Meal Planning Made Easy

Mar 30, 2020

Do you ever struggle with meal planning? Yep. I understand - I used to struggle too until one day I decided to simplify my meal planning.

My simple solution for meal planning was to create one month's worth of meals, and then our family re-uses that monthly plan for 3 months. Thus meaning that I only have to meal plan four times per year! Y'all! It is glorious meal planning only 4 times per year! Plus, an added bonus is that when something goes on sale, I know I'll need it for the next two months, so I can stock up for the next couple of months and save!

Now, I like to keep things fun! Probably 10 years ago, I came across some fun theme days for meals on Pinterest. {I have tried to locate the original creator for the theme names, but I can't. So please know that the daily titles were not my own creation.} Having themed days have become a staple in our meal-planning! My family LOVES coming up with new meal ideas together.

Our themes are:

Simple Sunday
On Sunday's I try to keep it simple with something like a crock pot meal or a meal that doesn't take a ton of prep work.
Mexican Monday
My family loves Mexican food! Tacos, Taco Ring, Chicken Nachos, Enchiladas, and Quesadillas are a few of our favorites!
Tomato-ey Tuesday
This is when we tend to eat most of our Italian dishes. Some of our favorites are spaghetti (regular or baked), tortellini, chicken parmesan, chicken alfredo, pizza, etc.
Wild Card Wednesday
This night is when I tend to try new recipes out or have as our "fend for yourself" night. We also use this as a flex night for leftovers or if life happens and we don't eat a meal on the scheduled night, then it gets moved here.
Thrifty & Thankful Thursday
This one is so fun! This is a night when we do meals that are super cheap to make.
Fancy Feast Friday
We don't have fancy palates, so this night for us is our eat out day! Sometimes we'll go to a restaurant, and sometimes we'll just order it to go. Either way, the kitchen is closed.
Soup, Salad, or Savory Saturday
Saturdays are always a little different because we might have a rest day at home or we might go out and do something fun! So this day is when we tend to do picnic lunches or if we are home, I'll cook.

What if I miss a day? What if our schedule changes? what if...?

Our schedule is rarely exactly the same each week. Life happens and sometimes a meal gets crossed off, and we pop through a drive-thru like everyone else. I try to build in one eat out night, and one "fend for yourself" night (which is essentially you make your own food). So, should we miss having a meal on that specific day or our schedule gets changed for some reason, then I will just move that meal to one of our flex days on the calendar.

Planning my family's meals this way has been a game-changer for us and I have LOVED doing it!

Here is the calendar I use each month... feel free to download it! If you share a photo on social media, tag me so I can see it!