Meal planning made simple

Cooking every week can be tiresome: finding recipes, getting groceries, and preparing each meal. I have found that with just a little preparation cooking each night can be a joy and not a burden. Here are some tips that I have found helpful for meal planning

• Get organized - Pick one day of the week to look for recipes and plan your meals/write your grocery list. For me, Saturday and Sunday are the best days ( I like to get my grocery shopping done when my husband can be home with the baby). On whichever day you choose, set aside some time for yourself (30 minutes or so) without any distractions. I take out a piece of paper and on the front I wright the date and then Monday - Sunday. Write out each meal you plan on making. Next, use the back of your sheet of paper to write out your grocery list. I categorize my list like this: Meat, Veggies, Fruit, Grains, Dairy, Other. write down staples like peanut butter, eggs, milk, etc. then go through each recipe and write down ingredients that you need to pick up for each recipe. This method works very well for me because I can check off items as I pick them up at the store and I'm able to see which meals we are having while I shop in case I forgot to write something down on the list. 
• Compile your recipes - there are so many resources for recipes out there. During the week I search for recipes on pinterest, some of my favorite food blogs, and my cookbooks. Throughout the week when you find a recipe you want to try, go ahead and bookmark it or email it to yourself (create a folder in your email for all of your recipes to stay organized). On the day that you pick to plan your menu for the week go through the recipes you compiled throughout the previous week and choose away!

1. Oh She Glows
2. Eat, Live, Run
3. Smitten Kitchen
4. The girl who ate everything
5. The Pioneer Woman

• Stay simple - When you first start out keep it simple. We eat a lot of meat around here so I generally plan our meals around whichever protein we are going to eat that night and add in 1 or 2 veggies (roasted, steamed, or sauteed), a salad, and/or sweet potatoes. Here is an example of what one week of dinners for us might look like:

• Pesto noodles with ground turkey
• Clam chowder (Sunset magazine) and cheddar biscuits
• Turkey Burgers + Veggies 
• Chicken Lettuce Wraps (freeze leftover chicken for next week)
• Apple & Quinoa stuffed acorn squash with sweet potatoes
• sesame soba  with chicken
• Beef and butternut squash stew with sourdough (freeze leftovers for next week)

• Have fun with it! - Make meal planning fun by trying new recipes. Maybe cook your husbands favorite meal for him

Here are a couple more meal planning resources:

• Two plus one weekly meals
• Blissful and Domestic - grocery shopping

-xoxo, Leah