You have waited long enough for this post, and I’m finally brave enough to share my process. Now, let me start by saying that in no way am I a pro, but I do try to do this weekly. A lot of the times, I go in with the best intentions but then life happens and things fall apart. BUT when I do accomplish this and feel like a domestic goddess, this is the process I follow. I would love to know if you are a meal planner or a fly by the seat of your pants kind of gal. If you would like to read my weekly meal plan post, where I go into detail on recipes I’ve used and loved, I’ve linked it for you. Let’s get into my meal planning made simple post!
Step 1: Mentally Prepare
What works best for me is to gather myself on Saturdays and focus solely on planning my next week out. I make sure I’m in a good headspace to get it done, and always feel so great when I do. After I’ve done this, it’s time to begin!!
Step 2: Gather My supplies
For me, I use a chalkboard to write out my meals, but you can use whatever you want; a dry erase board, your phone, or just a plain old piece of paper. I will first grab my board and erase the previous week’s meals so I have a clean slate. Before I do this, I will write down and transfer over any meals we didn’t actually get around to making. That way you have a couple of meals all ready to go for the next week. I will grab my meal planning binder (I will go over this in a coming post), my phone and I will get to work. I keep everything in one spot in my kitchen so it’s easy to grab.
Step 3: Find The Recipes
I LOVE Pinterest for all my recipes. I’ve tried using cookbooks, but I love that I can type in exactly what I’m wanting and pull it right up. I’ve linked my Pinterest for you guys here if you wanna head over and check out my recipes I’ve used and love. Once I locate the recipe I want to use for a meal, I will write it down on my weekly plan and start getting the ingredients written down that I will need. I like to try and shop my pantry as best I can, but sometimes it will call for an item I don’t have.
Step 4: Create My Shopping List
For those of you who do not know, I suffer from wicked anxiety when it comes to grocery stores. I have discovered it is so much easier to shop online, and I have fallen in love with Walmart Grocery Online. This makes it so easy to get the items I need and I don’t even need to get out of my car!! If you would love $10 off your first order, here is my link! They are really great with substitutions too, in case they don’t have what you ordered. And they always greet you with a cold bottle of water. I gather all the items I need, and meals I will be making onto my Meal Planning Printable that you get FOR FREE when you subscribe to the blog, so make sure you do this so you can snag yours!
Step 5: Prep For The Following Week
When I get those groceries in the house, I like to prep for the week. I will gather all the items needed for next week’s meals into one space, so we don’t accidentally use it and I will cut and wash any produce, hard boil my eggs and divide my meat (if I’ve bought in bulk that week). This way, nothing is gone to waste and I get it done and over with so I can enjoy my Sunday. There you have it! This is the process I use to plan all our family meals and a way to guarantee your success while doing it. I would love to know what you use to plan out your meals if you plan them out at all! Is this something you are wanting to do more, or get better at?
