by Due to technical difficulties that plagued the blog all week last week, I have chosen to reissue last weeks articles. The good news is that we have moved to a different server and everything APPEARS to be fixed! Thanks for bearing with me and we will now resume our regularly scheduled content! ~Stacy
I would like to tell you that I am a very organized person. I also would like to say that I always plan healthy nutritious meals for my family and my pantry and refrigerator are well organized too. The truth is that I am not very organized and I often forget about dinner until the last minute. My fridge is full of leftovers and my cupboards need to be purged. I am no expert on menu planning. I will tell you that I save myself tons of time and money when I plan a menu ahead of time.
Save Time-I save time by knowing exactly what is coming up for the next meal. When there is a clear menu plan, I do not stare into the refrigerator for 10 minutes, trying to come up with something to eat while I am hungry and irritable. I also don’t waste time on unnecessary trips to the supermarket to gather ingredients I could have picked up had I planned ahead.
Save Money- I save money using menu planning because I can “shop” my pantry first. I have the ability to look at ingredients I have and plan meals around them, meaning I only have to pick up a few more ingredients to make a meal. By planning ahead I also can shop sales and plan meals based on what items are on sale that week. We also tend to eat out less when we have a plan in place.
Step 1-After you have made the commitment to try menu planning, the first step is to decide on the time frame of your menu. Some people plan meals 1 Month ahead of time. Others plan ahead by 1 or 2 weeks. I personally plan a one week ahead. This works well for us because I have a clear picture of what is happening for the next week and can plan around events and appointments.
Homework-Look through cookbooks or online to find easy recipes that you are comfortable making.
Here are a couple sites to get you started:
Kraft Foods
5 Dollar Dinners
Menu planning need not be a complicated ordeal. If you are not accustomed to planning meals ahead of time, it may be time consuming at first, but after you have been doing it a few weeks, it will become quicker and you will see the rewards. In this 3 part Menu Planning Series we will learn the steps to planning menus that have flexibility built into them to accommodate families growing schedules.
In part 2 of the Menu Planning Series, which will be published Wednesday, April 8, we will print a planner and talk about recipes and shopping sales.
What are your menu planning tips?
(Photo Credit: Stephen Cummings)
