Begin with what you already make.
Sit down for a few minutes and write out a list of your family’s favorite meals. Jot down every meal you’ve made in the last month. What if you end up with only a few meals? That’s okay. You still have a starting point!
Now make a meal plan based on your list. Some moms like to do a week at a time, some two weeks, and some a month (impressive!). Have your family chip in and pick a favorite meal for each week’s plan.
Here’s an example weekday main-course menu using this strategy:
- Chili
- Taco salad
- Spaghetti with meat sauce
- Baked chicken chimichangas
- Honey teriyaki chicken with rice
Once you have your meal list (free printable above), make a list of ingredients next to each meal to simplify writing your grocery list.
This method gives you assurance that your family will like the meals you plan! That means less throwing out food and more time to find new recipes you know are winners.
Use themes.
Cookbooks, blogs, and Pinterest overflow with delicious-looking recipes. Where do you begin? Keep it simple. Choose themes for every day, then fit your meals each week to your themes.
Have Marinara Monday, Taco Tuesday, Soup & Sandwich Wednesday, Casserole Thursday, Fish Friday, Pizza Saturday, and Crock Pot Sunday. One day could be food from the grill, another could be breakfast foods, salads, wraps, BBQ—you name it!
Here’s an example weekday main-course menu using this strategy:
- Baked ziti
- Chicken tacos
- Grilled cheese sandwiches with tomato soup
- Broccoli, chicken, and rice casserole
- Panko-breaded baked tilapia
For a different spin, you could try themed proteins.
Have seafood Monday, chicken Tuesday, beans Wednesday, turkey Thursday, and pork Friday. Of course you don’t have to do a different protein each day of the week. If you want to make a double batch of chicken Tuesday for Wednesday’s meal, go for it! Doing themed proteins ensures variety, but we all know there are countless ways to make chicken. ;)
Here’s an example weekday main-course menu using this strategy:
- Shrimp alfredo
- Grilled chicken and vegetables
- Black bean, salsa, and cheese quesadillas
- Turkey burgers
- BBQ pork baked potatoes
Once you have your themes set, you have one fewer decision to make each week (and that’s always a good thing).
Work backwards from the sales pages.
You might be thinking “I already buy what’s on sale!” Go one step further by being intentional about what you buy, and you’ll have this one down.
Besides being really easy, what’s another great thing about this strategy? You can combine it with any of the other meal-planning strategies.
If boneless skinless chicken breasts are BOGO, you know this is a good week for grilled chicken and baked chicken chimichangas. If you’re not sure yet what to do for Marinara Monday, seeing that meatballs are on sale could give you the idea for spaghetti and meatballs and/or meatball subs. The opportunities here are pretty much endless, so have fun with it!