Meal planning chart
This post was originally published on November 3, 2012. What’s YOUR favorite meal planning style? In case you missed the previous posts, I’ve already addressed the methods for weekly and bi-weekly meal planning. I’m sure there are lovers and haters of the monthly meal plan. Chicken Caesar Sandwiches, seasonal fruit.Turkey Pesto Panini, Oven Fries, seasonal vegetables.Pasta with Quick Red Sauce, seasonal vegetables, rolls.Meatballs & Mashed Potatoes, seasonal vegetables.Rice Bowls with Chicken, Potstickers, and seasonal vegetables.Bean and Cheese Burritos, Mexican Rice, salad.Meatloaf, Stuffed Potatoes, seasonal vegetables.Chicken Enchilada Casserole, rice, beans.Turkey and Pepper Lettuce Wraps, Potstickers with Dipping Sauce.Skillet Pork Chops, Cheesy Potatoes, seasonal vegetables.
![meal planning chart meal planning chart](https://thenourishinghome.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/TNH-Meal-Plan-SAMPLE1.jpg)
Carnitas Soft Tacos, leftover beans and rice.Homemade Sloppy Joes, Veggie Tray, Salad.A meal plan can give you direction without being the law.Īnd a meal plan for a whole month can buy you a lot of time down the road. To really be successful in life and in serving great meals, you need to be flexible. By the end of the month, it may look like a very complicated football play, but that’s okay!
Meal planning chart free#
We usually have a special St Patrick’s Day Meal with our kids so I simply bumped date night and the accompanying easy kid meal to the 18th.įeel free to change it up as different things happen throughout the month, drawing arrows where you’ll swap tonight’s meal with another night. On the example above, you can see I goofed by writing date night on March 17th. Remember you’re not married to this plan! Write it in pencil if it makes you feel less committed.
Meal planning chart pro#
Pro tip: This process is super easy if you already have Meal Plan Theme Nights.Start adding meals into the remaining squares, alternating meatless with meat, or varying the proteins from night to night to keep things exciting.Look at the nights that have regular activities like sports practice and games.Plug in regular meals, like Friday Pizza Night or Soup Night, that you have every week.Those meals will be different than regular nights, so you’ll want to remember to plan for something special. Plunk down special events and holidays.If it’s a blank printable calendar, like the one pictured ( get yours here – newsletter subscribers, log into the library), fill it in with the dates for the month. Print out a calendar for the month or open a digital one in the app of your choice.It’s important to use what’s already on hand so you can save money and prevent food waste. Here’s the basic method for planning a month of meals at a time:
![meal planning chart meal planning chart](https://homeschoolbase.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/instant-pot-meal-plan-1.jpg)
Planning a month in advance can help you save money through bulk buying and watching sales for things you know you’ll want in a few weeks.įor instance, if you know that you’re going to celebrate St Patrick’s Day with a Shepherd’s Pie and that your father-in-law would enjoy chips and salsa when he comes to visit at the end of the month, you can plan those meals now and keep an eye out for sales to help you make those meals happen. You can save even more with effective meal planning. We’ve already established that avoiding food waste will help you save money. If you’re wanting to ramp up your organization and kill four birds with one stone, monthly meal planning is for you! You can save money. It helps me know that I’m ahead in some area of life, and that if I know nothing else, at least I know what’s for dinner. Whenever life starts to feel really busy, I get the urge to meal plan for a whole month. If you know you’re going to meal plan each week, why not plan several weeks at one time?
![meal planning chart meal planning chart](http://dailyburn.com/life/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Meal-Planning-Template-Cents-and-Order.jpg)
You can save time.īatching tasks has been said to help us be more productive and do more with our minutes. In so doing, I can space out my ingredients so that I don’t use up all the proteins the first week and then slog through on beans and rice for the other three weeks of the month. When I’m doing a Pantry Challenge, it’s almost imperative that I meal plan for a whole month. Planning the month at one time helps you take a long view so you don’t get bored eating the same thing. Instead, you can avoid food waste and use up what you have. By taking an inventory of what you have, you realize that you might not need to buy much more. The first step in the Good Cheap Eats System is to shop your kitchen. Meal planning for a month can help you stretch your resources-be they the groceries you have on hand, the time in your schedule, or the money you budget each month to buy food. Well, my friend, meal planning is your ticket to saving food, time, and money, as well as a fair amount of the stress that occurs when you or those you love start to get hangry. Meal plan for a whole month? What, are you crazy? I can’t plan two days, how could I possibly meal plan for a whole month? And why would you want to?