When people used to talk about meal planning, I used to sigh and blow it off. I don’t have time for that I thought to myself. Sometimes I feel like it’s a struggle to just sling dinner onto the table! 😉 I will now admit that meal planning is actually an AWESOME idea and if you’re like me, it will save you time AND money!
So, how do you get started meal planning without sucking up hours of your time? Well, I decide to start using some of the kazillion Pinterest recipes I pinned! I found that keeping a loose rotation of meals, i.e. pizza, dinner salad, pasta dish, etc., works well for our family. We love having things like pizza on Friday, but now we are getting adventurous with all of the pizzas we find on Pinterest!
Before I find and print the recipes I plan on making for the week (I choose 6 recipes and plan for one night of leftovers, you can adjust according to your preference), I look at what’s on sale at Stop and Shop. I try to look for recipes based on what I find on sale. For example, if chicken is on sale, I might do a pizza with BBQ chicken and a pasta bake with chicken for two of the meals.
Now go through your cupboards and check off all of the ingredients you already have and make a list of what you need. Now you can hit the store and shop from your list, instead of impulsively buying whatever looks good. 🙂 Now I no longer stress about what to put together for dinner, I know ahead of time what we’re having and I prep what I can in advance.
I can’t describe how much easier it’s made meal time around here, and as a bonus, we are trying all sorts of new dishes! It’s also helping to justify my mild Pinterest addiction. 😉
Do you meal plan?Â
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