How to get started with Meal Planning

Do you get stressed out with the “what’s for dinner” question? Do you end up just getting take out more than you’d like? Here are my tips for how to get started with meal planning. It really will save you time, money, and stress.

Meal planning. It sounds scary and overwhelming at first. To be honest, sometimes I just don’t feel like doing it, but I can promise you that when I put that effort in and just do it, I really do save myself time, money and a lot of stress. So I decided to share my method and give you some helpful tips to hopefully make it seem less daunting.

1. First of all, I suggest that you stock your pantry and fridge with some “essentials”. Having certain ingredients on hand not only help with planning, but also make it possible to “wing it” and come up with a meal even if you haven’t made a plan. Check out my list of fridge essentials here. Or my pantry essentials here. Your essentials may vary, of course.
2. Make sure to set aside a time for planning and then shopping. Planning, for me at least, takes more time than shopping. Because once I’ve made a plan and a grocery list, it cuts down on my actual time in the grocery store because I know exactly what I’m there to get. Have you ever wandered aimlessly around the store not having a clue what you should buy? Maybe that’s just me.
3. Now, take a look at your week ahead. Are you having friends over for dinner? Is there a night that you have an evening activity that you have to get to at a certain time? Do you have a night that you already planned to go out to dinner? All these factors can help you decide which nights you need to have planned. It also helps you decide that maybe you shouldn’t try that new recipe that may take awhile on a night that you have somewhere to be at 7:00.
4. Check out your grocery store ad for the week. Download digital coupons. Think about things that are on sale that you can use to make your plan.
5. Decide what meals you are going to make and then gather all your recipes and make a shopping list. Here’s where the planner/organizer in me gets a little crazy. I try to organize my grocery list by location in the store. If this drives you crazy, skip that part. But definitely make a list. Also, keep in mind that you shouldn’t go to the grocery store hungry. I can’t tell you how many times I come home with a bunch of extra (often expensive) snacks that I would not have bought if I hadn’t been hungry.
6. This is an extra step, but once the shopping is done, I try to plan ahead by washing and chopping veggies that I’m going to use and put them in ziplocs so that when I’m ready to use them, they are ready to go! I also often buy meats in larger quantities because it’s often cheaper.
7. If you want to have leftovers for lunches to take to work, consider doubling some of your favorites. Lots of things freeze well, so you could also make double and freeze a whole meal for another week!
8. If you have trouble coming up with ideas, look online or in cookbooks for things that sound good to you and give new things a try! You can build up a great rotation by adding new recipes. There are so many meal planning tools out there for you to use.
9. Finally, be flexible. If you suddenly have plans, switch up what night you are making what if you need to. Or if you get invited to go out to dinner, save that night’s plan to carry into the next week. You’re a step ahead!