Hi friends! Happy Monday!

Yesterday when I was in Costco I was thinking about what I could be blogging about today (which is hilarious because I keep a blog calendar of what I am going to share but sometimes, I just need fresh new ideas and spontaneous sharing) and I thought I would share my favorite meal planning tips.

I love to meal plan because it helps to save money, gives me a plan (I love a plan) and gives me direction when I go to the store. I do not love grocery shopping so I want to do it as fast as I can (and I don’t like paying someone to do it for me, I know, I know)…so, meal planning works for our family.

We only meal plan dinners and they I jot down some ideas for lunches and snacks and the also try to grab what is on sale. But for planning purposes, I only meal plan dinner. And lets face it, if I didn’t we would be eating take out far too often with our busy schedules.

Here is a quick example of what our meal plan look like for this week….

I like to keep it simple especially on the nights we have cheer. And right now, that is Monday - Saturday. So, if it isn’t simple it probably won’t get cooked. Any other sports Mama feel me on that one?

Anyways, here are my 5 tips for meal planning -

1. Use what you have! When I start to prep my meal plan and grocery list (I create them together) I look and see what I already have on hand that needs to be used. Did I not use that salad or sauce that I bought? What do I have already that can be used for a meal. This helps save money and reduces food waste.

2. Look at your calendar! If I know we have plans around dinner time we will likely eat out. Example for us is on Saturday’s cheer ends just before dinner time. We are hot and tired from the sun so I don’t buy food to cook Saturday night because I know I won’t, I use that money to budget eating out.

3. Add a leftovers night! Usually we have a little bit of leftovers but not enough to feed the whole family again (unless I make a big pot of chili or something like that) so one night, we have a leftovers/feed yourself night. Everyone picks the leftover or whatever they want to eat. We usually do this on Thursday of Friday night because there are a few options for leftovers from earlier in the week. Keeps you from making another full meal and uses up what you already made.

4. Be flexible! One thing I hated about meal planning in the beginning was feeling like I needed to eat Tacos on this night or hamburgers on that night if I didn’t want it. So, I create a list of meals but if I wake up and my family doesn’t want that I just pick something else on my list.

5. Use your crockpot! I love my crockpot and use it for so many things. I used to only use it in the fall which is silly because now I use it weekly all year long. On nights we will be home late, I will start it after school so that when we come home from cheer, it cooked for the 4-6 hours it needed to and is ready for us. Let the crockpot do the work for you even if it just cocks your meat and you made the sides when you get home.

Do you meal plan? What are you fav tips? I would love to hear them below!

And, if you are looking for a quick and easy meal plan system to use, this is so similar to mine and can be printed off for free! 😀