How I Make Monthly Meal Planning Work for Me

 

Meal planning felt like it was overtaking my life. Look at the calendar. Plan some family favorites. Find some new meal ideas. Realize that the recipe won’t work because of sports practices. Move things around. Check my shopping list against what we have at home.  Shop.  Prep & put away the groceries.  And repeat.

I love meal planning and grocery shopping and cooking.  Love it!  But I hated this cycle.

So almost two years ago, I decided I had to make a change.

I had never menu planned for a month at a time but I was desperate.  And I love it.  But before I could love it, I had to find out what works for us.  I read blog posts, watched some YouTube videos, gleaned some tips.  The first few months took me a l-o-n-g time to fill out the menu. {Some months it still does…looking for recipes on the internet is so distracting!}  Some months I stick to it better than others but, mostly, it continues to work well for us.

Tip 1: What are you doing this month?

Yes, I know, this seems like an obvious tip.  I get it!  Also…do you know how many times I’ve planned an entire month’s worth of meals only to realize I forgot to account for a night when an evening activity will impact the meal?!  Or a meal that needs to be started mid-afternoon on a day we have to be gone in the afternoon?

So make sure you have it all on your calendar–sports practices, travel, your husband’s work schedule, co-op days, etc.

I used to love crockpot meals on Mondays.  Our new co-op, though, has us out of the house by 7:15 on Mondays.  I have no desire to allot meal prep time before that!  We hit the afternoon hard after co-op, so I need low-prep meals on Mondays, often in the form of an Instant Pot meal.

Do you like to have weekly theme nights?  Be sure you have those written down, too, so you don’t forget to plan around Taco Tuesday, Meatless Monday, or whatever themes your family loves.

Take into account things like your weekly energy level, too.  On Fridays, I want something that takes minimal effort.  I am tired and ready for something easy.

Tip 2: Be realistic.

I always feel empowered at the beginning of the month.  And then, as the month goes on, reality sets in.  It’s too easy to be optimistic a month out.  Most likely, a deluxe meal isn’t going to happen each night, no matter how easy that video made it look.  Cooking completely from scratch every night may sound easy enough.  And then the busyness of your month sets in and, most likely, you start wishing for shortcuts.  A month of mostly new recipes may sound fun..until two weeks in when your family is asking for their favorites.

Embrace reality.

You don’t have to make every sauce from scratch.  Not every meal needs multiple side dishes.  Family favorites are favorites for a reason.  Some nights just need a super-quick meal.

 

Tip 3: Expect the unexpected.

(Anyone else’s mind immediately switch to Big Brother?! I used to love that show…)

Planned on-the-go meals for sports nights? ✔️
Planned quick meals for music practice nights? ✔️
Planned slow-cooker meals for days when you’re out of the house? ✔️

And then a carpool falls through, sports practices get rained out, you realize you forgot to purchase a main ingredient, a spontaneous moms-night-out invitation pops up on Facebook.

I try to keep a couple of meals in the pantry/freezer that I can easily throw together on the nights when things just don’t go as I planned.  Pasta sauce, hamburger patties, shredded chicken, etc.  If we don’t eat them that month, they move over to actual meals for the following month.  

Tip 4: Leave space for new ideas & cravings.

Leaving a few empty nights in your menu plan.  That sounds like the opposite of planning, I know.  But you are planning–you’re planning for new things.  Sometimes having an entire month filled out can leave people (ahem, me!) feeling boxed in and wanting to throw the whole thing out.  Where’s the flexibility?  Where’s the space for new recipes or ingredients I find?  Planning for that results in me sticking to the menu plan much better.

I usually leave three empty nights in the month.  You come across a recipe that you just have to make.  Or you find yourself craving a meal that isn’t planned.  Or you find meat marked down when you ran to the store for that one ingredient you forgot.  (Just me??!)   If I find that meal still unplanned a few days out, I go ahead and fill it in.

Tip 5: Don’t lock yourself into eating at home each night.

Sometimes meal planning by the month (or week) makes people feel like they have to eat at home each night.  Nope!  Meal planning is just knowing what you will eat each day. If your family enjoys eating out, put in those nights you go out to eat.

Bonus: I find that I enjoy those nights off of cooking when I can see them on the menu plan ahead of time.  We rarely eat out during the week but, once every other month or so, I like to schedule a mid-week pizza night.  It feels extra fun to get a mid-week break and my kids love the change.