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I’m a big fan of keeping things as easy and stress-free as possible. Admittedly, I first started meal planning when I filed bankruptcy 6 years ago and had to start learning to live with a budget. So initially this process was a way to help keep my grocery spending in check. However, once I became a wife and mother, meal planning and bi-weekly grocery shopping became a necessary part of our routine. Though I spend 2-3 hours every two weeks on this process, it eliminates the multiple trips to the store each week to “pick up something for dinner”, and it takes the guessing game out of “what are we gonna have tonight”. Even better, I’ve figured out a system that takes the guessing game out of the process entirely. In fact, it takes me only about 20 minutes to prepare my list for shopping every 2 weeks.
Now, I should mention some disclaimers and best practices here.
- First of all, I do NOT cook everyday. Nor do we eat out more than about once a week (if that). But when I DO cook, I make enough for us to eat on it for 2 days. Sometimes it means doubling a recipe – so I might make 2 pans of enchiladas instead of 1. But if I make meatloaf on Monday, we are eating meatloaf Monday AND Tuesday.
- I mostly just plan our dinners. For breakfast, we eat simple things: cereal, oatmeal, etc. (the exception being what we call “weekend breakfast” – which might include an actual cooked meal like eggs and bacon, or a casserole). My husband can eat lunch through his work, and my daughter goes to daycare 3-4 days a week. So I’m really the only one eating at home, and I keep it simple with things like salad, soup, sandwiches, etc. Therefore, when I talk about meal planning, I am mostly referring to dinners.
- I usually plan about one night a week that is an “easy” meal, like a frozen pizza, tuna and mac & cheese, etc. Because there is an odd number of days in a week, this helps to round out my week with an average of about 3 cooked meals that last 2 nights each, and 1 meal that is a “one-nighter”.
- I always keep a couple of extra “one-nighter” meals on hand – just in case. That way, if something happens to throw off the schedule, or if I don’t make it back to the store in exactly 2 more weeks, I have some things to fall back on in a pinch.
With all of that said, here is my brainless system for meal preparing every 2 weeks:
STEP 1 – LOOK AT YOUR CALENDAR
I know this sounds too simple, but seriously: take a look and see what you have going on for the next 2 weeks. Will you be home all 14 days, or are you going out of town? Do you have a night or two where you have kids activities or church or something, and you know you will have to grab food on-the-go? Here’s what that analysis might look like:
STEP 2 – LOOK AT YOUR LIST OF MEALS
I happen to have about 23 meals right now that are in my rotation. I keep a list of them handy, so that I can refer to them as I plan my meals and shopping. If you don’t yet have a list like this, I highly recommend creating one. It will just take about 5 minutes now, but will save you countless time later – I promise.
STEP 3: CHOOSE MEALS YOU HAVEN’T MADE IN A WHILE
And how do you know you haven’t made them in a while? Because you will write them on your calendar! Between your list of meals and your calendar, this process should be easy-breezy. It literally takes me about 5 or so minutes to choose the 5-6 meals I need, because it’s all there in front of me (our meals are in orange).
STEP 4: MAKE YOUR GROCERY LIST BASED ON THE INGREDIENTS YOU WILL NEED
Start your grocery list with the ingredients that you will need for these meals. Just remember to check your inventory of stock items first, as you may already have some of them. For example, I tend to keep bread crumbs and eggs in inventory, so I wouldn’t need to buy those for meatloaf. Also check to see if any of the items you need to buy can be used for more than one recipe. If I am making lasagna and pesto chicken bake in the same 2 weeks, I can buy just one big bag of shredded Italian cheese to supply both recipes.
STEP 5: DECIDE WHAT SIDE ITEMS OR CONDIMENTS YOU NEED
Obviously, most of these meals are the main courses, so you will need to decide what side items you want to go with them and add those to your list. For example, you may want mashed potatoes to go with the meatloaf, or you may want broccoli to go with the lasagna. Add these items to your list next.
STEP 6: FILL IN YOUR LIST WITH STOCK ITEMS
Complete your grocery list with anything else you might need over the next 2 weeks, such as:
- Basics like bread and milk
- Snacks you typically like to keep on hand
- Breakfast & lunch foods
- Stock items (e.g. ketchup, peanut butter, etc)
- “Easy” meals like frozen pizza, mac & cheese, etc
- Household items (e.g. toothpaste, toilet paper, etc)
STEP 7: GO GROCERY SHOPPING!
I don’t want to spend too much time on this item, because this could be another whole post for a different day. But know that it typically takes me about 2 hours to do the shopping, because I do a big sweep at Walmart for most of my items, but I then go to a local grocery store (Food City) to get my produce and meat. Just remember: you’re only doing this about twice per month, so you are saving time on the daily and weekly trips. (Side note: I might make a QUICK run – 15 minutes or less – on the way home one day each week to grab the milk that may have run out, or replenish perishable produce – but that’s it!)
STEP 8: DECIDE WHAT MEALS YOU WILL HAVE ON WHICH DAYS
I like to do this step after I do the grocery shopping, because then I can really focus on the events of the upcoming week and decide on the menu accordingly. If I know I will be getting home later one night, I may decide that is a better night for leftovers and I will cook the night before. If something takes a great deal of time to prep, I may choose to do that on a day that I will get home earlier, or I may do some prep work ahead of time. Use the easy “one-nighters” to fill in between meals, or to use on nights when you won’t feel like cooking. Now WRITE THEM ON YOUR CALENDAR. Trust me: it takes a load off of your mind when you don’t have to think about what you want to cook each night. My husband laughed and made fun of me when I first started writing our meals on the calendar, but now he feels lost without them when I don’t! We always have so many different things going on, and worrying about what to make for dinner (and then going shopping for it!) would just be too much daily stress. This system has made a world of difference in simplifying our lives!
Best of luck, and happy meal planning!
(If you try this system, I would love to hear your feedback! Add your feedback in the Comments section below…)