I would LOVE to shop at just one store each week. This week I used The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Dinnertime Cookbook which is my all time favorite cookbook! Instead, use one cookbook each week or go ahead and print out your recipes from online and stick them in a binder or folder for easy access. This will make your evenings even more stressful and overwhelming than they already are because you will be searching everywhere for the recipe you need. This one is so important if you want to make meal prep time quick and easy! Don’t pick out 7 different recipes from 7 different sources. Plus, this one has a notepad inside where I can write my grocery list! My favorite clipboards are from Target. This makes it so easy to take the grocery store with me. I also like to keep my menu on a clipboard. I have a spot for dinners each day of the week as well as a spot to write down a few ideas for breakfasts, lunches, and snacks. It just wouldn’t be right if I talked about meal planning without offering you guys a free meal planning printable! So, of course, you can head to the bottom of this post to grab yours for free! I like the keep my meal planning printable fairly simple. Try not to make more than one “new” meal each week to keep things a little more streamlined. Make sure to give yourself a little extra time the night you plan to fix your new meal. You may have to read and re-read the recipe instructions several times. “New” to you meals inevitably take longer. #3 Don’t fix more than one “new” meal each week. Just keep this in mind when you are creating your meal plan each week. I don’t mind having a couple more time consuming meals, but I don’t want them to be every night! To me, this means I can get it on the table in 45 minutes or less. I like to have at least 4-5 of my meals be what I consider quick and easy meals each week. Keep things simple and you will be much more likely to follow through with your plan. I’ve tried bi-weekly and monthly menu planning and, while I’m sure it works for some, it just cause a serious case of overwhelm for me! I’ve found that planning for 7 days at a time is long enough to keep from feeling like you are constantly at the grocery store, but also short enough so that you aren’t overwhelmed by the amount of meals you have to plan or groceries you have to buy (and store!) #2 Prepare simple meals.ĭon’t go overboard on elaborate meals. So how do I keep things simple when I’m meal planning? I follow a few guidelines to help ensure that I’m not overcomplicating things. So today I want to share with you my new system and it can both save you time and money and keep things simple and pretty at the same time! □ While I still use a lot of these strategies, I’ve streamlined my process quite a bit. I talked about all of the strategies I used to help our family save as much money as possible at the grocery store. So let’s simplify it!Ībout a year ago, I wrote a post about how I save money by meal planning. But meal planning is such a great way to save time and money! Plus, it doesn’t have to be just another task that overwhelms you each week. Have you ever thought that meal planning was just too complicated and not worth your time? I used to have those same feelings.
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