Menu planning

Of the myriad tasks moms have to do, What do you suppose is the most dreaded? WOW! I can almost hear all of you screaming in unison, "Planning and preparing meals!" Yeah, it was for me too!

It was like this unrelenting voice in the back of my head saying, "What are you going to make for dinner tonight" (day in and day out). I seriously wanted to throw that voice in an imaginary drawer and shut it!

I usually didn't plan menus and would end up at the grocery store with no idea of what I wanted to buy, let alone, make. Without fail the result would be... a fridge full of food that would go bad before I had any chance of using it. Or, when I did have a desire to make something, I usually didn't have the ingredients so back to the store I would go to get those few items that I needed and some how end up with another cart full of... who knows what?!? Talk about wasting valuable time and money.

So, if any of this sound familiar to you...STOP and take a deep breath OUT! Help is on the way.
My sister and I put our heads together and came up with a fantastic solution.

Would you like to know what meals you are having in advance and which day of the week you will be eating them? Well then, lets get busy planning our meals. Don't worry! It's not as hard as you might think.

First, pull out a sheet of paper. Oh wait, Who does that anymore? Sit down at your computer and type out each day of the week. Next, come up with a type of food that you would like for each day for both breakfast and dinners. For example, here is my list...(oh, by the way I only plan (B)breakfast and (D)dinners. You're on your own for lunches!)

Sunday
(B) hot cereal
(D) beef dish

Monday
(B) blender pancakes
(D) bean dish

Tuesday
(B) smoothie
(D) chicken dish

Wednesday
(B) eggs
(D) soup/salad

Thursday
(B) cold cereal (favorite day of the week, wonder why?!?)
(D) pasta dish

Friday
(B) bread
(D) pizza (for the kids anyway, it's my date night) Did I say Thursday was my favorite day? My mistake!

Saturday
(B) cereal
(D) sandwich (we usually go out to lunch as a family on this day so a light dinner works for us)

There you go! See how much easier that is? Now go back to Sunday and come up with five (just in case there is a fifth week that month) hot cereal dishes and five beef dishes. You're already thinking of way more than five aren't you? A lot less overwhelming than thinking of an entire month, huh?

Just for fun, and I'm thinking out loud here I've thought about having and international night each week(Mexican, Italian, Asian, etc).

Over time you may get tired of the same meals month after month. Just switch it up, variety is always welcomed.

So, when you're MENU is complete, it should look something like this.

Don't knock yourself out trying to get this done in one day. Remember to be nice to yourself! Take it one day at a time and it will change your whole life in no time. When I first started doing this, I set aside a 1/2 hr. every Thursday morning until the task was completed. It took a couple weeks but when it was completed it was well thought through.

Next thing on the to do list... Get one of these handy dandy 3 ring binders.Slide your 30 day menu in the front pocket so you can view as needed. Next pick up a packet of page dividers. You will need f-i-v-e. This is for each week during the month. After you've made a grocery list for each week you will slide it in a page protector and keep it in that particular weeks slot along with any recipes that you will need to refer back to.

Make sense?!?

To make your grocery shopping experience more desirable and your list easier to read, divide it accordingly:
*Dairy
*Meat
*Cans
*Boxes
*Cannery/baking
*Produce
*Grocery
*Bread
*Frozen

Now you can just pull the list out of your binder on your way to the grocery store each week.

When you plan your menus ahead and go to the store with a shopping list, you will find that you avoid unnecessary trips to the store during the week and thereby saving money, stress, and time. You'll also find that you'll get one step closer to obeying the First Presidency when they say... have a three-month supply on you pantry shelves because you'll know exactly what you need.

Now, go de-stress yourself! Make that list and have fun.

If anything needs to be explained in further detail, just let me know.