A New Way to Meal Plan

Disclaimer!! This post does not have a recipe, but I thought I would share this on the blog anyways.  I recently had people ask me about my meal planning and I think it is such an important thing to do.  We rarely (read pretty much never ever) go out to eat anymore. This is for several reasons but mainly because taking a 3 year old and 18 month old out to eat just isn't fun. This also saves us money.  I totally agree with this poster in every area!

To be able to cook a meal every night of the week requires planning because we are too busy and our kids' attitudes are too fragile to just start digging through the fridge before dinner.  So in the last couple of years we have created a system where I pick out about 5 or 6 meals on Friday night that will take us through the end of the week. While I am picking our meals (that includes the main dish and sides), I write down anything I need from the grocery store. So my meals are planned and my grocery list is created all at the same time. Then I either get the groceries on Friday night or Saturday morning (sounds thrilling huh?) All of our meals are written on a white board on the fridge so we can be ready no matter what!

Pardon the shaky handwriting here...

Recently though I've been running into a rut. I get frustrated because I can't figure the five or six meals I want to fix and then I feel like we repeat a ton.  While looking through various blogs, I read about meal planning with a theme. Now if you know me at all and know my kindergarten teacher ways - you know I LOVE a theme. Basically it goes like this: you pick a theme for each night of the week and that creates a framework for your meal planning. So Monday is always burger night - that gives you freedom to choose any type of burger and put it in there. Tuesday is Mexican night so you look through your recipes for a Mexican style dish.  This might sound too strict or even repetitive but it is not!  It actually helps you think through your recipes and just gives you a guide when planning. 

So here are what we are doing for our weeks:

Monday - Burger Night

Tuesday - Crock Pot Night

Wednesday - Pizza Night

Thursday - Crock Pot Night

Friday - Clean Out the Pantry Night

Saturday - International Night

Sunday - Forks Over Knives Night

So according to this schedule this week we will eat
Portabello burgers with sweet potatoes and steamed veggies
Crock pot beans and rice with kale chips and fruit salad
Pizza with salad (veggies for kids)
Mexican quinoa with plantains
Leftovers
One pot basil pasta with salad and rolls
Millet Stew (not sure what this is because my hubby picked it!)

Yes we have two crock pots nights because I teach a class at the YMCA and come home right at dinner so it really helps to have dinner ready when I walk in the door. Forks Over Knives is our favorite vegan cook book but the recipes can be challenging so we like to incorporate at least one a week.  And of course the "clean out your pantry" night is to help us get rid of left overs, bread that is going stale, and other things that need to get out! We usually just have a smorgasbord of food on that night.

Here are some other ideas for themes if mine don't appeal to you:

Meatless Mondays

Noodle Night

Casserole Night

Seafood Night

Try a New Veggie Night

Breakfast for Dinner

Grill Out Night

Vegetarian Night

Soup and Sandwich Night

I really am loving this idea. It gives me a framework and narrows down my options when trying to meal plan.  You do have to pick themes that work for you and your family. See we have pizza night on Wednesdays because they are easy to make and we have to get to church by 6:00.  You have to find things that work for you and your schedule so take into account what else your family has going on when picking your theme.  Saturdays and Sundays are more laid back for us so we have time to fix more complicated recipes.

What do you think?  Would this type of template help you meal plan?  

Would love your feedback on this!

Don't forget we have a challenge coming up to help you get through that holiday season! If you are interested leave a comment below.  We will help you one on one with meal planning in our challenges.