Meal Planning Tips + The System that Finally Worked for Me

I've shared my meal planning story on here, about moving to Poseyville, finally having to learn how to "adult" in a town with the tiniest grocery store, and how hard it was for me to come up with a plan that actually worked so I didn't have to drive 45 minutes to the store multiple times during the week.

While we live much closer to the store now, it's the system that I still use because not only does it save me time grocery shopping, but it has saved us hundreds of dollars every month and LORD KNOWS it has saved my sanity -- we have two more mouths to feed now, so it's become my saving grace more and more as we add to our family and, thus, have less free time and free dollars.

So today, I'm going to do something I've never done before and share the exact process I use to meal plan!

1. Start with what you already have. The game changer in our house was this one simple step that we started doing before I even began to make a meal plan or write a grocery list. In the most basic sense, it’s finding out what’s left over in your refrigerator and your pantry and then starting to think about how those items can be used in the week ahead. It seems obvious, right? But how many of you actually look in your refrigerator before you start meal planning? There’s so much great stuff in there that can become the starting point for a meal.

2. Brainstorm Think first about what's on hand (always!). You might be able to come up with a few solid ideas right off the bat. If you get stuck, type those ingredients into the Pinterest search bar!

Then, as you begin to add the other ingredients you'll need for whatever meal you chose, think about how can you stretch these ingredients into as many additional meals as possible. Bounce back and forth between adding things to the list, and then brainstorming (or Pinterest searching) ways to stretch those ingredients. You'll be surprised how fast you end up with a week's worth of meals without even having to think of a recipe out of thin air.

3. Schedule Your meal plan is only as good as your ability to fit it into your schedule. Once you've brainstormed a list of meals for the week, it's time to find the best day of the week to make each one. Anything that can be prepped ahead and then assembled quickly at mealtime should be placed on busy days. If you have a weekday that's a little slower and low-key, that's a good place to put a new recipe you've never tried or something a little more involved or time-consuming. And then on the CRAZIEST days, you might just have to pack up your dinner and eat in between meetings, sports practice, Bible study, whatever it is. Those are the days I choose to place meals that are still good when eaten at room temperature, like salads or buddha bowls.

4. Write it down!

One of the perks of being a designer is that you can design things for yourself! I created these meal planning pages about four years ago and I still use them every single week. There's a place for the grocery list (divided by grocery store section) and a monthly view so you can keep track of dinner dates or nights out so you can plan and budget ahead of time. My favorite page is the weekly view with a big space for what you're cooking that day, a spot to remind yourself where the recipe is located, and an extra space to remind yourself to thaw something or start the crock pot! These pages have seriously been a life saver. Feel free to download it for yourself, FOR FREE, below.

Want more? Check out my Meal Planning Online Course, where I teach in-depth on these principles and give you action items you can immediately implement to start meal planning effectively, today!