Welcome back to The Self-Sufficient Citizen where I talk about homemaking, homesteading and other related topics. Continuing our theme for the past few weeks I have a new post about meal planning. This is a part of the Beginner Homemaker Basics series where I talk about basic skills homemakers should have and how to do them. So, without further ado, here is How to Meal Plan for Beginners.
We start first with the question “What is meal planning”? Meal planning has so many components it is easy to get lost in those when trying to explain it. The best way that I have heard it explained is “… meal planning means sketching out what you are going to eat at each meal over the course of a week.“, and thus help create a grocery list. The anxiety I got when I heard of planning out what I was going to eat for the next week was immeasurable when I first started. So many factors to plan for and so much to do!
So why do this if it seems stressful? That is an important question and brings me to my next point. Why do people meal plan? Some reasons people meal plan include making grocery lists, reducing grocery waste, budgeting, and ensuring dinner is on time. Those are all very good reasons to give it a try. But understandably it is an overwhelming thing to start doing. That is especially true if it’s your first time creating and using a meal plan.
So, I decided to go about this step by step. A 5-step list of how to easily meal plan that is easy to understand for beginners and detailed enough for the advanced. After all, we never really stop learning.
#1 Make a Master List to Start Meal Planning
I never realized that I had started doing this until I lost my notebook where I kept a list of all the meals I knew how to make and enjoy. This brings up two points. Do not put meals that you know how to make but hate on your list. You either will never make them or you will and won’t eat the meal. My next point is to have a list in a binder or notebook that has a dedicated spot. This notebook will become sacred (with good reason!). You do not want to lose your master list. Ever! I did end up finding my notebook and now it goes back onto the bookshelf after each use.
#2 Choose a Day for Meal Planning
When I lived in a duplex, I had enough storage to go to the store once a month. I would buy what I needed and not shop until the next month. I bought my groceries on the 15th or 16th and that was that. Honestly, I didn’t quite understand why all these people were going weekly. Until I moved and started weekly shopping myself.
Weekly shopping helps you have a constant supply of fresh groceries in the house with minimizing food waste. My diet has improved significantly, and meal planning is way easier too. Having your meal plan ready each week before you need to shop is essential. I would suggest you pick a day of the week where you will be going to the store. I usually shop on Thursdays, so I know to have my meal plan done by Wednesday night. This will help prevent you from running out of groceries. Or in some cases panic buying because you realize you don’t know what to cook that night. (We all do it! Or is it just me…? Haha.)
#3 Look at Your Calendar to Plan Meals
We all have life events that change our daily schedule. Some of the time those changes overlap into the time where we would eat meals. Going with the flow is the name of the game here. I mark down everything we have going on in our month on our calendar. I know on Sundays we will eat at my boyfriend’s mom’s house. Birthdays are another thing that can change a meal. Depending on the party I can plan on either eating at the there or making a crockpot meal. If we have a particularly busy day I will either put that we will eat out or use a freezer meal depending on what’s right for us. Don’t be afraid to make a few days a month where you eat out.
This is all about balance and expecting yourself to cook a meal when you get home after work then errands isn’t always realistic. And sometimes you can’t always budget in once a week eating out so that is why on those days crockpot meals or freezer meals are a lifesaver. Remember, the name of the game is going with the flow. Make the meals work for you.
#4 Writing out Your Meals in Your Plan
This is my favorite part. Now is when you get to choose what you want to eat this week! I write out the days I’m planning my meals for (Thursday through Wednesday) and get to work. First, I cross off the day(s) where I don’t cook. Next, I look for days that are going to be crazy. Those usually are days where having a hot meal ready quick is a must. Now go to your master list and start filling in your days. Write meals that sound good and match your schedule. For example, on a crazy day you can plan to eat leftovers, a crockpot meal, a freezer meal or just go and eat out.
Here is an example of mine.
#5 Write a grocery list for your Meal Plan
The last step to do is to take note of what ingredients each meal needs and if you have those already at home. For mine I have most of the ingredients, but I will be picking up some mixed beans, extra veggies salad, garlic bread, and some fruit. I would like to add that writing out your meal, side dish, and veggies will help with your grocery list. You can cook the entre but if you don’t have the side dishes it won’t make the meal.
And today I have a very special surprise for my readers. Down below I have a complete printout set of your guide to meal planning. In this completely free download. In this you will get a fridge printout to write your meal plan on as well as a master list sheet and grocery list sheet to help you start this journey. Again, this is completely free. Please consider subscribing to The Self-Sufficient Citizen below your free download to receive other free material and a monthly newsletter. Thank you and we will see you next time.
-Hannah
