Every so often I get into my head that I’m going to start a weekly menu board and plan out our family’s dinners. After a month or so I fall out of the habit, but that’s mostly because of ADHD and not because it wasn’t fun or easy to do. Actually, it IS fun, and it IS easy and that’s why I keep coming back around to it.
If you haven’t tried menu planning you are in for a sweet surprise. Not only does planning out the weekly menu reduce stress on you, it also helps manage time, finances, and expectations. I’ll go into more details on that later on. This is one of those things that you have to try to FEEL what the big deal is.
It also allows me to be kinda lazy, which is the realm I like to live in.
Why do menu planning at all?
Do you want more time to do what you want?
Do you like keeping your money in your bank account?
Do you need to work around diet restrictions or picky eaters?
Do you get tired of trying to figure out what to make for dinner each night?
Are you tired of eating out?
Well if you answered YES to any of them…. Having a pre-planned dinner menu is for you!
Menu Planning to Manage Time
Think of it like decluttering for your brain.
Meals are a big deal. As parents, we have to plan around everything. Naptime, after school activities, school/daycare drop off and pick up, homework and MEALS. Just imagine what it will feel like when you have this one thing down.
No more staring into the pantry trying to figure out which ingredients will do for tonight. No more walking down the aisle at the grocery store and hoping you have everything you need to make a dish. No more cereal for dinner. (unless you plan it that way)
When you have you menu down it becomes easy to right out a grocery list for the meals. This reduces time spent at the store and time spent at night figuring out which ingredients to pull together for your family.
Menu Planning to Save Money
Think about how much of the food we buy goes to waste. If you looked in your fridge right now, how much of the food in there is either old or near the end of it’s best-by date?
When we throw out food we are literally throwing out cash. Which would never happen in real life, but for some reason we do it all the time when it comes to food. For example: A bag of chips costs ~$3.00, if it goes stale halfway through and gets tossed, then you’ve just thrown away $1.50. Same goes for a bunch of carrots, bananas, cilantro, cucumbers, bread, chicken, etc… Just divide the portion thrown away by its cost. That number really adds up fast.
That number is the cold hard cash you work hard for and it’s just getting thrown away. When you plan out your menu you can reduce this waste by only buying the ingredients you need to make the meals and actually using all that you bought.
After a few weeks of this you’ll be able to see your average grocery bill and use that to make a budget.
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Want a Few Meal Ideas to Get You Started?
The Laziest Recipes in the World- 4 Easy and Non-Stressful Meals
5 Cheap and Easy Dinner Ideas – Menu planning for busy nights