Meal Plan In Three Easy Steps

1. Write down a list of homemade meals that your family enjoys.

When making the list of homemade meals my family enjoys, I separate them into two categories: weekday meals and weekend meals. I categorize weekday meals as taking 30 minutes or less. Weekend meals can take longer.

2. Take an inventory of what ingredients you have on hand to make the meals in the fridge, freezer and cupboards.

Once you have picked the meals to make, go through your fridge, pantry and freezer to see what you have on hand. Remember to check the spice cupboard for spices you will need.

3. Go grocery shopping with a list.

The final step is to write a grocery list for the items you need and go grocery shopping with a list.

Extra Tips:

• Have a few ‘emergency’ meals on hand. I like having a frozen pizza or frozen chicken nuggets on hand for the days that things don’t go as planned.

• Take one evening off from cooking to eat up leftovers.

• If you forget an item from the grocery store, see if you can make do. If not, go with cash and be very focused not to pick up other items.

• Avoid going to the grocery store hungry. I can’t tell you how many times items have snuck into my cart when I go grocery shopping hungry. Eat a snack first.

• If things don’t play out as planned, be kind to yourself.