What is meal planning, why do people do it and is it worth it? These are some of the common questions asked regarding meal planning. It’s really not that hard at all and once you get the hang of it, you could be reaping the rewards of grocery savings and stress free meal times. Let’s dive in!
Meal Planning is the process of planning your meals ahead of time. People do it for various reasons. For us, meal planning takes the guess work out of what’s for dinner. Having to plan meals for 6 people means not leaving the planning to the last minute. Scrambling for ideas and ingredients 30 minutes before meal time is not the kind of stress I need on a daily basis. And having hungry kids bugging to know what’s for dinner and when it will be ready adds to the pressure of getting something on the table at meal time.
And so for sanity’s sake, I strongly encourage others to meal plan in order to take the stress out of meals. Once you get into your own rhythm of planning, you will see how it can all quickly come together and how easy a habit it can become. Additionally, planning ahead allows you to take control over your grocery budget by limiting your impulse purchases and ditching the take out.
For my family, ditching the take out came out of necessity. We moved to an area that just didn’t have take out readily available. Any type of craving we may want to satisfy requires a 15-20 minute drive per direction! This helped me take a first hand crash course on the need for meal planning, as hitting up a drive through is not only expensive for a family of 6, but quite literally a mini road trip.
So you’re probably wondering how do I begin? My process for meal planning begins with taking stock of what I already have on hand. I have a look at my fridge to check what produce I need to use up. Then I have a peek to see if there are any sauces or marinades I should be trying to use to get out of my fridge.
Next I have a look at our chest freezer. This is where I will find protein or any leftover meals that should be used up first. Once I have an idea of what’s in there, I proceed to our dry goods pantry. Here I can find what sauce to add to my protein, what noodles to use or what seasonings I have on hand to make the meal complete. It’s also where I can rotate and monitor what I have on hand, if I’m running low or out of something and then I can make note of those gaps, so I can replenish my stockpile.
The next step in my meal planning process is to check out my local weekly grocery flyers. Having a look at the flyers allows me to see what’s on sale and where I’ll get the best bang for my buck for the items I need to complete my meal plan. By checking the flyers, I’m able to quickly see if the items I’m looking for are on sale, as there are very few instances where I will buy something that is not on sale. That’s the beauty of having a pantry stockpile, no matter how large or small, as it may save you from having to buy something full price. If I need to buy something for my meal plan that isn’t on sale that week, I usually “bump” that meal to the following week in the hopes those ingredients will make it into the sale flyer the next week. In doing this, I can usually get a good understanding on my stores flyer cycle and when I can expect things to go on sale.
How long should I meal plan for?
This is a completely personal decision based on individual circumstances. When I started meal planning, I started doing one week at a time. My children were all very small at the time and I would often not plan properly and run of of things, which forced me back to the grocery store before I wanted to shop again. I would also spend more than anticipated because I was forced to buy the things I needed in the moment, regardless if they were on sale or not. But having 3 kids 14 months and under forced me to take stock of what I had and get organized to plan ahead, because I was way too busy tending to babies to have to worry about feeding everyone at the last minute.
After getting into the weekly habit of meal planning, I started doing it for 2 weeks at a time, then 3 weeks until I ultimately started meal planning the whole month in advance. We have a week at a time whiteboard on our kitchen wall that allows everyone to see what is on the menu for the current week, and my month long meal plan is written down on a super handy weekly planner pad that I picked up at the dollar store.
Whatever you decide to try, don’t let the thought of a monthly meal plan freak you out. Know that within the plan there will be an expectation of leftover nights, pre-made accompaniments and nights where you may not be home and need to grab a meal on the go. Allow yourself room to stumble and order in if things don’t work out but know that the ultimate goal is to make your dinner time routine go off without a hitch. And the bonus, is saving money and sanity by planning ahead.
