Meal Planning Made Simple

The process of meal planning is a very important to a busy family. Parents want the opportunity to feed their children good nutritious meals. However, life is busy and the not having all the ingredients for a healthy, home-cooked meal can sabotage the best intensions of a parent. Planning a weekly, flexible menu for a weeks' worth of meals and leftovers is the key to balancing time and effort for a busy family. Here are some tips to simplifying your meal planning at home:

1. Simple Meal Planning Starts with a Pencil and Paper
To make a good plan work, you need to write it down. In the case of meal planning, sit down with pencil and paper and work out the upcoming weekly meals. Determine which days will be more hectic than others and plan quick meals for those days. On days with no after dinner commitments, plan meals that are fresh and easy to make. In planning your meals, make sure you use ingredients that can be saved in case some meals are not made. Chicken breasts fall into this category as they can be frozen now or they can be cooked and used in later meals.

2. Use What You Have for Simple Meal Planning
It is unfortunate when food goes to waste. When sitting down to plan your meals, look to what you already have in your kitchen and then work them into your meals. Check your vegetable drawers in your refrigerator. Tomatoes, green peppers, celery, and carrots make for a nice salad. If any of your meals include pasta sauce, an omelet, or a soup, many of your leftovers can be added to make a great meal.

3. Simple Meal Planning Should Include Fresh Foods
Everything does taste better when it is fresh. To find fresh foods, think about what season you are in and what is abundant in your fresh produce store. Food that is in season such as fresh fruit during the spring and early summer are great choices to add to your meal planning. Many times the fresh produce will taste better and save you money.

4. Simple Meal Planning Needs a Complete Grocery List
After sitting down and making your meal plans, begin to write down a grocery list based on the menu in front of you. Take that completed grocery list and do the shopping for those meals at the beginning of the week. Take your meal planner that you wrote in the beginning and post it in your kitchen. Check it before going to bed each night to be sure to defrost any ingredient for the next days meal. Following the meal plan is not always important as things come up during the week. If that happens, juggle the menu around to accommodate those changes.

5. Take a Night Off From Simple Meal Planning
Some nights it is just not fun to have a planned meal. These are the times to give you and your family the night off. Be spontaneous and cook breakfast for dinner instead. Whip up some pancakes and eggs for a quick and easy dinner.