Meal Planning for Dummies. Or for normal people. Whatever.
February 24, 2009 by Stephanie
I’m a meal planner. I wish I wasn’t sometimes, because having a meal plan attached to the fridge kind of makes me look like an obsessive control freak.
Except. Having a meal plan saves us time and money, and the 10-12 minutes I spend once a week means I’m not obsessing over meals 5-6 times a day, every day.
Last year, I didn’t stick to my meal plan very well. The Crock-Pot slow cooking thing kind of took on a life of it’s own, and I fell behind on planning ahead for anything other than what I needed to slow-cook. Although I knew that this was a temporary problem in our family, I felt floundery (that’s a word, right?). I hated that the kids were climbing into the pantry looking for a snack. I hated that I was often grabbing a bent string cheese at 10am because I had forgotten to eat breakfast. And I hated that since I wasn’t planning out my snacks and meals, I was more susceptible to eating Chocolate Frito Candy and Pound Cake instead of some yogurt and fruit when the afternoon munchies hit.
So. I’m back to meal-planning, and it FEELS GOOD. I get it that it seems controlling and somewhat limiting. I know. I was terribly hesitant to write everything down at first, too. But it works. Kids like and need a routine, and their bodies function better when they have snacks and meals at set times. Guess what? Grown-up bodies seem to like routine, too, and scheduling 5-6 mini meals throughout the day is better than only eating once or twice. Go figure.
Here are some of the things we routinely have/eat in our house:
Breakfast:
yogurt, frozen blueberries, granola
frozen pancakes/waffles
oatmeal
muffins
baked oatmeal
regular oatmeal
cold cereal with banana and milk
toast with cream cheese, or PB&J
Lunch:
salami and cheese in a tupperware
sandwiches of all varieties (tip: put mayo/mustard in-between the meat to keep the bread from becoming soggy. Also, when making PB&J, put a thin layer of peanut butter on both sides of the bread, and then the jelly in the middle)
string cheese
bananas, apples
carrots and ranch
tortilla chips
Snacks:
fruit
cheese
yogurt
applesauce
muffins
chips and hummus
edamame
veggies and ranch
taquitos
quesadillas
Dinner:
my kids will ALWAYS eat plain pasta with butter and parmesan cheese. That is the go-to meal in our house when I don’t think they will eat much of the main dish, or when we’re too busy to make a “real” meal.
baked beans
refried beans
I try hard to have a vegetable of some sort on the table. My kids like: string beans, artichokes, broccoli, sweet potatoes, brussel sprouts (I know. I have no idea how this happened.)
Use your slow cooker. Make food the lazy way. Make a big batch of stew, beans, or a pot roast and pick at the food for a few days. Repurpose leftovers. If I can help it, I try to only cook 3-4 times a week (other than last year. that wasn’t normal for anyone) and then re-use the leftovers in casseroles or as burrito filling. Here’s an example of meal planning with the crockpot.
We are a gluten-free family. Since we have food allergies, we need to plan a bit more ahead than other people need to. It’s not as easy for us (or anyone else monitoring food intake) to order delivery or swing by a fast-food joint. Because of this, we have been forced to think ahead when making food choices. I do feel that because of this we eat more healthy and are happier in our meals than we were when we just “grabbed something” at the last minute.
Give meal planning a try. For lots and LOTS of fantastic menus and meal ideas from all over the world, visit Laura at I‘m An Organizing Junkie! every Monday for her meal planning round-up. I’m sure you will find inspiration.
I LOVE lists and charts – this looks so easy! I didn’t even think about meal planning for snacks. Just last month I made a monthly meal plan for dinner (mostly using your crock pot recipes), but I really screw up with my snacks by eating lots of junk. Thanks for the great idea!
I would love to be able to plan all my dinners in a month as crockpot meals with minimum purchases needed to be made and some way of scaling the recipes to fit with my 3.5 quart crockpot. I know, it is shocking that I only have one crockpot!
I realize this is a lot to ask but I am such a newbie when it comes to cooking and I have had great success with the crockpot and would love to use it exclusively, at least until I feel I have made a better transition from fulltime working mother to WAHM.
If you could post some kind of “formula” to scale the crockpot recipes, I could then click on “Pork” or “chicken” and then pick and choose my recipes and add them to an Excel sheet or something. Is my background in computer programming showing through yet?
This web site is interesting and I’m an avid reader of your crock pot blog, but a week or a month of meal planning? NOT. If I plan its a day ahead of time! I’m in a control freak sort of job so at home i have an insouciant attitude about meal planning. But… I like the looks of this site alot – great colors!
Love it!
But can you help me with a big issue I have?
I tend to make my grocery list while at work on a post it note. 8 out of 10 times I forget the darn post it note at work! Any ideas on getting me a little more together?
Wendy – I am so bad with post-its too! My best trick? Email myself! I send 5 times as many emails to myself than to all other people combined! I know that when I get home I always check my email. Many times I’ll just includ the needed info in the subject line like “BUY MILK”, that way I don’t even have to open it – just delete it or mark it as ‘read’ when I complete the task. I know this sounds silly, but in a technology-filled world it works!
This doesn’t help me, but if you have a blackberry you could always check the email right at the store too.
I love your chart! I plan our meals for dinner, but have never thought about planning breakfast or snacks.
Is your chart a template that you print out or is it on a dry erase board? My meal plan goes up on my dry erase board monthly calendar but I prefer the look of yours.
Hi Wendy!
Stephanie’s idea might sound odd, but it works. I stick them to my wallet inside my purse. That way no matter what they are with me at all times.
Hi Stephanie, love the new blog!! I just have to say that I think we are twins separated at birth or something. I too do obsessive meal planning – in fact, I have my meals in an Excel workbook together with 8 other spreadsheets that help me organize my life. Yeah, no kidding. I keep a running inventory of stuff in my fridge / freezer that I need to use up, right there on the same chart. And like you I put the snacks & breakfast & everything on there. I’ve been doing this for years & years. I also am addicted to self-help books and my Crock Pot. Is there a name for this disorder??
Anyway because I’m addicted to self-help stuff this blog is going right into my bloglines.
I love your blog and your recipes and everything else… but really what I wanted to tell you is that “floundery” is now officially a word in my vocabulary! I love it! I am routinely making up my own words to fit the situation that I am in because then no one can go behind me and correct me.
So, FLOUNDERY is official! Congrats! (and thanks!)
Love the new blog. Your crockpot blog transformed the way I cook. Really.
So you have totally sold me on the crock-pot thing. We are using it just about every day, if you count actual meals to be eaten and beans and such to be prepared for other meals. I am also someone who makes turkey meatloaves for sandwiches instead of buying lunch meat, so I will be trying out your meatloaf recipe for the crock this week.
My meal planning question is….. the snacks and lunches– are those just for you or for the whole family? Do you pack those items for everyone to take with them or does everyone work or learn from home? I would love to hear about some of your pack/keep fresh/collect containers/wash strategies.
Thanks for this great meal planning chart idea. I know it seems simple but I just made my own and I feel more organized already. Thanks again for sharing your ideas!
Thanks for the great suggestions!! My husband and I don’t have any kids yet, but I have recently switched to a ridiculously limiting diet as prescribed by my doctor due to allergies, etc (gluten free, vegan, and soy-free). I sometimes push the boundaries of being vegan (allowing milk or cheese), but I have been having a difficult time with the meal-planning. I bought 3 cookbooks specific to this diet so I wouldn’t have to sift through and figure out what I can and can’t eat or what I would have to substitute. However, whenever I sit down to meal-plan, I still feel overwhelmed and wonder how on earth I will be able to stretch meals into leftovers like I used to do, or feel like I am spending way too much at the grocery store. Any advice? How did you get started when you first went gluten free?
I have always (well almost always) planned meals, but mostly dinners. At times I plan breakfast and lunch (these days there are only 2 adults here so we each fix our own at these meals usually)…and more recently I have been planning snacks. This is because I am on a diet and I notice I do much better at it if I plan ahead.
Just a note about the book, Mastering Leptin by Byron Richards. Recent discoveries about hormones are showing that 5-6 little meals are actually BAD for the body’s regulating system (endocrine system). We have incorporated the eating suggestions and the cravings have disappeared as well as many pounds! I highly recommend this book! It is not a weight loss book necessarily, but weight loss is a side effect (only unwanted fat is lost not muscle mass like some).
lol, I do that kind of thing all the time. You could stick it to your shirt the way teachers used to pin notes to their students!
My mom sticks post-its to her purse. It’s not the most attractive, but it works. Adam calls lists in to his voicemail, and he always has his phone with him.
I’ll keep thinking…
xoxo
steph
I thought I would chime in here because I do the same thing. I usually stick the post-it to my cell phone (because it’s always out on my desk, and I always take it home). I can add to it as the day goes by, and at night, when I grab my phone, the list is attached. Do you have something you always take home that you could try that with? A coffee cup, cell phone, or something?
I stick my Post-it on my debit card in my wallet. If I don’t have the debit card the not having the list is the least of my worries.
If you have internet access at work, try putting your grocery list online. I use Cozi.com which will actually send my grocery list to my cell phone in a text message OR phone call, on request. It’s free and they didn’t put my phone on any salesperson’s list
Buy a planner and keep it with you in your purse , on your desk when you get to work. I use Amy Knapp planner that has a tear off edge for grocery lists.
If the meal at a time works for you, no need to change. It didn’t work well for us.
I like the colors too!
xoxo steph
it’s a template from Excel; nothing fancy. There’s a nicer looking one the graphic designer put into the book that can be xeroxed.
I never used to plan breakfasts, lunches, or snacks, either. But then the kids would whine about eating the same things and I found they “grazed” all day long and never really ate a proper meal. Somehow they don’t seem to argue with the chart. they read it and say “oh oatmeal. But tomorrow’s pancakes!”
xoxo steph
Not really, I normally leave my cell in my purse. (cause I’m afraid I would forget it!)
hahahaha! yay! I love that word.
xoxo steph
I love adding made up words, too! You can share the one my son made up when he was two and feeling very frustrated and grouchy. He announced from the backseat, “I’m so GRUMPERATED!”
Thanks, Elizabeth. I’m so happy that I’ve been able to be of some help to you and your family. xoxo steph
What a great idea to make meatloaves for sandwiches! Adam makes his own lunch in the morning, and if he’s in the kitchen before I am he’ll make the kids lunches. They get a snack and a lunch packed. My 4 y old is home with me on Tues and Thurs, but I pack a lunch box for her anyway—she likes having one to eat out of. I try my hardest to sit down at lunch and will eat leftovers or a sandwich. I like having an afternoon snack already ready on the table when I get back from the school run—the kids are so hungry they can’t seem to think straight at 3pm.
Lots of families make lunches the night before, and when I was working early hours I found that quite helpful.
xoxo steph
I leave a list on the fridge, and when family members use up the last of something or need to request something, they write it on the list. When I make my weekly menu, I make my grocery list at the same time. That way, I don’t forget anything. Usually, I go to the store right after that, while all my planning is fresh on my mind. And I usually go on Saturday morning, when the kids want to stay home and watch t.v. I hate shopping with kids. I’d rather go at 5:00 a.m. or midnight.
I love it that I’m not the only OCD planner/list maker. I moved my menu, chore list and color-coded family calendar so everyone who came into my kitchen wouldn’t see it (but my husband and kids still would!)
That is so ridiculously cute.