Mealtime can seem so overwhelming when you have a busy family life. Having a large family, it seems we are always running around doing something. Learning to meal plan definitely helped me get a hold of our lives! And these super easy tips will help anyone master meal planning in just 5 minutes!
Learning how to MEAL PLAN IN just 5 MINUTES.
You can do this and it really will only take you 5 minutes. The key to achieving this is realizing meals can be as simple as possible. You don’t have to put in all the details of your meal (unless you want).
WRITE THE DAYS OF THE WEEK
I know this step may seem self-explanatory, but people seem to forget that this should be your first step. People want to immediately go to the step of picking out their favorite beef dishes, or adding cauliflower to a meal because it’s already in the fridge.
You have to list your days first! There may be a day where you know you won’t have to cook, or you know that you eat something specific during a weekday. Does your family have pizza for dinner every Friday? Write that meal in for Friday. Do you participate in Taco Tuesday? That’s another meal! Dinner out on Sundays? That counts, too. If you didn’t write down the days FIRST, you might not have realized that you have 2 of your 7 meals figured out already.
You have to list your days first! There may be a day where you know you won’t have to cook, or you know that you eat something specific during a weekday. Does your family have pizza for dinner every Friday? Write that meal in for Friday. Do you participate in Taco Tuesday? That’s another meal! Dinner out on Sundays? That counts, too. If you didn’t write down the days FIRST, you might not have realized that you have 2 of your 7 meals figured out already.
FOCUS ON PROTEINS AND THEMES
Think about the proteins that are always on your meal planning list each week. Make sure those are represented in your simple meal plan. Our family generally has a beef, chicken, and pork dish each week. Thinking of those proteins makes it easier for me to write down what we are going to have. We also love to have at least one Tex-Mex and one Asian dish per week. Again, making it easy for me to fill in the blanks on my meal plan.
Remember you don't have to fret over WHICH chicken dish to make that week. You can just write "chicken dish" or even "chicken leg dish" if you do want to be more specific. This allows your brain to schedule the meal in your head which gives you time to actually think of how you want to put the meal together. You could even put things like "slow cooker chicken dish" so you know how the meal will be made, but still give yourself the liberty to decide on the other ingredients. This is helpful if you want to use up items in the fridge or freezer.
FILL IN THE BLANKS
Now you should have most of your meal plan done (and be around the 3 or 4-minute mark). Look back at what you've written and start filling in any blanks. Have you added a pasta dish? What about a vegetarian dish? Fill in the blanks with meals that are easy for you to put together and use up items you already have on hand in your kitchen.
CONGRATULATIONS!
You're done! You should have all the week's meals figured out by this time. Whether you stuck with your tried-and-true meals or gave yourself the option of trying something new by only listing the protein for the meal, you are one step ahead. Celebrate your accomplishment!
Remember you don't have to fret over WHICH chicken dish to make that week. You can just write "chicken dish" or even "chicken leg dish" if you do want to be more specific. This allows your brain to schedule the meal in your head which gives you time to actually think of how you want to put the meal together. You could even put things like "slow cooker chicken dish" so you know how the meal will be made, but still give yourself the liberty to decide on the other ingredients. This is helpful if you want to use up items in the fridge or freezer.
FILL IN THE BLANKS
Now you should have most of your meal plan done (and be around the 3 or 4-minute mark). Look back at what you've written and start filling in any blanks. Have you added a pasta dish? What about a vegetarian dish? Fill in the blanks with meals that are easy for you to put together and use up items you already have on hand in your kitchen.
CONGRATULATIONS!
ONE LAST TIP:
Take inventory of what you currently have in your fridge, freezer, and pantry before sitting down to write the week's meal plan. This allows you to think of meals that will use up those items, and free up some of your grocery money. If you have it on hand, and it can be made into a delicious meal, then you don’t need to buy more ingredients at the store that week.
Take inventory of what you currently have in your fridge, freezer, and pantry before sitting down to write the week's meal plan. This allows you to think of meals that will use up those items, and free up some of your grocery money. If you have it on hand, and it can be made into a delicious meal, then you don’t need to buy more ingredients at the store that week.
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