Creating your menu plan is easy.

Just the first step is hard… Making a commitment!

Once you have made the commitment and started the menu plan, you are on your way.  Essentially all you need to begin is a sheet of paper.  There are many menu planning forms out there, here’s one I came upon recently. I have a small 3 ring binder in the kitchen cupboard that holds my menu plans.  Find a place to keep yours handy in your kitchen.

You can plan breakfast, lunch and dinner for each day, but I found that just having a menu plan for dinner was sufficient.  It is a great help in simplifying my evening routine.  To create a menu, first list the days of the week. Next, decide on an entree and side dishes for each day.

Here is a sample dinner menu plan:

Once you have your menu written out, you can then create a grocery list.  Don’t forget to check your pantry for things you already have on hand.  If a meal you are preparing requires a recipe, put the cookbook and page number right on your menu plan.  Save the menu plans that you create because once you have 6 weeks worth or more, you can re-use them.  Again, it simplifies meal planning even further!  I have been planning menus for more than a decade and have a nice selection of menu plans to mix and match. No menu planning is a no-brainer!

Got to go!  Making chicken quesadillas for dinner!

As a busy wife/mom/entrepreneur, by the time 4:30 rolls around each day I am ready to kick off my shoes, have a cup of tea, and just relax.  But, alas, I cannot.  It’s time to make dinner!

I don’t know about you but the last thing I want to think about is “What’s for dinner?“.  Or the panic feeling “Is anything defrosted?”.  I know that the easy way out is to pick up fast food, but that is not the healthy way out!  Having raised 5 kids, with 3 college kids still at home, dinner is always part of the daily routine.  Years ago, I discovered how to organize dinner time in such a way as to relieve my stress, save me time, and even save me money!  This daily recipe for success involves a menu plan.

A menu plan is a system for planning your meals.

• It helps with preparation because you can make a shopping list from the menu you create.
• It helps ensure that your family eats healthier than the McDonald’s menu.
• It saves you time because you simply follow your plan and take things out to defrost in time for meal preparation.
• It is flexible because you can switch the daily menus.  You have the ingredients on hand so, for example, changing the day you eat tacos will not mess up your week.
• It saves your sanity because you know what you are having and can prepare accordingly – no more last-minute panic!
• It saves money, because you do not buy extra things not on your list because you now know exactly what is needed.

It’s quite simple to make a menu plan – I’ll talk about that next time.  Do you have any questions about menu planning?