Meal Planning

I am am meal planner. I love it. I've always enjoyed looking through cookbooks or cooking magazines to find recipes that sound oh-so-good. I started out with weekly meal planning (when we first got married), then moved my way up to monthly.

I've tweaked my methods. I've changed plans, completely, some weeks. I've learned what works and what does not work for our family. I use to print out a monthly calendar and write in meals for each day. That was fine and I didn't mind it. I now make a list of 25 to 30 meals at the beginning of each month. Each week, I look over what we have and plan five or six meals from the list (at least one night being leftovers).

I love the flexiblity that comes with planning meals. On my list, I usually include a few meals that are super easy to throw together, meals that we love and meals that we always have ingredients for. For instance, I usually have what is needed for grilled cheese and tomato soup, pasta pomodoro, chicken noodle soup (homemade), spaghetti, chicken casserole, chili and baked oatmeal. That seven meals that I know we can have during the month.

I like trying new recipes, but sometimes it just easier to stick with classics. I try to throw in a few newbies each month to challenge myself. I must say though, there is a time and a place for all of this. When I was first pregnant meal planning was useless! I had no idea what I would want to eat. It's better now. Each season brings about new challenges and new obstacles. However, I do believe that even in hard times or crazy times meal planning can be a life saver! Case in point: I know we're going to have a baby soon. I've been planning meals and buying things for easy meals for about two weeks. Plus, I've been freezing "extras" and muffins for when the baby comes to make eating at home and together much easier.

Here are some things I've learned:
*Homemade is the way to go! It's cheaper and much better for you. Plus, tons of things freeze well. It doesn't take a lot of time to make a batch or two of biscuits one day (or night or weekend) and throw them in the freezer.

*Deer meat saves you A LOT of money.

*Coupon clipping, when done right, can save you so much! I've had to learn to overlook the "really great deals" on things that we NEVER use. Don't let coupons trap you into buying things you don't need!

*There are tons of websites that you can download coupons from. Plus, once a week I'll look over my grocery list and go to product websites to see if they have any coupons on their specific site. I've gotten some great coupons for laundry detergent, toilet paper and cereals by doing this. Also, my grocery store has a monthly e-mail they send out with coupons. Most of the time it's $5 off $50 purchase, ect. All I had to do was sign up for the e-mail.

*Start small and be willing to work through a few hard weeks of tweaking your system.

*Allow for a few "free" days. I put two or three "Dinner Out" on my monthly list (I would do more if Patrick let me!!! ::grin::). I know that at least two or three times a month, I'll get a much needed break. Plus, it's kinda like a date night (probably not so much if you have children in tow).

*Stick to your budget. If you know you're going to be feeding a crowd at some point, work that into your schedule. July a big cooking month? Save a little more through May and June. It's truly not hard to feed a family on a set budget - no matter how much it is. AND don't compare your budget to others. Some families need more per month for dietary reasons, others like more dinners out. It doens't matter. To each his own budget limit! HOWEVER, after meal planning you may find that you can cut your budget or at least move things around a little more.

I don't know if any of this was helpful or encouraged you to try meal planning, but it works! Thanks for letting me go on and on about something that really excites me and makes me love homemaking!