Meal Planning

Dec 12, 2015
3 min read

I really enjoy cooking. To be truthful, though, I am definitely a better baker than a cook. However, I am always working to improve my cooking skills, and in order to get better at something, you must do more of it. Cooking more meals also means means planning menus for my family!

I never really learned to make much from scratch growing up. Most of what I learned on that front came from my mamaw. I grew up in the 90s, and my mom was a career woman. We really didn't eat out a lot when I was growing up, so I do remember my mom cooking most of our meals. Several times throughout the month we would have crock-pot meals, and the next night would usually be left-overs. On the nights that she cooked when she got home from work, the meals usually consisted of: a meat, two cans of veggies for sides, and a bread of some sort. Basic, easy, and quick.

When we got married, James and I both worked good jobs, so we enjoyed eating out... a lot! We probably ate out for half of our meals. James is a great cook, and he usually got home before I did, so back then he cooked a lot more on the nights we stayed in. Once I became a mother, I decided that I really needed to up my game... I had a child to feed.

Enter, Denise! She is my former pastor's wife, and she is an AMAZING MENTOR! I took a discipleship class that she taught at church called "A Mom After God's Own Heart". It was there that I really started learning what it meant to be a godly mother... I'm still working on it. Imperfect progress, I call it.

About a year later, I moved out of state, and she began mentoring me weekly via Skype. Each week we would alternate between a bible lesson and a cooking lesson. God is sooooo good! (and technology can be so useful)! I wouldn't trade those moments in cooking lessons for anything! As she taught me how to cook meals from scratch, I would take down the recipes and work them into my meal plans. I'm a planner by nature, so this part is more fun for me!

Start with a Theme...

I love a theme! (and so does my family!) So when I found this weekly theme below, we tried it for a few weeks, and it just stuck around. It's been about 6 years at this point, and we are still into it!

Simple Sundays

We spend our morning at church, so these are typically crock-pot meals.

Mexican Mondays

Taco Ring, Enchiladas, Tacos, etc.

Tomato-ey Tuesdays

Anything tomato-based. It could be tomato soup, pizza, lasagna, tortellini, or spaghetti.

Wild-Card Wednesdays

This is usually when I try a new recipe (or) leftovers.

Thrifty & Thankful Thursdays

These are meals that don't really cost a lot.... either leftovers or something like baked chicken breasts.

Fancy Feast Fridays

We aren't really "fancy" kind of people, so this is usually when we go out to a restaurant.

Soup, Salad, & Sandwich Saturdays

We try to keep our Saturdays pretty simple as well. If we are planning to be out for the day, then I pack a lunch or we eat out. If we are home, there is always soup or salad in the house.

*In full disclosure, I found this somewhere on Pinterest years ago, but I cannot find the pin so I don't know who to give the credit to.

Fill In The Blanks

I meal plan (4) weeks at a time, and we typically rotate those four weeks of meals for three months. Then I will sit down and fill out another set of meals for the next season. Keeps things fresh and seasonal!

I use the meal planning worksheets from the Emily Ley Home Base Binder Kit. You can also find similar meal planning worksheets on Pinterest.

I love the way these worksheets are set up because they also have a place for my grocery list. I fill in everything needed for every recipe. Then before I go shopping on what I call "Market Monday", I check my pantry. Anything I already have in stock, I check off with a pencil, and then only purchase what is left. Since we have the same meals three times in three months, I will watch the sales and stock up when I can.

I personally purchased the home base binder refill, because I would spend way more than $25 on ink, paper, and time to do a D.I.Y. planner. You can read more about my home base binder HERE. Definitely worth the investment in my opinion.

Finding Contentment in Cooking,