Compared to my scrap-paper-in-a-junk-drawer meal plan, this white board my friend has posted in her kitchen is truly a thing of beauty.
The dinner hour is my least favorite part of the day. Not dinner itself–it’s actually the 45 minutes before dinner, when my husband’s not home yet, the kids are alternately begging for snacks or racing their dumptrucks around the kitchen island, and I’m scrambling to pull the meal together (and often, fighting the urge to run screaming out the back door).
One of the few things that saves me every night: My meal plan. It’s nothing fancy–scribbled on scrap paper and kept in my kitchen’s junk drawer. But it guarantees that “ugh, what are we having for dinner?” is not something I have to worry about in those dreadful 45 minutes.
Meal planning can save not only your sanity, but also your budget (no last minute trips to the grocery store to pick up rice/chicken broth/lettuce) and your weight, since the default plan to no meal plan is typically pizza delivery or restaurant take-out.
Over at Raise Healthy Eaters, Maryann Jacobsen has a terrific series on family meal planning. I was lucky enough to contribute to part five: “12 Tips for Getting Dinner on the Table Fast”. You can read it here.
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Ooh! My kitchen wall is famous now! I’m ashamed to say that my menu board is blank at the moment. Didn’t get to my planning yet. That’s on the top of my list for tomorrow!
Too funny Lisa, I was going to ask if that was your board!
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this Sally – meal planning really is key in this hectic life
I’ve been thinking a lot about meal planning lately. It’s definitely the key to staying sane and getting healthy meals on the dinner table (i love the white board). Janice and I are planning a podcast show on Meal Planning and will be putting it on our site next Wednesday. I hope you’ll tune in!
BTW, have you been to the blog, I’m an Organizing Junkie (http://orgjunkie.com/)? Laura, who writes the blog, started Menu Plan Monday a few years ago. Each Sunday night, she posts her weekly menu … as do hundreds of other bloggers. It’s a great way to share/discover new recipes. She will be our guest on the podcast!
Hi Sally,
I liked the part about you trying to resist the urge to run out the door during Dinner Preparation Time. My kids are older than yours and I still have that urge!
You may be interested in my blog about eating for two on a budget, because who isn’t pinching pennies these days? I offer super foods for the entire family. Check it out at http://www.expectthebestpregnancy.com/2010/03/healthy-eating-for-two-on-a-budget/.