think it is a very healthy way of eating. It may seem that as a homeschool mom, I have plenty of time during the day to figure out what's for dinner. I may be home, but between schooling my children and running to lessons and other activities during the week, I have fallen into the rut of fast food/take out cuisine or running to the store every day to pick up something quick to make. Don't get me wrong, I love a good rotisserie chicken just like the next gal, but this really isn't the way I want my family to remember our home life. So- I sat down one day with my calendar. Wait....calendar? Yes my calendar. I wanted to see what things were going on each day/evening and which day/evening we would be home. On the days that we would be home during the day but had an evening activity, I planned a meal that could be made in the afternoon but would be easy to clean up like tacos, spaghetti etc. On the days that we would be gone most of the day I chose a crock-pot meal. Then, I went from the meals to the shopping list and wrote out what I needed. From this simple plan, I decided that I would pick one day a week to try a new recipe. For a season, when my oldest was learning to plan meals, I had her choose one breakfast, lunch and dinner to make each week. I let her choose which days she wanted to fix which meals and we put them into the plan. I must say that we not only have decent meals each week but I saved money. We do, occasionally, still pick up a rotisserie chicken but not as often.
Do you have a way of planning your weekly menus? I'd love to hear any and all tips from my readers so leave a comment.
Tomorrow's topic- Organizing that grocery list!
4 comments:
When my children were younger I did a monthly menu plan. Within that monthly plan was a weekly outline (i.e. Monday - pasta, Tuesday - chicken, Wednesday - pizza, etc.) Now that it is just the two of us I do a weekly menu with an outline using a particular protein for each night. I've done meal planning in a variety of ways but this seems to work the best for me.
I plan our menu twice a month because I grocery shop every other week. (It started when we first got married and we both got paid every other week, but 12 years later, I still like to shop that way.) Anyway, I look at our calendar and plan around how busy I anticipate the weeks to be. I'm flexible about it, and if plans change or someone gets sick or we just don't feel like what I planned, I'll switch the days around, but I love having a plan so that I don't have to think about what to cook at 5 o'clock!
I like "theme" nights...soup on Tuesday, breakfast for dinner on Wednesday, etc. I also make a rough plan on my grocery list as I shop, ensuring that I have something available for each night, although specific meals can be changed to a different night.
The thing that is most helpful to me? Giving myself a deadline. My own rule is to know what I am having for dinner no later than lunchtime. That's probably way too late for non-procrastinators. :D But it keeps this procrastinator on track.
Cheryl- I like the idea of a deadline. I also like Kristin's two week plan- may have to work up to that. I also like theme nights and Joanne's planning of a different protein each night. Great ideas!
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