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Planning meals doesn’t have to be hard! Learn meal planning basics with this simple how-to. You’ll be planning fast, easy meals in no time!
“What do you want for dinner?”
Bzzz. “I don’t know. What do you want?”
“I asked you first.” My eyes rolled back in my head. The conversation wasn’t new, but it made my face turn red with irritation every time.
Why You Need a Meal Plan
Life is hectic enough with paying bills, cleaning your house, getting your kids out the door, and meeting your obligations. You DEFINITELY need a game plan for fulfilling a basic human need: food!
Life Before Meal Planning
Figuring out meals as you go can have significant consequences.
First, it adds an extra layer of stress to your day. You’re constantly worrying in the back of your mind about what you’re going to make, whether you have to go to the store, and if you should give up and get fast food (again).
Next, you might even argue with your spouse about what to make for dinner, to the point that you dread having the conversation (I’ve been there!).
You might also feel guilty about serving low-quality meals to your family, because it’s the best thing you could come up with at the last minute.
Life After Meal Planning
Once you start meal planning, life gets easier.
You’ll have less stress because you’ll know what to make, and that you have all the ingredients you need.
You’ll end those arguments about what to have for dinner, because you’ll already have a plan.
You can also stop relying on fast food, serving your family the kinds of meals they deserve.
Meal planning is a big part of getting your household organized and running smoothly, and you’ll be glad you started!
Is Meal Planning Hard?
Meal planning can sound intimidating. You might even be afraid to try it because it sounds like a ton of work! But meal planning doesn’t have to be hard. Your meal plan can be as simple or elaborate as you want it to be.
Want to make roast beef with glazed carrots, quinoa, and chocolate lava cake for dessert? Put it in your meal plan! Do you only have time to boil some spaghetti, heat up some frozen meatballs, and open a can of green beans? That’s a meal plan!
Don’t overthink meal planning. Let it be simple, and know that basic is great. I’m going to walk you through some meal planning basics, so you can start meal planning fast.
Meal Planning Basics
Here’s a fast and easy way to meal plan.
Gather Recipes
The first step in my meal planning basics is to gather recipes.
There are lots of way you can collect recipes. A notebook, recipe cards, even storing them on a cloud drive like Google Drive. But my favorite way to store recipes is with a Pinterest board.
Using Pinterest for Meal Planning
How does it work with a Pinterest board? Simple. Just create a board called Meal Planning. Browse Pinterest and other websites for recipes that meet your needs, and pin them to your board. If you have favorite recipes of your own, you can take pictures of them and upload them directly to Pinterest.
You could even create several meal planning boards, such as Meal Planning – Entrees, Meal Planning – Sides, and Meal Planning – Desserts. Pinterest also currently allows you to organize boards into sections, which would be a great way to organize recipes by type.
The Best Recipes for Meal Planning
One of the biggest reasons people fail at meal planning is that they plan way too much than they have time or energy for. So which types of recipes are best for meal planning?
This is the secret to successful meal planning. Unless you have tons of time and energy to cook, you should probably choose fast and easy recipes. You probably already have some quick go-to recipes that you use a lot. Add those to your body of recipes!
You can also try searching for things like “quick dinner recipes,” “5 ingredient recipes,” “one-dish meals,” etc. Quick, simple recipes will save you time on shopping, preparation, cooking, and cleanup.
You might also want to add recipes that you can make in an instant pot or slow cooker. Instant pot recipes are ready super fast, and slow cooker recipes
If you’re interested in healthy meal planning you should check out my healthy dinner board on Pinterest!
Create a Plan
Once you have a pool of recipes, it’s time to create a meal plan.
Plan Meals at Home
An important part of meal planning basics is to look at your schedule while creating a meal plan.
Consider the time you’ll have each day to prepare breakfast, lunch (including packed lunches for you and your kids), and dinner. Choose simple recipes with minimal prep time for busy days. Save special or more complex recipes for days when your schedule is less packed.
You can record your meal plan on a piece of paper, a custom dry erase board, in your planner, or on your phone.
Write down what you plan to eat for breakfast, lunch, snacks, and dinners for the week. Remember that “meal planning” doesn’t mean that you need to prepare a full meal for each of the above. You can plan to eat a granola bar for breakfast, and an apple for lunch. It’s that simple!
Plan for Leftovers
Chances are, you’ll end up with leftovers from one or more of your planned meals. Remember to schedule a “leftovers” day during the week to use them up! This not only stretches your food dollar, it also gives you a day where all you have to do is heat up leftovers.
You can plan to double some recipes so you’ll have leftovers, or just eat a combination of leftovers from different meals. Friday and Saturday are great days to eat leftovers.
Plan When You’ll Eat Out
Another part of meal planning basics is to plan for when you’ll eat out. Whether you eat out weekly or only occasionally, get it on the schedule. As a result, you’ll be less likely to abandon your plan and eat out at the last minute.
Create a Shopping List
Next on the to-do list of meal planning basics is to create a shopping list.
Go through each recipe, while checking your kitchen cabinets for ingredients. Write down the ingredients you need to buy. Super simple!
As you’re checking your kitchen for ingredients, remember to double-check pantry staples you’ll be using, such as flour, cornstarch, etc. Otherwise, you might discover while cooking the meal that you don’t have enough on hand for the recipe.
Remember to add snacks and sides to your shopping list.
Identify Meal Planning Ingredients in Your Kitchen
After you’ve shopped for ingredients, you might need to separate them from the rest of the food in your kitchen. As a result, your family will know that they’re for a specific recipe, and (hopefully) won’t eat them.
This can be as simple as placing sticky notes on items, or even placing meal plan items in plastic bins in your refrigerator or pantry. If your family members are old enough and mature enough (Looking at you, dads!), you can also request that they double-check with you prior to using food.
Meal Planning Basics: Conclusion
Meal planning can seem intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be hard. Here’s a quick recap of my meal planning basics for busy women.
- Gather fast, easy recipes in a notebook, cloud drive, or on a Pinterest board
- Create a meal plan with your schedule in mind by planning simpler meals on your busiest days
- Create a shopping list by comparing ingredient lists for each recipe with what’s in your kitchen
- Identify meal planning ingredients in your kitchen so your family won’t accidentally eat them before the meal is prepared
Start meal planning now so you can avoid the dreaded, “What’s for dinner?” conversation in the future!
What’s your biggest obstacle when it comes to meal planning? Let me know in the comments below!