I eat at home 99% of the time. I just think there’s nothing better than a home cooked meal. I love going out for dinner, don’t get me wrong, but I just feel healthier if I can plan out my own food and know who cooked it! Besides I’m a fussy eater so sometimes it can be difficult for me to find something I want to eat on a menu.
So having to think up every day what we’re going to make for dinner can be SUCH a pain. I don’t know how my mother did it. Then when you decide what to have, you go to the fridge and realise you don’t have everything you need.
This must be an even bigger pain if you have kids and making sure they eat right. Especially if you’re out at work all day Monday to Friday. It can be so difficult to organise your time to get the supermarket, get home, unpack everything and only then start into the cooking.
Which is why I think Meal Planning is probably one of the most important things to do if you are trying to keep a busy household organised. With meal plans, there are so many benefits:
- You can plan out your food shopping so you will have the food you need for the meals you want to make
- By planning out your meals, you can plan when you’ll go food shopping and arrange your time accordingly
- By planning out your food shopping, you don’t waste money on food you already had and didn’t realise
- It reduces food waste, which again, saves you money but is also good for the planet
- It reduces rows at the table and never ending discussions on what to eat because everyone knows what’s for dinner everyday
- It sets up a routine and this allows you to plan your time and day around family meals
- It gives you head space, thoughts have already gone into the meal plan, so you can move onto thinking about something else
I had a meal plan going a few months ago and then had to take it off the wall one day & I forgot to put it back. It has been a pain trying to figure out what to have and when to shop and I kept meaning to put it back up. So now, it’s Back to School time, so it’s a good time to get planning again.
The Meal Plan I make out is two weeks worth of meals. This means that we have something different every day for 14 days and then we go back to Week 1 again. That’s just how I do it, as I’m not a great cook so this works for me.
However, if you like to cook and have the time to do so, then doing out a meal plan every week might be for you.
Meal planning, is very much connected with your time. A meal plan will greatly help your time management if you set it up and give it a go. Therefore, be realistic with your time when planning. Don’t say you’ll do one each week, if you don’t think you will. If you’re getting the family involved with it, then it might be more realistic to ask them once a month what they want, rather than every week.
Meal plans are so easy to set up.
On the one I’ve created here, it was as simple as inserting a table into a Word document. I just prettied it up a bit to make it more fun to use!
As you can see, I’ve two weeks running, and every day of the week mapped out. There’s lots of space to handwrite in what I’m planning for every meal of the day.
Meal plans aren’t rocket science but are seriously one of the handiest things to have operating in your home, especially if you’re very busy.
And if you don’t feel like making you’re own, download and print off my one to use for Free!
Download your FREE printable here – Meal Plans-2015
Happy Organising!
