Meal Planning Made Easy

In what setting do you find yourself to be the most productive?  I have always functioned best with a  routine and schedule. For me, it's comforting to have a game plan and I find that I am most productive when I am busy and have a predictable day ahead (as predictable as life can be with a one and two year old). Obviously, life can be fickle with sick kids, schedule changes, work obligations etc. but one thing I can guarantee is that my meals for the week are planned and prepped regardless of the curve balls that may be thrown my way.

So here's how its done! I'll walk you through a step by step guide for meal planning to help make weeknight dinners quick, easy and efficient, especially with hungry little ones! Long gone are the nights of winging dinners or stressing to come up with a last minute meal.

Meal Planning is just that....a plan. My goal each week is to have my meals planned out and grocery lists made by the Wednesday prior to the week I am prepping for. Since I grocery shop on Saturdays, I map out my dinners on a Saturday to Friday schedule.

PINTEREST is your friend! I can't tell you how many recipes I have adapted from a Pinterest find. While I am not one to follow recipes to a tee, Pinterest is a great resource for gaining ideas that you can shape into your own based on your preferences. (I am still working on cleaning up my Pinterest board, but if you'd like to see what I am pinning, you can view it here >> Alyssa's Pinterest )

Step ONE: CHOOSE YOUR MEALS 

Since I plan for the week ahead (7 meals at a time), I start by making a draft, which lists the days of the week and potential dinner ideas. Each week, I usually plan to cook 5 meals and leave 2 nights for takeout. I usually leave the take out meals for nights that I know my husband is working late or when we have an obligation that causes us to be out of the house in the evening.

Example:

Step TWO: LIST INGREDIENTS FOR EACH MEAL

This step is essential to creating your grocery list. I go through each recipe and write down the ingredients required to make that particular meal. If I know that I have already have an ingredient at home, I omit it from the list.

Step THREE: THE GROCERY LIST

I do all of my grocery shopping at Trader Joe's and Whole foods, so I essentially divide my list into two columns based on which ingredients I buy from each particular store. I get the bulk of my fresh produce and meats from Whole Foods because I find that they offer a better selection of organic fruits, veggies, meat and poultry. I use Trader Joe's for the majority of my dairy products (cheese, milk, eggs, yogurt, sour cream etc.),  baking ingredients, spices, bread, and wraps because I find them to be priced a lot cheaper than Whole Foods.

Go through your list of ingredients and start transferring each one based on the order in which you progress through the store. For example, I always start in the produce section, so I'll start by listing all of my fruits, veggies and herbs. (Cross these off your ingredient list as you transfer them to your grocery list.) Next, I usually hit the seafood/meat/poultry department so those would go next on my grocery list. You get the point! This just helps me to avoid running from one side of the store to the other. My MAIN goal while grocery shopping is to get in and get out as quickly as possible, especially with two antsy toddlers in tow, so having your list in the order in which you walk through the grocery store helps tremendously!

So there you have it! This may seem overwhelming at first, but once you settle into a routine it becomes second nature. I hope you found this helpful and I can't wait to hear what you think!



* If you don't already follow Bits of Bri Blog, DO IT! She's the master mind behind this grocery list template. She offers a ton of other great lists and guides to help make your life more organized!

XO, Alyssa