Hey there Domestic Darlings! We all know how overwhelming meal planning can be, especially with our jam packed schedules. But what if I told you that meal planning could be easy and enjoyable? No for reals, I mean it! I’ve got the secret sauce right here and I’m sharing it today. I’m so excited to dig into meal planning with you especially because this is coming on the heels of me doing a little meal prepping with my mother in law, and my niece in law, to get ready for the babies (mine, and my neice’s!) that are on the way! Okay okay, let’s get into it!
Meal Planning Step 1: Make a Master List
My step one is always to make a master list. In my meal planning printable (you can find that here!) I always have a master recipe list template where you can write down every fave meal you and your family can think of. My husband and I both have family cookbooks, so when I first made my master recipe list I went through both of our family recipe books and wrote down our favorite dishes! Of course, there are meals that have become new traditions in our own marriage that I made sure to add as well. Once that sheet was full, I laminated it and put it into my homemaking clipboard (you can find my fave homemaking supplies here.) I also try to always have an extra sheet printed that I can keep adding recipes to as we try new recipes. We’ll be using this master list in step two, so be sure to keep it handy!
Meal Planning Step 2: Match Meals to Each Day of the Next Week (or Two!)
Once you have all of your meals listed out, it makes it SO easy to assign your meals to each day of the week. If you’re stuck, I’ve got a pro tip for you – try theme nights! Spice things up with Mexican, Italian, American, or Casserole Night. Or, if you’re working with food storage, assign a food group for each night like Lentil Night, Rice Night, Beans Night, Pasta Night, Bread/Wheat Night, and challenge yourself to find a recipe that fits the theme. (I like to make Hawaiian Haystacks on rice night, Dal Makhani or Lentil Tacos on lentil night, etc) How fun is that? And don’t forget to dedicate a night for trying new recipes and another for using up leftovers.
Step 3: Take Inventory and Make a List
Before you hit the grocery store, take a quick inventory of your fridge and pantry. This will help you avoid buying doubles or overlooking essential ingredients. Something unconventional I do is meal plan and grocery shop on Wednesdays! That means, when I’m meal planning, I plan Wednesday-Wednesday instead of Monday-Sunday. “Why” you ask? Well girl I’m going to tell you! Every Wednesday as part of my Domestic Daydreams 1950s True Crime Radio Cleaning Routines (you can get your free episodes here), my weekly task is to clean out the fridge! (You can read my blog post on what my weekly tasks are, here)
Here’s why this helps!
- I now know what is left in my fridge that’s still good, so it’s fresh in my mind to plan with.
- I know if there are any leftovers that need to be used.
- There’s no more junk, and it’s clean for new groceries.
Meal Planning Step 4: Shopping Time!
In my opinion Wednesdays are the ultimate grocery shopping day. I used to work in a grocery store, and I found out a few secrets! Which is why I set cleaning out my fridge + grocery shopping as my Wednesday task. At least in somewhat rural areas, where grocery stores aren’t receiving nightly trucks, they receive new stock on Tuesdays and Fridays. So you don’t want to go on a Tuesday or on a Friday when they’re still restocking. You don’t want to go on a Monday or a Thursday when things are pretty run out. Which means the best day is to go on Wednesday, because everything’s freshly stocked, but you’re not in the middle of them like trying to restock the store! PLUS, sales usually end on Sundays and start on Wednesdays. If you live in a VERY rural area, something I like to do is meal plan 2-3 weeks at a time, place an order for pickup at the large grocery store in the nearest city, and then just shop for perishables locally.
Step 5: Use Bins/Baskets to Organize Non-Perishables
To make meal prep a breeze, organize your ingredients for the week. Use small bins or baskets in your pantry for each meal to store the non-perishable ingredients in the form of meal kits. Simply label each bin with the meal’s name, and the day of the week, for easy access. (I laminate the labels in my printable and use a dry erase marker to change for each meal!) This brilliant bin idea from Passionate Penny Pincher has been an absolute game changer for me! And for all your refrigerated goods, store them in the bottom drawers of your fridge or freezer, so they’re always within reach.
Or if you’re planning a few weeks ahead, you can prep out those items (like chopped veggies and meats), label it for each meal, and freeze them so they are ready to go! And this takes me on to the meal prepping that I did with my family to get ready for the babies on the way!
A Quick Guide to Meal Prepping Methods!
Non-Perishable/Dump Meal Kit Prepping
If you have limited freezer space, this is a great option! First, we went through our family cookbook and found the meals that we could make from mostly non-perishable items/canned goods. Basically dump meals! At the time, I had a stuffed freezer and was worried about having enough freezer space! We went through and made kits for each meal, as well as some freezer breakfasts. I’m planning on either going back and freezing chopped onions and meats to go with the meal kits, or to dump the meal kits into freezer bags and freeze once I have enough room in the freezer.
Soup, Salad, and Bread Meal Prepping
Another FAVORITE way to meal prep is to do soups, salad, and bread. I will pick a day and make a bunch of soups then freeze them into single serving sizes. Then I’ll prep meats on a sheet pan for salads, and make mason jar salad kits for the week! When layered correctly they don’t get soggy, and I’ve found I can fit enough salad in one large wide-mouth mason jar for two people! I’ll pair it with salad and bread for dinner, and it’s so easy!
What to search on Pinterest to Find Meal Prepping Ideas
- Dump Meal Kits
- Sheet Pan Dinners
- Mason Jar Meal Kits
- Mason Jar Salad Recipes
- Non-Perishable/Canned Meal Kits
- Freezer Crockpot Meal Ideas
- Freezer Breakfast Ideas
Step 6: Cook Like a Queen
After each night’s cooking session, pull out the recipe & bin for the next day’s meal and double-check all the necessary ingredients. If needed, thaw any meat ahead of time. Or, if you meal prepped freezer meals, thaw those ahead over night. The next morning, start your slow cooker, or make dinner super quick at night.
And that’s my meal planning guide!
And that’s all there is to it! I hope today’s meal planning tips and tricks were able to get ideas flowing, and will help you get ultra-organized when it comes to feeding your family! If you’d like more info on that Domestic Darling Audio Cleaning Routine I mentioned earlier, I’ve got that info for you below!
Free Cleaning Routine Episodes
Raise your hand if you keep trying cleaning routine after cleaning routine and checklists after checklists to get to a point where messy homes under control but you’re still having to shut doors when company comes over hide piles of laundry under towels. And you’re waking up to yesterday’s mess which just starts your day with overwhelm and feeling like you’re a crap homemaker.
Girl, I’ve been there and it’s not your fault. Let’s talk about it!
Here’s the thing. Most of those homemaking routines were made for the Type A girlies like, well, if we could stick to an organized routine, or detailed checklists, we wouldn’t be in this mess in the first place where we need an organized routine and a detailed checklist. 😉
Can I get an amen from my fellow ADHD girlies? Our brains just don’t function that way. Let me tell you what you need True Crime radio cleaning routines. Yes girl audio cleaning routines, no frills. Let me tell you why this works.
Instead of anticipating a whole freaking list of things that you need to get done that day, and feeling completely overwhelmed before you even pick up a dang dish. And if you have ADHD, you break those little tasks down into even smaller, more overwhelming steps. No, no. Okay. Literally all you have to do is anticipate pressing play and listening to an awesome radio story from the 1950s. Then I sneakily guide you through each task. PLUS, it’s timed so you don’t get distracted by other tasks. And by the time it’s over, you’ve got a clean house! We don’t get keep here. So I’m giving y’all a few free episodes, for the morning routine click here, for the evening routine click here!