I feel like whenever I say, “meal planning” people either love it or hate it. haha. I think the reason people probably don’t like it is because it sounds like a lot of work. But it is just the opposite. It makes things run smoothly come dinner time. If you’re anything like me, you have found yourself looking at the clock at 4:30 only to realize that you have no idea what to make for dinner! The kids start looking for snacks, saying they are hungry and even you are tempted to start snacking. That’s why I started meal planning. Because it’s a sanity saver! Especially on busy days!

If you’ve ever wanted to meal plan, (which I assume you have and that is why you are reading this) then now is a great time. Especially with Summer winding down and school starting back up soon. So instead of getting take out or ordering a pizza, set aside some time on a Saturday or Sunday to plan out dinners for the upcoming week. Doesn’t have to be fancy. And it doesn’t have to be complicated! Ok enough pep talk, haha let’s jump right in.

• Make a list of 10-15 of your family’s favorite meals. {if you can’t think of that many, head over to Pinterest, search your favorite cookbooks or heck! Ask your family what meals they love! If I’m drawing a blank, I love Pioneer Woman meals because they are fairly simple and always delicious.*

• Below each meal, list out every ingredient you need for that meal.

• Pick 5 of your favorites from that list. Make sure a few are quick and simple dishes that are easy to make for busy evenings. Try to make at least one meal if not a few that can be eaten for leftovers one night.

• Write the 5 meals out and post on your family’s calendar or write them on a piece of paper and put it up on your refrigerator for your reference.

• Shop your pantry for items needed for the 5 meals. I said 5 to allow one night to be leftovers and one night to go out or order a pizza. You can always adjust accordingly for whatever works best for your family.

• Once you have figured out what you have and what you need for your meals, start a grocery list.

• Grocery shop. 

• Repeat again next week. Switch up your list to the next 5 favorite meals.

*Don’t forget that you can switch up recipes and tailor them to meet your family’s dietary needs and likes.

To keep dinner time from getting boring, I like to add in different cuisines and proteins each night. Eating chicken 3 nights in a row is not ideal unless you really love chicken, haha. Switch things up. If you want to theme your nights to make things even easier. Meatball Mondays–you can make spaghetti and meatballs one week and the next week you can make meatball subs. Tuesday can be Taco Tuesdays and each week you can try different taco recipes. I have a lot of taco recipes. One is on the blog, search for Chipotle Lime Chicken Tacos. You can thank me later ;) 

Personally I am not big on leftovers, but it definitely makes things easier when you are crunched for time or not in the mood to cook. So I do recommend planning for at least one night of leftovers. If you make a big pot of soup or chili one night, that will carry over for a leftover dinner perfectly. If you grill up a whole chicken you can use leftovers for another dish, or just simply throw it over a salad full of veggies. 

Think ahead on the day you are writing out your list of meals BEFORE you go grocery shopping. If you are on a budget, plan your meals on what meats/items are on sale. Go through your pantry and freezer and try to come up with dishes that you already have most of the ingredients for. This is a money and a sanity saver. Get creative. But most of all, have FUN! This is meant to help make things easier and simplify the craziness of dinner time. Don’t just pull out a frozen pizza at 5 o’clock and call that dinner. I get it that some people don’t like to cook but there are simple things you can make with fresh, healthy ingredients that your family will love. 

To give you an idea of what a week of dinners in our house may look like from time to time, here is a sample list. Hope it helps to get your creative dinner ideas flowing. :)

Monday- Mojo Grilled Chicken served over Salsa Rice

Tuesday- Rigatoni with Sausage and Peppers, Garlic bread and green salad

Wednesday- Homemade Taqueria style Carne asada burritos with chips and salsa

Thursday- Freddy’s Burgers with oven fries

Friday- Homemade Pizzas

There are no rules to meal planning. So don’t think you have to go about it a certain way. If you want to eat the same thing two times in one week, go ahead! If you want to plan to eat breakfast for dinner, heck yes! If you want to eat on paper plates because you hate doing dishes, that’s fine. I’m not judging! Planning out your dinners is meant to be helpful to save time and money and stress .

I hope this helps you get started with meal planning. If you have any questions or need recipe ideas, feel free to ask! Email me at: elizabeth@graceinhisbeauty.com or on Instagram @graceinhisbeauty

xoxo, Elizabeth