Meal Planning Ideas and Tips:
Let's Make This Easy!

1. Chop like items all at once. As you prepare to cook the first meal on your week's plan, think ahead. Do you need chopped onions today and also tomorrow? Chop 'em up while you're at it! Things like celery, onions, and carrots can be pre-chopped and waiting in the fridge or even the freezer for when you need them. Another idea is to use a food processor to do all your chopping for the week all at once, then store things appropriately.


2. Cook double and freeze ahead. Lasagnas, enchiladas, and soups all are excellent candidates for this approach. When I make enchiladas, I literally make 5 dinners' worth, and freeze 4 of them! It is awfully nice to put a homemade frozen dinner in your meal plan from time to time.


3. Jot down the daily meal on your calendar. I find this tip so simple, yet so helpful. As you glance at the calendar each morning, you remember your appointments, tasks, and pleasures for the day. This is also a great time to remember what you're planning on making for dinner, and then you can remember to take something out to defrost, or know that you want to pop it all in the pot that morning, in the case of a crock pot meal.


4. Meal plan with a friend. Not only is this fun and social, but you also have accountability built right in. You can share meal planning ideas, stay on track, and meet your goals together in friendship and partnership. Some folks even make it a social date, to do some cooking or chopping as a group - even weekly bread-baking groups! How fun!!


5. Shop with cash. Believe me, this will keep you on the straight and narrow at the grocery store. If you know what you'll be cooking, know what you need to buy, and can estimate the cost, taking cash to the store will bring you mastery over your grocery budget. You can even make it a game to stay under a certain amount, and stick the leftover money into a "fun jar" to do something crazy with later. (Like blowing it all on Etsy. Hee hee!)


6. Schedule a regular shopping day. Or two. You can do a three day meal plan, and shop twice a week. That way you know when you're going, what you're getting, how much you'll be spending, and your food will always be super fresh. This can be a major step towards eliminating chaos from your life, and finding peace in the simple rhythms of mindful living.


7. Make a recipe notebook. Each week when you print out your recipes from the meal planner, slip them into a notebook. You will always know where they are, and if you want to make something again, you will already have it printed and ready to go. My kitchen has a handy little recipe holder mounted on the wall beside the stove. I can hang a sheet of paper in it, for easy, mess-free access while cooking.