3 Tips for Easy Meal Planning

Where has the family dinner hour gone? There once was a time when we would all come home from a long day and sit down with our family for a nice home-cooked meal. In today’s fast paced world, we need more bonding time with the family. One might say that in today’s day where people pile way too much on the plate of life, that it is impossible to have a family dinner everyday. I disagree. Wouldn’t you like to get back to the way it used to be?

One way to make family dinners easier to prepare is by planning ahead. Often times I find myself going to the grocery store every other day to pick up needed items, and this is how family time gets lost. Spend a little time planning out dinner ideas for the coming week. Pick meals that are quick and easy for your dinners during the week and save the more time consuming recipes for the weekend. Did you know that software has been developed that makes meal planning a breeze? With a click of the mouse you can organize your recipe collection into daily meal plans complete with nutrition facts and shopping lists. With the computer generated shopping list you won’t have to worry about forgetting a needed item when you go grocery shopping.

Another great way to ensure that your family eats together most nights of the week is to share the responsibility of preparing dinner. It can be difficult for one family member to be responsible for cooking everyday. Each member of the family can take turns cooking each night. This is also a good way to add some new flavors to your meals since each member may have a different cooking technique. For those family members who don’t cook often, this can prove to be a great learning experience. Review each family member’s weekly schedule and delegate the meal preparation tasks such as grocery shopping, cooking, and clean up. Working as a team is a great way to build strength as a family.

“Not meatloaf again!” I’m sure everyone has heard the complaints from that same meal being served week after week. Keep your family dinners exciting by trying different variations of your favorite recipes. An even better idea would be to test out some new recipes. Surprise your family with a delicious new dinner tonight and they will be sure to come back to the dinner table tomorrow.

Nothing is more important than your family. It’s worth the effort to make sure that your family eats together daily. Besides the needed nutrition, this time spent together will help open the lines of communication and make your family bond stronger.

I recently discovered an online service that saves time and money while providing you with new dinner ideas daily. Get access to powerful recipe management software, daily meal plans, money saving coupons and more at SendMeRecipes.

Meal Planning Made Tax Season Almost Bearable

Those of you who know me know that I am a tax professional who prepares taxes for individuals and small businesses.  This tax season was one of the longest, toughest tax seasons I’ve had in a long time…

But, this was the first year that I was doing meal planning on a regular basis, and oh my goodness, was it a huge help!

Getting dinner prepared was no big deal this tax season because I already knew what I was going to make and I had everything on hand to do it.  Hubby even helped by getting dinner ready a few times!

I have to say we cheated and ordered out a few times, but even that was planned ahead of time, so it was no big deal.

I knew meal planning was a life saver before, but this tax season has me convinced about the benefits of meal planning all over again.  Whew!

3 Planning Lists to Organize Your Meals

3 Planning Lists to Organize Your Meals
By O Quinn

With just three checklists you can bring your meal scrambling days to an end and serve your family nutritious delicious dinners.

1. Grocery Shopping List:

With a grocery shopping list you are less likely to stray and buy things that might catch your eye. Grocery shopping lists keep you on task and that saves you money.  You won’t buy what is not on your list. Your grocery list should sit in a prominent place all week. A place where all the members of your family can see it and access. As you notice things needing to be replaced add to the list. When you get to your menu planning ingredients add them to the list.

2. Pantry List:

With a pantry list you know what ingredients you have in the house. If you have guests drop by or need to make a last minute meal knowing what you have on hand saves a lot of time and trouble.  To use a pantry list have a chart of the food items you use on a regular basis in your home. Have a slot next to those items. In each slot mark how many of that item you have on hand. If none then you know you need to add that item to your grocery list.

3. Meal Planning List:

Meal planning saves time and money. With a meal planning list you don’t have to think about dinner, just do it. Your groceries have already been purchased from your time and money saving grocery list so you know what you’re eating for dinner. Just follow the recipe and you have a great home cooked meal your family will love.  To use a meal planning list get a piece of paper.  List your days of the week in a column and then make three more columns next to that.  The three columns are for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Use each column to write in what recipe you will serve on that day at that time.  Some people omit the breakfast and lunch because the dinner hour is the big worry. That’s okay too. On the day you will be serving your meal refer to the list and you will know if you need to thaw any meats or prepare any items in advance.

For complete checklists for home and life visit Household Notes and
for information on organizing your home visit Homemaking Organized.

The Advantages of Planning Your Meals Ahead

By O Quinn

Do you come home from the office tired and wishing you didn’t have to think about dinner? Are you home all day with little ones and the last thing you want to do when they go down for a nap is get busy in the kitchen? Do you open the fridge ready to come up with a good meal only to find you need to run to the grocery store because you’re out of an ingredient. or two?

There is a remedy for all of this. By planning your meals in advance you can eliminate the last minute rush, the stress of indecision, and free up more time for your family.

Plan your menu:  Plan your meals at least a week in advance.   Browse your local grocery store circular for what is on sale.  Poll your family members for a favorite dish they would like to have or subscribe to a meal planning menu mailer and have the recipes come to you.

Organize your Preparation:  Now just because you have the recipes and even the ingredients don’t think you can just sit back and all will be done.  To maximize this meal planning you should do a little reading ahead and maybe even a little before hand preparation.  Chop onions and freeze them.  See which meats need to be marinated. Maybe you can make a crust or bread dough on a slow day instead of waiting until the day you will serve the dish.

Keep track of favorites:  A great meal feels like a pat on the back.  Make sure you make note of which recipes are keepers.  Have a meal planning notebook that you write them into or type them into your recipe software.  This will help you with meal planning in the future.   After a while all you will have are winning meals!

O Quinn is a work at home mom likes to find ways to automate and simplify the homemaking process while still obtaining excellent results. Visit Meal Planning for more information on planning your dinners in advance.

Meal Planning for Busy Moms

A Simple Step-By-Step Guide To Meal Planning

If you’re ready make some big changes in the way you get dinner on the table, then you need to learn how to plan your meals.

My friend Cara of The Household Helper has created a new resource that gives you a step-by-step formula for meal planning.

Here’s What You’ll Learn:

* A simple method to save time and money
* How to plan according to your schedule
* Write a grocery list that works
* Learn how to navigate the grocery store
* How to organize your food once you get it home
* Discover how to make simple, quick meals
* Easy cure for leftovers: how to use them to make a whole new meal
* The no lose way to bulk cooking
* The correct way to store and reheat foods
* But that’s not all; this ebook also includes recipes

What are you waiting for? Start meal planning today, and start bringing your family to the table for a stress-free, enjoyable meal every day of the week!

How to Get Started Meal Planning

Meal planning may sound intimidating at first, but it’s really not that hard.

The first thing you should do is to write down all of your family’s favorite dishes. This will be very handy when you just can’t think of anything for dinner

Next, grab the grocery ads. If you don’t get these in the mail or in your weekly newspaper, just jump online and visit your favorite grocery store’s website. Most grocery stores have their weekly ads listed right on their websites now, and some are even interactive (allowing you to create a printable shopping list – very cool!). Once you have your grocery ads in hand, scan them for sale items that can be used for this week’s meals.

Before you get to deep into your menu plan, you might want to look at your calendar for the week. If you have family or work activities that will keep you from getting home at a decent hour, you will want to plan very simple meals or even leftovers for those particular nights.

Next, you should take an inventory of the items in your fridge and pantry. Do you have any food that needs to be eaten right away? This is one of the greatest benefits of meal planning. You waste much less food because you only buy what you plan on using that week.

At this point, you should have an idea of what you want to cook for the week based on the grocery store ads, what you already have on hand, and your family’s activities for the week. Go ahead and write out the meals you plan on cooking for the week, and fill in your grocery list for the items you don’t have in hand.

All you have left to do at this point is to do the grocery shopping, post your menu on the fridge for all to see, and create your meals each day. The rest of your week should go much more smoothly now that you don’t have to worry about “what’s for dinner” at the end of each day. See how easy meal planning can be?