You've Gotta Have A Plan

You've gotta have a plan for so many things, including meals for your family.  It is important on so many levels.  It cuts down on the number of grocery store trips you make after work.  Having a posted menu opens the communication within your family.  It allows your family to have some input.

Tip #1:  Know what your family likes. When in doubt...ask.  Have a family meeting and talk about foods that you all enjoy.  Make a list that you can reference when you are in a slump.

Tip #2:  Know your weekly schedule.  I always consider my schedule for the week when making a menu.  Nights that include late dancing practices or religion class get quick meals or things that I can put in a crockpot.  Better yet, I'll schedule something that my husband can easily whip together with little instruction.

Tip #3:  Write it down...twice.  I always start my grocery list with my menu.  I list all of the main meals at the top of the page.  It makes it easy for me to reference the menu while doing my shopping.  I might see a great item on sale and having the menu handy makes it really easy to see if there is a meal that I can use it for.  I also write my menu on our fridge.  Dry erase boards work great, but so do loose leaf pages attached by magnets.  Listing the menu allows your family to see and know what is planned for meals.  It allows them to help if they can offer help for certain meals.  It will also serve as a reminder for you when you need to take meat out of the freezer.

Tip #4:  Utilize your crockpot.  I use my crockpot at least once every two weeks.  It is a miracle appliance.  There are thousands of recipes online and there are surely one or two that your family will love.

Tip #5:  Check out sales.  Cooking meals that include ingredients on sale that week will make your menu planning super easy and super wallet-friendly.  

Tip #6:  Keep your recipes together.  In the age of fast computers and endless blog listings, it is easy to "lose" information.  I can't tell you how many recipes I've tried over the years, loved and then never found again.  I've come to the conclusion that I MUST keep everything together IN PRINT.  I have a handy dandy recipe book that my aunt gave me for my wedding.  She filled it in with some of her favorite dishes and left the rest blank for me.  I have started printing my favorite recipes and affixing them to the book.  Bookmarking the recipes is no longer working for me.

Tip #7:  Don't be afraid.  Don't be afraid to add new foods to your menu and don't look at this as another chore to complete at home.  Taking 20 minutes a week to make a menu and a good shopping list will help make you more efficient.  You'll feel so good knowing that you won't have to step foot into a grocery store again that week and you won't have to spend your entire afternoon trying to figure out what to cook that night.

Happy Planning!