There are many different methods to meal planning. Some people compare sales ads to what they have on hand and create meals based on that. Some plan out a month in advance. Others have a "theme" night for each day of the week. Some go so far as to plan 3 meals a day and snacks in between. I just have a week of dinners planned.
I try to think about what is going on in our week and what the weather is like (you don't want a steaming bowl of soup on a day like today, when it is going to be in the 90's) and plan accordingly. I also try to make extras for leftovers that can be used for lunches the rest of the week. We don't always stick to the menu: some days I might be in the mood for something else planned for another day; sometimes something unexpectedly comes up; and there are still those days when I'm ready to pull my hair out by the end of the day, so my husband lovingly suggests we go out to eat (although with 2 teenagers and 3 little children, it gets pretty expensive and chaotic, so we are usually vowing to never eat out again by the end of the meal).
I am still on the search for the perfect iPhone app that does it all with my grocery shopping...you know, the one that has recipes (or lets you add your own), lets you create meal plans based on those recipes, and then creates a shopping list based off the aisles of your favorite grocery store (which, for me, is WinCo...seriously, that place is amazing!)...oh, and did I mention it has to be free because I refuse to pay for an app? Anyway, until someone decides to create the app for me, I created a simple word document where I can plan the week's meals and list the groceries I need.
This is it! It really isn't that complicated. The day I'm ready to go to the store, I browse all my favorite recipe sites, ask my family what they are in the mood for, and then I plan accordingly. If there is a recipe I'm not familiar with, I will hyperlink the recipe in my meal plan (click on the picture that looks like an earth with a white chain by it, and then paste the appropriate information as asked), so by just clicking on the link, I will be brought to the recipe. As I'm completing the menu plan, I list the ingredients I need in the appropriate section. I also think about staple items we need to restock and add those to the list, and I finally ask the family if there is anything else we need on the list. Finally, I email it to myself so I can have easy access to it on my iPhone (I sometimes also print it out) with links to the recipes, so I don't have to use my laptop in the kitchen or print out a ton of recipes.It is that time of the week again where I need to start planning the menu for the week, so I should be posting my menu for the week soon...keep looking out for it!
