One of the many things my husband and I agree about is the importance of family dinners! It's no surprise that taking a family of 7 out to eat is incredibly expensive, so we save eating out for special occasions. Takeout can also add up very quickly, so we rely on menu planning for our almost daily family dinners!
I have been planning our meals for many years, and it's a way of life now. It just comes easily, and naturally! Before I started, I thought it was unnecessary, and I didn't think it would work for us. I can honestly say that it was life changing! I save so much time and energy, and we really save a lot of money compared to what we would spend eating out and getting take out once a week!
In our family, we have a picky eater (GRANT), a child who has Celiac Disease (Liam), a non-meat eater (me), and a baby who is now eating the same meals, but somehow, I manage to please everyone with each dinner. It really isn't difficult to juggle, and we usually end up with leftovers. (Hello, lunches!) After years of trial and error, I perfected my method for menu planning for a big family with dietary concerns, and I plan to share my tricks with all of you!
GATHER YOUR MEAL PLANNING TOOLS
If you stay organized, menu planning will only take a few minutes each week! You really won't need much, but it helps to be prepared. Here's what I use:
- Small journal for recording meals
- Calendar or Planner
- A small recipe box with blank cards
- Dry erase boards
- PINTEREST!
- Weekly Menu Plan Chalkboard
- Chalkboard Pencils
DECIDE IF YOU'RE GOING TO PLAN EACH MEAL OR JUST DINNERS
This is truly a personal preference! I know some families who plan breakfast, lunch, and dinner for each day of the week. I prefer to provide a variety of options for breakfast, lunch, and snacks, but adhere to a set menu plan for dinners.
START BRAINSTORMING FAVORITE MEALS
Sit down with your entire family, and start brainstorming favorite meals. Keep a running list as each person contributes their favorites, as well as suggestions on the type of recipes or meals they would like to try. That gives you a great starting point for beginning a basic meal plan. You can perfect it through trial and error like I did!
LIST FOODS BY CATEGORIES
Create a simple list for each type of food: Meats, Sides, Vegetables, Beans, Breads, Salads, Fruits, etc. You can either create a paper list, write it in a menu planning journal, or type it up on a computer or device, and print it out. Sometimes, if you run out of ideas, it's easy to just look at this list, and choose an item from each category. This method is often a favorite of ours!
KEEP A MENU PLANNING JOURNAL OR SPREADSHEET
I am a write it down on paper type of person! Yes, I often use apps and lists on my phone, laptop, or iPad, but there's just something about flipping through a notebook. I have a small notebook that is designated for menu planning. In it, I keep the simple food category list, our original list of favorite meals, and a running list of items off of our menu plans that we absolutely love! I continuously add to it, and look through it for inspiration each week. (I assume a spreadsheet would work just as well if that's your preference.)
ADD FAVORITE RECIPES TO A RECIPE BOX
I have a small recipe box with blank recipe cards in my kitchen. I love making homemade meals for my family, and want my kids to be able to flip through our favorite recipes one day. To this day, I wish I had my grandma's recipe box! I wrote down some favorite family recipes on some of the cards, and if we find or create a recipe that's an instant hit, I write it down as soon as possible! I also add it to the list in our menu planning journal, and place a star next to that suggestion.
REGULARLY ADD A NEW RECIPE TO THE ROTATION
In our family, we try at least two new recipes each month. Repeatedly eating the same meals can get very boring very fast, so we aim to try 2-4 new recipes each month, so we can find new meals to add to our rotation. I usually get my inspiration from Pinterest, or I will just google one main ingredient followed by recipe (example: chicken recipe). We have found so many favorites that way! And sometimes, we just experiment with a few ingredients, and come up with a recipe we love. (If we don't like it, we don't add it to our list in our menu planning journal!)
KEEP A RUNNING LIST ON YOUR FRIDGE OR PHONE
Sometimes an idea will come to me, or something will pop up on social media. I add it to a list as soon as possible so I can look into it when I sit down to plan our menu for the week.
CONSULT YOUR CALENDAR
I keep a detailed paper planner and my family uses the Cozi app to sync our calendars. Before creating our menu plan for the week, I quickly consult our calendar. I list Monday through Sunday, then take note of any birthdays, birthday parties, events, anniversaries, holidays, and sports or activities so I know exactly how many dinners we need to come up with for the week. On busy evenings, I try to plan simpler meals.
SEEK INPUT FROM FAMILY MEMBERS EACH WEEK
Each week, I ask each family member to list one food that they absolutely want to eat that week. I incorporate each item into our meal plan so everyone has a say and gets to look forward to eating a favorite! It keeps the menu plan fun and well-rounded!
CONSIDER THEMED DAYS
If you ever feel overwhelmed about creating a menu plan, stick with themed days for a while. Choose a category for each day of the week, then find a meal or recipe that fits. Here are a few easy ideas:
- Meatless Monday
- Taco Tuesday
- Fried Food Friday
- OR Finger Foods Friday
- Soup & Salad Saturday
- Sliders Sunday
- Pizza Night
- Pasta Night
- On The Grill
- Brinner (Breakfast for Dinner)
KEEP IT FUN
Add in a fun night to your menu plan every so often! Some of our family favorites are:
- Make Your Own Pizza Night
- Pasta Bar - Cook pasta and offer a variety of sauces
- TV Dinner Night - Eat in the living room while watching a TV show or movie
- Al Fresco Night - Eat your meal outside on a warm night
- Indoor Family Picnic - Make a picnic food meal and eat it on a blanket in your living room
DON'T FORGET ABOUT LEFTOVERS
I almost always make more food than what we consume, but I store the leftovers in containers so my husband can take them to work, my kids can take them to school, or we can eat them for lunch. Now that we're all home, the leftovers aren't making their way out of our fridge as frequently. I know many families have a Leftovers/Fend For Yourself Night, but that was never an option for us until recently. We just started doing that on Saturdays, and it's GREAT! The fridge gets cleaned out before garbage night, and I don't feel bad about wasting food! If there isn't enough, or someone isn't in the mood for leftovers, they are more than welcome to make a salad, make a sandwich, heat up soup, or have cereal!
IT'S ALL ABOUT THE SIDES
Okay, so here's a quick note about how we manage to juggle picky eaters and dietary restrictions. I say quick, because, it really isn't difficult to cater to everyone. Although I will occasionally make a casserole that everyone can eat, it's just as easy to focus on sides. I always make sure there's a gluten-free side dish or a mini-casserole for Liam, and make both vegetables and beans. Sometimes I'll even toss in a veggie burger for me! We also focus a lot on whole foods. like meat and vegetables, and less processed foods. There's always plenty for everyone to eat!
SEE WHAT YOU HAVE
Each week, take a quick glance through your fridge, freezer, and pantry to see what ingredients you have. If there's something that needs to be used before it goes bad, like potatoes or vegetables, I try to plan one meal with that ingredient. That way there's less waste!
SET A TIME EACH WEEK TO FINALIZE YOUR MENU PLAN
When we're not dealing with a pandemic, I usually go grocery shopping on Monday mornings. My meal planning time is Sunday afternoons. It may take a bit longer at first, but once you get into your groove, it will just take a few minutes!
POST YOUR MENU PLAN IN THE KITCHEN
After I create a paper or digital version of our menu plan in order to make my shopping list, I copy our menu plan onto a menu that is hanging on our kitchen wall. Let me keep it real for a moment...I swear my teenagers are clueless at times! They KNOW we have a posted menu plan in our kitchen, yet they constantly ask what's for dinner! My son would even walk PAST the menu plan to find me so he could as what we were eating, or my daughter would stand in front of it and ask me what I was making. I finally went really big, and hoped they would get the point!!! (We'll see...)
HOW THIS CHANGED DURING SOCIAL DISTANCING
So. How has this all changed during social distancing? Not much, surprisingly! The only thing that has changed is the fact that I now write a menu plan for two weeks instead of just one, so I don't have to go to the store each week. It's working so well that I think I might continue to do this even after social distancing ends!
Menu Planning does not have to be overly complicated or stressful! Sure eating out is much more fun, and getting takeout is definitely easier, but there's no doubting now that it's much cheaper to plan home-cooked dinners! (Plus, eating out and getting takeout actually becomes special.) If you put some thought into it, you can eat much healthier than you would at a restaurant, and you will learn how to stretch your budget. Plus, getting your entire family involved, can be fun and rewarding. Family dinners at home can lead to memories and a lifestyle that will stay with kids forever!
Do you menu plan? What are your tips and tricks?
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