Monthly and Weekly Meal Planning

Recently, I decided to get back into a habit I had several years ago partly because it was so much better for my budget but also partly out of desperation.  I was soooo tired of hearing the question, "Mom, what's for breakfast?"  or "Mom, what's for lunch?"  I figured the best way to get them to stop asking me what they could eat was to provide a list of items for them to choose from.   Originally, the plan was they had a list of 5 items each week to choose from for breakfast and 5 items for lunch.  Once they chose an item for that week, it was no longer an option and they had to choose from the remaining items on the list.  That worked at first, but then one would choose sandwiches when the other chose frozen burritos and they'd forget, lose track, or lament their own choice.  It became a burden with PadaThree because she wanted what BOTH of what the boys had and then she wouldn't eat half of either item.  Clearly, this was NOT working.  So while I was coming up with a monthly meal plan, I decided to implement breakfast and lunch in there as well and provide the whole family with meal lists.  We are week 5 and so far, this is working beautifully! 

{I got into a conversation with a friend on Facebook about getting new ideas for meals and creating a list and I promised her a more detailed description of how I do this and how I rearrange my month (or week) when activities pop up.  So, this is it!}

First, I started by listing out all of our favorite meals...including the standard go-to meals I always fix (and that we're getting sick of), the Pinterest recipes I wanted to try, the once-in-a-while favorites that we enjoy but I forget to make, etc.  When making this list, I didn't stop until I had more than 30 meals listed so that unless we wanted to we would never have to have a repeat meal in any given month.  Then I got out my 3x5 cards (and to make it fun, I used the colored ones I've been saving...) and I put one meal on each card.  You can see there are a couple of aspects to each card:

~~The name of the meal is at the top left, followed by the list of ingredients required for that meal.  This is typically *not* a recipe for me because I so rarely follow recipes.  However, there are a few cards in there (my Pinterest ones) that actually have a recipe on it.  I cook mainly using methods rather than recipes so I list out whatever is needed to make the particular dish.
  
~~To the right of the title is a capital letter.  "S" is for Stovetop, "C" is for Crockpot, "O" is for Oven.  This mainly helps me in the next phase of my monthly plan so that I can quickly pull out all the "C" cards for the days I know I'm going to need a Crockpot meal and choose easily from those cards.  {Thinking about this after-the-fact, I realize it might have made sense to use the color of the card to indicate which style of cooking is required for that meal and then I could pull based on color.  If you choose to do this method of meal-planning, that might be the way you do it!}

~~In the bottom-right of the card (and in a different color of ink) I list out the standard side dishes we like to have with that particular meal.  So with spaghetti or lasagna, I always have garlic bread, but also have salad, corn, etc...because what I choose to go with that main dish will be determined each week by my schedule.  (You'll see how this comes together in a bit.)

~~The binder clip on the top stack of cards is the current month's meal stack so that each week when I make the plan for the family, I just pull from the clipped stack and leave the others alone.

~~On the Pinterest recipes that are new to us...I particularly like having the 3x5 cards for this because if we hate the recipe I can toss the card.  But if it's one that needs changing or one that we think would be better with xyz spice, I just make a notation on that card for the next time I make it.  Then when I plan that meal, I adjust accordingly.  Once we have a meal/dish to revamped to our liking, I just write out a new card with the list of ingredients needed for how we like it.


Next, I printed out a standard calendar for the month.  Blank.  Black and white.  I didn't need anything too fancy.  (I chose to print out a year in advance, but you wouldn't have to.)  I sat down with all of my cards, my family's activity calendar, and a pencil and started filling in the days that I knew we would be home for an evening meal.  I do this in pencil because I often change my mind mid-plan and rearrange the days.  I try to alternate beef, pork, and chicken so that we don't get too sick of any one meat through the week.  Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.  {sorry for the shadow on the pictures....}

~~Based on our schedule (that I know ahead of time) I plan out the month.  On the days that we need a faster meal, I put one in place that is either a one-pot-wonder or a meal that comes together quickly for me.  Above, we had an evening that was a Bible study so I put Stroganoff in that spot because I can throw that one together in about 30 minutes.  Easy to do after a long day of homeschooling!

~~Notice in the first week there's an arrow that switches Tuesday and Wednesday.  This happened because of a last minute activity that was planned and I needed to switch the two meals based on the amount of time I had to prepare the meal.

~~Also, in the first week, there is an item circled (Ham and Beans...YUM!).  That one I circled because we never got to have it that week.  We had enough in leftovers in the first 3 days of the week that we had a Must-Go night (where everything in the fridge "must go!") so I didn't cook that night.  Yay me!  

The next thing I do is print out this weekly meal planner (there are several available online, just find the one you like).  I print this out each month x4 so that I have each week ready to fill in on the weekend.  Incidentally, ALL of these things I have printed out and stored in a folder on my desk so they are all within easy reach.  I love being able to fill this out so that the kids know what they can have for breakfast without asking me and I can spread out their favorite foods throughout the week.  A few months ago I had taken away cereal because they went through it soooo fast (who can just eat ONE bowl of cereal??) and because of the sugar.  However, by doing this method, I get to toss it back into the mix for them to offer a fast breakfast on mornings when we're in a hurry.  Score for mom!  I place this paper on the island in the kitchen or on the fridge (if I can keep it high enough so PadaThree doesn't take it down and disappear with it!) and then everyone can find it.

 

    

 The last step in my weekly/monthly planning is to print out my shopping list.  Now, this list is something I developed on my own when PadaOne was just a baby (and he'll be 13 soon!!  Waaaaa!).  I typed up a list of our "standard" purchases.  Being the OCD person I am...and thinking that shopping needs to be done in a logical, organized fashion in order to save time *and* money...I organized the list into not only the "aisle order" of my local WallyWorld, but also in the order that I shop.  When I walk in, I immediately go to the left (toward the pharmacy) and basically "circle" the store......you know:  pharmacy/beauty, home stuff, toys, electronics, clothing/baby, cleaning products, and then grocery.  Everyone else does this, right?  (Don't answer that!) 

Anyway, this standard list has changed a LOT over the years.  When I started it, we had a little one on formula and in diapers.  We used a different kind of soap...shampoo...deodorant then.  I bought a lot more "convenience" foods and hadn't yet learn to make many of them from scratch.  Plus, in the ever-changing world of marketing, the aisles have changed through the years and I've had to adjust my list accordingly.  I typically only update it once or twice year.

When I print it out, I have it handy (on the island in the kitchen) so that whenever I discover an item that needs to be purchased that week I can either circle it (if it's one of the standards) or write it onto the page in the approximate location of that item in the store.

Now, it all comes together.....

Once a month, I create the monthly meal plan and clip the cards together for that month.  For the new month, I pull meals first from the stack that is not clipped (from the previous month) and fill in as much as I can that way.  Only then do I dip back into the meals we ate the month before.  I don't always have to do choose from the previous month, but sometimes I want to because it's a food we like to have regularly.  (Time needed:  15-ish minutes, depending on how many times I get interrupted by the Padas.)

When I'm at the point that I am ready to plan for the next week and do my shopping (this varies from week to week based on schedule and weather), I take a look at the family schedule for the next week and see if I need to do any tweaking to the meal plan.  If everything is good to go, I copy over the week's meals to the Weekly page and add in breakfast and lunch items that we want to have.  In doing this, I also pull out the cards for that week's dinner meals and make notations of what sides I feel like cooking with that main dish.  (It is all up to me, right? :D)  I add these side dishes onto the Weekly page so the kids know what is going with each meal...again, remember the plan is for them to have the responsibility of checking the calendar and not having to ask repeatedly what we're having.  While I have the cards out, I take inventory of what's needed to make each meal and circle items on the shopping list that I *know* I will need to purchase.  If there are items I'm unsure of, I just use a sticky note to keep track of that.  Once I get this all finished, I check the pantry and make sure I have what I thought I had and adjust the shopping list.   (Time needed:  eh...maybe 30 minutes?  I really don't think it takes me that long now, but it might.)

The last thing to do is go shopping and put it all away.  Thankfully, I have the Padas to help me with this chore!  :)

Now, what happens if, on Tuesday of a week, I get a call and we have to be somewhere at 6 and the meal I had planned will take me longer to prepare than the time allowed for that day?  Easy.  I have a couple of options:

1) Take a look at the meals for the rest of the week and see if there's one I can switch around with this one.  If I've shopped correctly, I should have everything on-hand and this shouldn't be *too* hard to accomplish.

2) If I have the meat thawed out to use that works well in another, easier dish, and I have the ingredients on hand to make it, just switch it out.  I try really hard to have enough "extra" ingredients on hand to make a throw-together meal without too much difficulty.  Sometimes this easier dish might be from later in the month.  Not a problem...just switch it out.  Make a note on the monthly calendar of it and it all works out.

3) Always have an easy meal, that is shelf-stable, in the pantry for days such as this.  I almost always have tuna packets in the house and in a pinch I have no problems mixing up tuna salad and we have sandwiches.  Then if I use those packets, I add them to the shopping list for the next trip to the store so I can restock that easy meal.


Reading back over this, it looks quite daunting at first.  I admit, the initial set up is a bit time consuming.  But the original list of 30+ meals I created while the kids were doing a youth activity at church and I had a few minutes to sit and chill.  And really, in the end, once you get the initial set up complete the rest is pretty easy to keep up. 

Now, time to finish up school for the day so we can get the rest of our chores done and make some etouffee!  ;)

Happy planning!

Amanda