5 Tips to Make Meal Planning Easy
Meal planning can be a daunting task, especially if you’re trying to stick to a budget and make healthy choices. But with a few simple tips, you can make meal planning easy and enjoyable. Here are five tips to help you get started:
1. Make a Grocery List
Making a grocery list is the first step to successful meal planning. Start by writing down all the ingredients you need for the meals you plan to make. This will help you stay organized and make sure you don’t forget anything. It’s also a good idea to make a list of staples that you can use for multiple meals, such as eggs, rice, and beans.
2. Plan Ahead
Planning ahead is key to successful meal planning. Take some time each week to plan out your meals for the week. This will help you save time and money, as you’ll be able to buy all the ingredients you need in one trip to the grocery store. It will also help you stay organized and make sure you have all the ingredients you need for each meal.
3. Use Leftovers
Using leftovers is a great way to save time and money. If you have leftovers from a previous meal, you can use them to create a new meal. For example, if you have leftover chicken, you can use it to make a chicken salad or a chicken stir-fry. This will help you save time and money, as you won’t have to buy new ingredients.
4. Try New Recipes
Trying new recipes is a great way to make meal planning fun and exciting. Look for recipes that are easy to make and use ingredients you already have on hand. This will help you save time and money, as you won’t have to buy new ingredients. It will also help you stay motivated and excited about meal planning.
5. Get Creative
Finally, don’t be afraid to get creative with your meal planning. Try new ingredients, experiment with different flavors, and have fun with it. This will help you stay motivated and make meal planning enjoyable.
FAQs
Q: What are some tips for meal planning?
A: Some tips for meal planning include making a grocery list, planning ahead, using leftovers, trying new recipes, and getting creative.
Q: How can I save time and money when meal planning?
A: You can save time and money when meal planning by making a grocery list, planning ahead, using leftovers, and trying new recipes.
Q: How can I make meal planning enjoyable?
A: You can make meal planning enjoyable by getting creative with your meals, trying new recipes, and experimenting with different flavors.
I love the theme everyday… I'm trying that!
Agreed about fast food spending for large families!
All I can say is THANK YOU! I have never been able to figure out why meal planning never worked for our family no matter how hard I tried! You have nailed it so thank you and the last tip was my favorite because that was my biggest pit fall and I never realized it!🤗
Meal planning makes our life easier and helps us save money! Going to Chick-Fil-A was getting prettyyyyy pricey!!!
This video was so incredibly helpful, thank you, Angela. ✨Subscribed
I meal plan from what I have in my house and make a list on Tuesday then I shop for those things no matter what on Wednesday. If anything needs to be thawed or prepped I do that Thursday and Friday I am in my kitchen literally all day cooking for the entire week and everyone eats until the following Friday. I have three Dutch ovens going making stews, always make a couple of hardy stay fresh salads like quinoa, lentil,parsley etc and have a drawer full of washed fruit and chopped veggies ready for a salad in the fridge. I make bread on that day- two loaves of sour dough and make sure there are quick make things in the house like tortillas, chips and shredded cheese. I also do allll of my house’s laundry during simmering and waiting for things to finish cooking on the same day. It’s a lot of work but it is so worth it when there are nutritious home made meals that everyone in my family can go to and heat up very quickly whenever for an entire week. I also freeze a portion of everything I make each week and pull it out to thaw for the one week around my cycle when I am low on energy so I literally only cook 3 days a month and that takes care of it all. It’s the best way I have found for myself to manage it sustainably and maybe it would work for someone else too. I use to try and fight the fact that I can’t really do anything in moderation so for me, doing it all in one swoop way less of the time than a little bit of cooking and laundry every single day is really really great.
THANK YOU!! Your "Controversial" comment at the end has saved me so much! I am always trying to make new healthier food or things on sale. you are right, it wastes more money, stick to what they love.
I agree re coupons, 🙂 forgot it to start with
it has eyes 🤣
My crockpot recently died and I'm hesitant to replace it because every review section makes every crockpot sound like the worst one. Any suggestions? I have an instant pot, but probably need/ could use a larger one. If it's a good purchase, I'm willing to spend pretty much whatever. We're a family of seven and have all boys with good appetites , so I need something large!
This is great! How do you deal with picky young eaters?
Has to pause this so I could share my disdain for the term “dump” in any food that you are to ingest. Just sounds gross.
Keep a core list of ingredients. Rotate what you buy based in what’s on sale. Meal planning is a snap.
Such a great video! Entertaining too…that bit about the bagged salad cracked me up 😂
Thank you for keeping this real! I planned out my meals when our children, now grown and with families of their own, were quite young, and now that I’m a retired teacher and a work from home wife/mom, am back to meal planning. I made out menu cards of our most preferred meals. These are on 3×5 index cards and are quite simple! Each card has a meat, a vegetable or 2, a salad, and sometimes a dessert. I also include where the recipe is found! Something like Mexican Spaghetti (recipe box) or Vermicelli Salad (church cookbook) saves me so time when I’m meal planning!
My local grocery offers a 5% Senior discount on Tuesdays and Thursdays, do I try to do my meal planning on Tuesdays (plan and pay day for me! 😉) and shopping day is Thursday (errand day).
Love your channel, love you ❤, and love all the guidance you give this old woman (70 years old!).
I am definitely a beginner, but one thing that I have been doing for the past year or so is freezing leftovers more. So let say I make chili, soup or even sloppy joes and I have more leftovers than I anticipated. I will put them in some smaller or bigger freezer bag, make sure they are air tight and have them for those night when sh** happens. Most can be nuked in the microwave or you can set a variety of them out in the morning and let them defrost during the day and heat them up later. Its a more lazy approach to meal prep. Lol but its been working for my family, it doesnt take as long as meal prepping can, and yoyr not throwing away as many leftovers. Its a good stepping stone for beginners as well. Great video, im gonna find a few more to watch.
😂😂😂 I don’t have a life either! It’s all good I love it.
Slow and steady is usually where lasting change is. Learning this from my husband! This was good! I suggest also using things on hand that the family also enjoys and creating a list to add to those ingredients to make meals. This can save money if the budget is tighter.
Thank you for just being real. Sometimes , as a mom, it's easy to think that I'm the only one who struggles in a certain area and everyone else just has it all together. Thank you for being transparent and for sharing the things that you have found to work for you! You're doing such a great job with your beautiful children! God bless!
Were you going to link some of your favourite frozen meals?
My tip? You don’t even need to start as “big” as a week. Around here, we are new to meal planning and basically only plan like four or five days in advance. We do online grocery orders so it’s not really a big deal to do a quick pick up twice a week. Just knowing 2-3 days in advance what you’re having will let you take things out of the freezer, etc. Just knowing what we’re having even to this degree has been a huge stress reliever. We never have the dreaded “so what’s for dinner?” conversation anymore. Highly recommend.
Angela – Can I ask how you learned to create charts like this in your meal planning packet? What kind of course could I take? What kind of software would I use? I'm sort interested in making charts for different reasons… any insight you'd be willing to share?
when you can’t eat gluten, dairy, seafood, nuts, soy…going to multiple stores weekly is a way of life…so lucky you if you don’t have to search for those foods.