*If you are considering starting to menu plan then I encourage you to read the first post in this Menu Planning How-To series.*

If you ask those who utilize menu planning into their lives you will probably find that each person goes about it differently. However I find that there are three basic steps that are generally followed and so I will share those with you.

Weekly, Bi-Weekly, Monthly

This particular method is the one I employ most often. When I started out using the menu planning way of organizing I did one week at a time and just dinners. This gave me a sufficient jumping off point and eased me into learning something new. It was easily manageable and I did not feel overwhelmed. If you need to start even smaller – say, three days at a time – that is a great starting place. Whatever you feel you can do will help. The importance comes from just starting! Pretty soon you’ll be moving on to bi-weekly and monthly and planning breakfasts, lunches, and snacks as well.

First off you will want some method to keeping track what your menu plan will be. I have used various ways to write down my menu plan. I have done it on paper and computer. Various excel templates have come and gone though I am currently working on making one that will fit me perfectly. Starting with a pad of paper and a pencil is probably best at first. *By the way, using a pencil while menu planning is best. Inevitably you will want to change something and it looks much better if you aren’t crossing things out.* Make a line for each day.

Next you will will want to look at your calendar. If you go planning willy-nilly you might forget that Tuesday night Uncle Joe is coming over for his birthday dinner or that Thursday night you have a date with you husband. Mark those on your note pad.

Fill in what you want for dinner each night. To help you out you could make each day a theme: Mondays are Mexican, Tuesday is soups/chilis, Wednesday is Italian, etc. This will help you out when you get stuck on what to make that night.

Easy peasy, huh?

Rotating Menu Plan

Save your menu plans when you are done with them. Put them in a ziplock baggie or set them in a file folder. When you have enough of these saved up you can pull them out and use them. It is not necessary to make a new menu for every week when you can just swap them out for older menu plans.

Again, easy peasy.

Based on what’s in pantry, coupons, on sale, or in season

I can’t speak too much on making a menu plan based on coupons or whats on sale. However there have been times when money was tight and I was forced to make dinners based on what I already had on hand. You don’t have to do this just because you are strapped for cash; it is also a good idea to be as resourceful as possible with what you have already purchased.

This is especially easy to do if you have an inventory on the doors of your freezer/fridge and pantry. You can easily see what you have and plan meals based on those ingredients. If you don’t use an inventory then just go through your food items and write them down. Base your menu on those items and you will probably be surprised at how much you already have that will make complete meals. This would also be a good time toss or giveaway items that you won’t use or have expired.

You can also base your meals on store sales and coupons but as I said above I do not have experience with that. You can easily google for more info.

I hope you have found this post helpful. If you have any questions feel free to ask! The next in this menu planning series will be all about resources you can use to help you plan!  See you then.

Photo credits: quacktaculous, net_efekt, ellievanhoutte

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