Learn how to meal plan

“I first started meal planning shortly after I got married almost 5 years ago, and it has taken me until now to properly feel like I know what I am doing. I have made every rookie mistake out there, and paid for it in time and money. I have got endlessly frustrated, banged my head on the keyboard over and over, and spend a collective amount of time on it that I am too ashamed to add up! I have tried planning one week, two weeks, a month at a time. I have tried planning based around set meals, meat, fish or legumes, and attempted to learn what’s in season over and over again each year. I have tried using budget recipes, budget ingredients, even the occasional meal planning service.”

“I choose the menu of the week based on what I feel like eating that week (he'll eat whatever I cook lol), what's in season/in promo at the store (I check the stores' websites/socials ahead), and the weather for the week, and I make sure that 1 dinner is seafood and maybe another is totally meat-free. I also ensure that I can use ingredients (especially veggies) in more than one dish if I can't buy them in smaller amounts or if they don't freeze well. I tried not meal planning but it's honestly more difficult thinking about what to cook for that night instead of just looking at my excel file because I already did all the thinking in the weekend.”

“For our current spring schedule I know that Sunday I have time for a more intricate meal, Monday I need to cook early before sport practices, Tuesday I have time to make something fun if I’d like, Wednesday we are gone almost all day and the crockpot is my best friend, Thursday I’m tired of cooking and what something simple, and Friday is always pizza night. It’s a nice predictable rhythm and makes meal planning easier. [...] My favorite time to meal plan is in the quiet of the morning, with a cup of something warm and a sleeping puppy on my lap. [...] for me it’s become a cozy ritual, and that makes me more likely to continue to process because it’s a time I enjoy.”