Share This
Is meal planning a foreign concept to you? It was to me for many years. I would look at what we had in the pantry and think “I can’t make a meal out of this stuff.” So off to the store we’d run to buy a few items to make dinner, but somehow we always ended up with extras in the basket. This was a recurring theme each day and it certainly got expensive.
One day I decided to pull out a piece of paper, write down what we were having for dinner each night and then shop for those items only. It worked! We had food that I could actually make into a meal. But I quickly ran out of ideas and we started eating the same things each week. Ugh!
So I started asking my family what they wanted for dinner. I got the same response week in and week out, “I don’t know just pick something.” I did and it was the same things as the week before. Something had to be done to save our dinnertime ritual or we were all going to turn into chicken nuggets and corn.
I started researching and experimenting with recipes that were varied and nutritional. I made a plan and stuck to it. WOW, it’s amazing how it made feeding my family a much more enjoyable and peaceful experience. No more dinner time stress out.
But there are many other hidden benefits that we have realized:
- Our food budget has breathing room in it again. The daily grocery shopping trips and runs through the drive-thru take an unbelievable toll on the bank account.
- Our waistlines have breathing room again. Cooking a nutritious meal each night is a great way to keep weight under control as we all know fast food and convenience foods are not known for their nutritional qualities.
- Improved cooking skills. Consistently trying new recipes has increased my proficiency in the kitchen and allowed me to feel comfortable experimenting a bit more with my cooking.
- Avoiding waste. Knowing what you’re going to cook and shopping for only the ingredients needed will result in less food turning into science experiments in the bottom drawers of your fridge.
- Bonus benefit: You will discover new foods that you never thought your kids would eat. When we were in a rut I thought that I was feeding my kids their favorite foods. But as we began to experiment we opened the door to many new things that I never would have guessed they would like.
Photo source: Emily Carlin
July 27, 2010 at 4:56 pm
Thank you for the wonderful article. During the week it is only me and my hubby. I eat early and he comes in around 11 to eat. I try to cook meals that can go for two days. It seems to be working, however, some times he gets too hungry. LOL When this happens it kinda throws a kink in the meal plan. I am trying to relearn how to cook for two. This has landed us with alot of wasted food, but I am slowly making progress thanks to wonderful people like you. Thank you again for you hard work in putting together all the information. Have a blessed day!
July 27, 2010 at 9:01 pm
Melissa – I’m so glad you stopped by and found the article useful. Cooking for two is a tricky thing, I know when the kids are at grandma’s we have a hard time figuring out what to cook that’s not enough to feed an army. You’re idea of cooking meals that will last for two days is great, I’ll have to remember that one.
August 4, 2010 at 10:03 am
Jennifer,
This is a great article! I sing the praises of meal planning every chance I get! I think an unexpected perk is a newfound love of cooking. You’re so right about how regular practice improves your skills.
Thanks for sharing!
Jill
August 8, 2010 at 10:29 pm
Jill – Thank you! The new found love of cooking is a definite perk. I’m still what I’d consider a novice cook and any chance to feel triumphant in the kitchen is a bonus.