If you’re looking for my meal plan this week, you’ll find it over at Life as Mom. Here, you can see Jessica’s tricks for planning meals for her family of eight.
Meal planning is a practice that can save you time, money and energy. On the days that I have a plan and follow it, dinner is on the table at a reasonable hour and as a result, bedtime for my six kids goes more smoothly. We save money because I’m not tempted to have my husband pick up take-out or convenience grocery items on his way home from work. And I save energy because I am not spinning my wheels at the dinner hour, staring into the fridge, wondering what in the world I’m going to feed my family.
Meal planning can make for a less harried mama and that always makes the evenings more pleasant. You’re probably familiar with how Amy keeps her family well fed. Here’s a glimpse into another kitchen to see how the FishFam does it.
During half the year I’ve noticed that I like to plan menus weekly, allowing Spring and Summer produce sales to dictate our week’s meals. But, once Fall and Winter hit, I’d much rather plan a whole month at a time. It seems massive, but it really works for me. And on the months that I can do some freezer cooking, knowing in advance where those make-ahead meals will fit into our schedule is really helpful.
Overall, I like to spread different meal components out. For example, I try to avoid having pasta two nights in a row. Same goes for beef, I like to stretch that over the course of a week’s time. I shoot for variety and sometimes I even hit my target.
This week we’ll be having:
- Pasta w/ Red Sauce and Grilled Italian Sausages, Green Salad, Foccaccia
- Shredded Beef Tacos
- Peanut Butter Chicken
- Turkey Enchilada Casserole, Green Salad, Rice, and Beans Beef Ragu, Pasta, Garlic Bread and Green Beans
- Pizza and Salad
- Roast Turkey and all the trimmings
Do you have a trick to meal planning that really works for you? I’d love to hear it!
Don’t forget to visit I’m an Organizing Junkie’s Menu Planning Monday for more real-life meal planning ideas. –
Jessica Fisher, aka FishMama, is a happy wife and mother to six children, twelve and under. She writes about fun, frugality, and the pursuit of a clean house at LifeasMOM and posts delicious ways to act your wage at Good (&Cheap) Eats.
I look at our local weekly specials every week and decide what we’re going to buy. We also utilize Angel Foods and food donations to get by.
You have a terrific menu planned.
About once every 2 or 3 months, I take a detailed inventory of my pantry, freezer, fridge, etc and play a mix and match game. I try to cook ONLY with what have, buying only fresh produce, milk, cheese, bread, eggs, you know, the things that need to be fresh.