Ep 107: "Help Me Create an Easy Meal Plan!" - Sandy Cooper-The Scoop on Balance

Your family eats every day, several times a day, whether you like it or not. Today I share my philosophy on cooking and a simple 4-step process for easy meal-planning. This is the last episode in our series on organization. Listen in.

The benefits of meal-planning:

You will serve more nutritious meals–because when you’re cooking on the fly you are much more prone to just grab drive-through food or eat something processed.
You will save money–shopping off a meal plan, especially if you are mindful to incorporate food on sale and produce in season, is always less expensive than running into the store at 4 pm and grabbing stuff quickly off the end caps of the grocery store aisle. And definitely cheaper than ordering last-minute take-out.
You will save time–a little planning on the front end means better use of your time overall.
You will waste less food–when you effectively meal plan you will only buy produce you need and you can proactively incorporate leftovers into meals throughout the week.

Step 1: Look at your whole week and figure out what you have going on each evening.

Step 2: Write out seven dinners at the top of the grocery list

Step 3: Create a grocery list directly from that list of meals

Step 4: Assign each day a meal, but wait until the night before.

More Tips:

1. Plan dinners only.

2. Eat the same things for breakfast and lunch until you get sick of it.

3. Serve a salad every night as your side

4. Cook enough for 2-3 days and serve it different ways.

5. Plan for “easy nights”

6. Have a regular “clean out the fridge” night.

7. Use that crockpot!

LINKS

For a list of plant-based meal ideas, click here

For great crockpot recipes, check out my friend Stephanie’s blog!

Looking for a simple vinaigrette for your nightly salad? Here’s mine

Part of this episode was taken from a blog post I wrote back in 2012. If you’d like to read that, it’s here.

Links from previous episodes in this series:

(Some of these are affiliate links. This means that if you click the link and make a purchase, I will receive a small commission at no additional cost to you.)

Divided Laundry Hamper

Single Laundry Hamper

Mrs. Meyers Cleaning Products

Method Cleaning Products

Colorful Storage Bins for Kids’ Rooms

Storage Bins for Kids’ Paper and Projects

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I love these paper trays!

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These Chalkboard Sticker Labels are so cute!

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