Meal Planning Made Easy!

I am an avid blog reader.  If I find a blog that I really enjoy and that would be useful in my life, I subscribe to it--currently about 25 blogs fit this bill.  At this moment, my absolute favorite blog is 

It sounds dramatic but Jen at http://iheartorganizing.blogspot.com has been revolutionizing my life for the last few months.  She has the gift of organizing absolutely anything and is kind enough to share her methods for the rest of us not-so-gifted-in-the-organizing-area.  I have been working on implementing many of her ideas into our home.  One of the first projects I wanted to tackle was streamlining my meal planning process.  Thanks to Jen's help, I now have it down to a science and I wanted to share how I have taken the headache out of this task.

Kevin and I have been married for seven years.  It wasn't until a few years ago that I began cooking regularly.  This wasn't because I don't like to cook or because Kevin doesn't like my cooking--in fact, I do and he does!  It was just that each evening we would find ourselves saying "What do you feel like for dinner?"  "I don't know, what do you want?"  "I don't care, let's see what we have."  Everything was so last minute.  There was no planning involved.  Inevitably, we wouldn't have all the ingredients to make what we wanted and we would just get frustrated and end up going out for dinner.  Eating out all the time is not good for your wallet or your waistline and I finally grew sick of it.  We started meal planning once a week and would make a list on whatever scrap paper we had lying around.  We found ourselves eating the same things over and over because my recipes were in disarray and I didn't want to go through them.  I have 15 different cookbooks but couldn't remember which recipe was in which book.  Putting dinner on the table for your family each night can be stressful and I was bound and determined to find another way.  This is my new way and I HEART it! :)  

I usually try to do my meal planning on Sunday afternoons after church.  However, weekends are typically pretty busy for us and sometimes I don't have time until one morning during the week.  Just find a day that works for you but realize that you may have to be flexible.

First, gather up all your supplies.

-recipe binders

-weekly menu planner

-meal planner/shopping list

-grocery store ad

-coupon file

-beverage of your choice (because this will take a little while)

Here is how I have organized my recipes:

I purchased a cute photo album from Joann's at 50% off.  The album holds 4X6" pictures which made it the perfect size for my recipe cards.  The album also protects my recipe cards from spills (I am a VERY messy cook!).  I simply divided up my recipe cards into categories (breakfast, breads, salads, side dishes, main dishes, and desserts) and then loaded them all into the album.  I used a binder clip to attach my blank recipe cards to the front of the album so they are always easy to find and readily available.

I then got some Post-It tabs from Target, labeled them with my Sharpie, and placed them in the album as dividers.

As for my recipes not on cards, I picked up a 2.5" three-ring binder also from Target.  I found a free printable for both the cover and spine at Prudent Baby: http://www.prudentbaby.com/2010/01/recipe-binder.html.  They have several different colors from which to choose.  On the inside pocket of the binder, I placed take-out menus from our favorite to-go places.  When we need something quick or I just don't feel like cooking, we grab one of these menus and make the phone call.

I love page protectors and use them whenever I can, so I placed a bunch in the rings.  In the first sleeve, I placed Jen's Recipe Reference page.  On this page, you can list a recipe, what cookbook the recipe is in, and the page number.  Now no more wondering where you saw that recipe!

The Recipe Reference page is available as a free printable on Jen's blog so run and grab yours!  Then I just grabbed that big messy stack of recipes I have printed off the internet (or lately Pinterest!) or torn out of magazines.  If the recipe was printed on a full-size sheet of paper, I just stuck it in the sleeve like so:

If it was not full-size, I glued it onto some colorful cardstock first.

I then used the same method of applying the Post-It tabs with the different categories.

So now my recipes are all neatly organized and I have a plethora of menu options to choose from.  

The second item I use is this weekly menu planner I printed from the Creative Living blog at http://issasarza.com/freebies/weekly-menu-planner/.  

I took the planner and laminated it (who knew you could buy really good laminator for $25?!).  As I decide what we are having for each meal, I write it on the planner with a dry erase marker.  Then I just pop it onto the fridge as a quick reference during the week.  It also lets Kevin look to see what fine cuisine he will be dining on each evening. :)

I also have to have my menu planner/shopping list that I found at http://theprojectgirl.com/downloads/theprojectgirl.com-mealplanner.pdf.

This sheet has a place to list your menu for the week and then includes an area at the bottom for your shopping list.  I love that the shopping list is divided into sections of the store (canned goods, dairy, frozen foods, etc.) so that I don't find myself walking back and forth across the grocery store.  I keep a stack of these pages printed out and on a clipboard.  I found a plain wooden clipboard at Target, decorated it with scrapbook paper and some embellishments, and then had Kevin drill some holes into it.  I stuck a cute ribbon through the holes and then hung it from a Command hook in our pantry under my spice rack and mine and Ava's aprons.  It's handy there and super easy to grab when we realize we are out of something and need to add it to our grocery list.

Finally, I grab my coupon file and my grocery ad so that I can plan more frugally.  When our grocery ad comes in the mail on Tuesday, I go on and stick it on the clipboard so it does not get lost in the shuffle before meal planning day.  I also go on and clip the coupons that come in the mail on Tuesdays and file them in this accordion file.

This system saves me so much time and stress!  I have found that we make fewer trips to the store and are eating healthier too.  I make sure as I am planning not to have more than two dinners with red meat and to always fill in the other nights with fish, chicken, pork, etc.  

If you don't have a meal planning system, I encourage you to try it.  I also encourage you to check out Jen's blog as well as the other ones I mentioned.  There are so many great ideas out there and who has time to reinvent the wheel!!  Happy meal planning!