Start Small: Meal Planning

Start Small

When it comes to meal planning ideas, the smaller you start, the better overall.  You won't be so overwhelmed.  You will finish what you start and your creativity will be sparked enough to try again the next week.  Here is how to begin.  Start on a Saturday/Sunday night or a Monday morning for the upcoming week:

Write down the five days of the week:

Monday: Shepherd's Pie and apple sauce

Tuesday: Shepherd's pie leftovers and salad

Wednesday: New Meal

Thursday: Chicken soup in crock pot with corn bread

Friday: soup leftovers and salad

Don't worry about the weekend yet.  Just get through Monday to Friday.  Start with your busiest day and make that the easiest meal.  My busiest day is Thursday because we have Awana at night.  I need to have dinner ready by 5pm sharp.  So I make that night a crock pot night.  Crock pot dinners are easiest for me because I add all the ingredients in the morning and I am done for the rest of the day.

So I will make Thursday my Chicken Sweet Potato soup day.  I added it on my paper in red.  Then pick the day you are most tired (Friday for me) and choose another quick/easy meal.  I am just going to have that be my leftover night and add an easy salad to the meal.  

The days you have a little more time (for me it is Monday and Wednesday) make those the meals that have a few extra steps.  Shepherd's Pie lasts two nights but it takes me about 45 minutes to make (I do the mashed potato topping from scratch which involves boiling the potatoes and mashing) and 30 minutes to bake.  But the good thing about it is we always have left overs.  Since Tuesday is a busy night for me leftovers is perfect and I switch up the meal by adding a healthy green salad.

Wednesday I have extra time so I will make that my New Meal day!  Here is where you can be creative and go through a magazine or Pinterest to spark some ideas to try something new!  You never know it might become a family favorite and be a dish you can add to your rotation.  Check out my New Pinterest board entitled New Recipes to Try in November.

Do whatever inspires you!  Remember anyone can make dinner, but not everyone can COOK!  Inspire yourself and get excited about the meals you create in the kitchen.  Trust me your enthusiasm and creativity will be noticed and appreciated!

Check out Monday's blog post to see what my New Meal of the week will be!