I have a love/hate relationship with meal planning. I’m betting most of you do too.

Once I’ve finished, though, I have a sense of accomplishment, pride in the savings, and huge relief at the thought of not visiting the supermarket for a whole week. Those benefits make the time it takes to meal plan entirely worth it.

Not only that, but I get excited every day when I glance over at my menu. Excited that all the ingredients are already in my house. Excited that I don’t have to ask myself “what’s for dinner?”. Excited to prepare meals that I’ve had a chance to look forward to.

This are the strategies I use when I’m putting together my meal plan. These strategies can be applied to any budget, diet, or family size, and will insure you have a well thought out plan.

1. Incorporate a New Recipe

I choose one (sometimes two) new recipes to incorporate into my menu because the bigger your repertoire of meals the more flexibility you will have when planning a coordinated week of meals. Also a new recipe often means buying a few new ingredients, which expands your list of pantry staples, which saves you money in the long run.

For example, if you don’t usually cook Asian food, but plan a new Asian recipe one week, you will now be the proud new owner of soy sauce, sesame oil, maybe even some fish sauce. All of those ingredients keep for a long time, and will be used in any other Asian recipe you make in the future.

2. Use Up What You Have

I assess what I have already in my fridge and pantry and make a list of the major items that need to be put to use. I then search my recipe database in ChefTap by ingredient and it very quickly pulls up any recipes calling for that ingredient.

3. Plan Variety

I make sure I have a well balanced list of meals that include a variety of proteins and carbs. In other words, I don’t want to cook chicken or pasta three nights of the week.

4. Cook With the Seasons

Plan fruits and vegetables that are widely available and in their peak season. Summer is the perfect time for grilled peaches, not in December. If it’s in season it’s less expensive.

5. Pick One Splurge

Choose thrifty proteins for most meals, such as bone-in chicken, canned tuna or salmon, ground beef and beans. This will give you money for a “splurge” protein like fresh fish, lamb, or skirt steak.

6. Factor in Leftovers 

I hate to waste food. So think about how many meals will leave you with leftovers and how much of those are used up at lunch. This will help you plan how many nights off you can have when leftovers will do just fine.

7. Consider Ease of Preparation

I like to make sure I have a mix of meals that are more and less laborious. In this case, your schedule will dictate what is best for you. But even if you are crazy busy, try to work in one meal that requires a little more love. Those can have the greatest payoff in flavor! Besides, if you are planning ahead, you will have extra time to prep things, so it won’t take as long as you might think.

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I hope this puts a little pep in your meal-planning step! It really does bring me a whole world closer to a week of sanity, and I know it will do the same for you. ♥

To keep the momentum going, I decided to make a pretty space to write in my dinner plans. This little menu just beckons me to fill it out and display it for the family to view. I printed and laminated mine at an office supply store so I can reuse it again and again. It also helps remind me of when it is time to toss the leftovers.

Print one and get a head start on your meal plan for next week!
Just pop your info in here for access to print it from the Resource Library!