Wednesday, January 17, 2007

WFMW- Meal Planning





I didn't know if I had a WFMW this week. I wasn't sure I could think of anything that works for me that would work for a lot of other people! So here I am ready to do my menu plan for the next few weeks and I realized, hey, this might be of benefit for other people!

So....my WFMW is about Meal/Menu Planning.

I don't like to grocery shop very much. My hubby only gets paid once a month, so, for a long time I shopped once a month (for everything but produce and milk.) Michael picked up the milk and produce on his way home when/if we needed it. To do that, I had to come up with a month full of meals, so I knew exactly what to get.

Since being very pregnant, I have increased my shopping to two times a month. I just can't push/pull two carts around Walmart anymore! I still have the menu plans and they are a huge help. This is what I did to get my plans:

1. Make a list of all your family's favorite meals
2. Separate them into categories (ie chicken, beef, fish, vegetarian or crockpot, quick, grill, long bake (or lots of prep) or a mix of both)
3. I chose 2 crockpot meals, 2 quick meals, 1 grill, 1 long bake and 1 night for leftovers for each week. Also include side dishes.
4. After you get each week figured out, make a grocery list for all the recipes, including side dishes and desserts, for the week. (If you shop for 2 weeks at a time, do this for a 2 week period, same with a month)
5. Now when you are ready to go to the store, you just need to grab the grocery list for that set of recipes and you are all set with a pre-made meal plan and pre-made grocery list!

Anyway, it works for me!

If you would like to peruse other WFMW please check out Rocks in my dryer.

2 comments:

Nikki said...

Thank you for a great detailed tip. It is very motivational! Thanks for sharing!

An Ordinary Mom said...

Thanks for sharing your ideas. I grocery shop for 2 weeks at a time, too. It really helps the budget.