I am always looking for ways to improve my meal planning. Meal planning seems to be some sort of science. The best meal planning utilizes one item for multiple dishes, includes items that are on sale or that you have a coupon for, and keeps everyone in your family happy, satisfied and healthy. That’s a tall order.
My husband and I were married almost 2 years ago, and ever since then my goal has been to come up with a “Favorite’s List” of dishes that we all enjoy, that are fairly easy to make, that do not use expensive ingredients, and that are pretty healthy. We finally put together that list the other day. I’ve tried all kinds of different dishes, a lot that worked, and some that well….didn’t.
We came up with a list of 31 dishes for our “Favorite’s List”. I will use this list every month and rotate these dishes throughout the month. I plan to make copies of the list and then cross off what I have made for the month and continue down the list. It takes a lot of pressure off of me to try and come up with our weekly meals. Now I can look at the grocery store flyer and at the coupons I have, and pick the dishes that best use those items. I also do not have to think whether everyone will like the dishes or not because these are tried and true recipes that I have already cooked and they have already enjoyed! Bonus.
I will of course throw one or two new dishes in there each month depending on ingredients and coupons. I love this idea. I will keep you updated on how well it is working, but so far so good!
I love making my life simpler ANY way I can! In what ways do you make meal planning and grocery shopping simpler?
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November 18, 2009 at 12:41 pm
Steph
Great idea. I’d love to see your list of meals! Maybe we can swamp some recipes sometime.
November 18, 2009 at 1:09 pm
Elisa
Hi Michelle,
It’s great that you’re starting your menu planning/simplifying so early in your marriage!
I have 5 children, a husband and 2 parents living in my home, so coming up with meals that every likes is almost impossible. What I have done is let the children choose the recipe when it’s their night to cook, so they know they’ll like it and are more motivated.
For a couple of years I had a one month rotation, but have recently increased it to 2 months. Since some of these are new recipes, they get removed if the majority of the family doesn’t like them.
My original menu was focused on keeping the meals simple, mainly using 4 ingredient cookbooks, because the kids were doing so much of the cooking. Now the kids all have more experience, so my focus is on creating a nutritious menu. Often times that just means using healthier ingredients in an existing recipe.
I would love to get to the place where we could eat from a nutritious menu and shop the ads.
Blessings ~
Elisa
November 18, 2009 at 1:51 pm
Michelle Traudt
Yes, my husband and I were both married before and were both single parents for awhile before we got married. We definitely had some work to do in combining our menus. It’s been fun and I’m so glad we now have the list. Now I can just add to it and update as needed. Thanks for the comment!