Why Menu Plan?

There are many reasons why someone would choose to plan their menus.  In this first installment of my menu planning series I will go over the three top reasons and share why I personally use a menu plan in our home.

Best use of resources

I think many people would be stunned at how much usable foodstuffs they already have in their pantries.  Some have even blogged about making menus based on what they already have.  People buy grocery items with the best of intentions, store them in their pantries, then forget about them.  Why?  Because they have no plan, no set action on how to use those items.  Making a menu plan gets rid of this problem because you buy groceries with a purpose and you know exactly when and how you will use them.

Monetary reasons

This is the main reason why I started menu planning in the first place.  The first few years of my and Mr. Incredible’s marriage were financially rough.  We had a baby, were single income and he was graduating.  All in one year.  It was tough and emotionally draining and I would never want to go through that again.  At the same time, I learned a lot about finances and how every little bit counts.  I did not really know how to cook or run a household when I got married.  Buying groceries was an event that intimidated me because I didn’t really know what to buy.  We went to the grocery store a lot because I’d run out of items or need something for dinner that night.  It also forced us to eat out more than I would like to admit.

In order to combat these problems I decided to get organized. I would make a menu plan for one week and shop accordingly.  I made a lot of mistakes in the beginning but it ended up saving us quite a lot of money.

Organization

This one may seem obvious, but really it is forgotten in many homes.  With no idea what you will be cooking you are generally going to be stressed out come dinner time. Using a well-planned out menu plan and having the necessary ingredients available to you when you need them eliminates the meal time “blahs.” You waste less food and have control over how your day will go. You will be less likely to run to the nearest fast-food joint because you don’t know what to make for dinner. Simple planning goes a long way.

The rest of this Menu Planning – How To will cover:

• Different Ways to Menu Plan
• Menu Planning Resources
• Shopping
• An interview with a really great lady! (I promise! You all know and love her)

Photo credits: mailsparky, sritenou, joakiml, oskay