Meal Planning 101
I often have people ask me about meal planning...what I do, how often I shop, what tips I have, etc. ...and so that's what I'm going to share with you all today.
Now, the first thing I would suggest is having a list of all the recipes you've ever made (preferably with how many servings/meals they last...as that will be helpful information later). At the very least, have all your recipes together in one place. I must admit that mine's not as nice/neat as I'd like...but it works for me. It looks a little something like this...
As you can see, not the most organized thing ever, as most of it's just printouts from the computer. I keep these together in the bottom drawer of the kitchen. I take them out as needed for recipes...and then take all of them out before grocery day to help me decide what I'd like to buy. If you mainly use cookbooks for recipes, I'd suggest buying those skinny post-it tabs and marking your favorites for quick/easy access.
...and if you're not much of a cook, I'd suggest spending LOTS of time perusing recipe websites. Here are some of my favorites:
http://www.paleoplan.com/recipes/
http://www.thefoodee.com/
http://fastpaleo.com/
http://www.health-bent.com/
http://www.chowstalker.com/
http://punchfork.com/paleo
http://paleoleap.com/paleo-diet-recipes/#recipes
http://paleodietrecipes.net/wholesome-smoothie-recipes.html
http://nomnompaleo.com/
http://www.againstallgrain.com/main-dish-recipes/
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/primal-paleo-recipes/#axzz2pCFPHGlX
We go through a lot of fresh foods...so I generally plan meals and shop for meats every 2 weeks and then re-stock on fresh fruits/veggies weekly. It seems to work for us. Since we go through lots of meat and are a family of 6, we don't particularly have the freezer space for anything more than 2 weeks' worth (even with our large deep freezer)...but if you've got the space and want to plan for longer stretches between shopping episodes, then, by all means, do so.
Now, once you've got all your recipes in one place, it's time to decide what you'd like to cook for the next 2 weeks (or week or month...whatever amount of time you decided) and make your grocery list. This is generally what that time looks like for me...
I have all of my recipe printouts in a pile (generally with the items just cooked on top)...and then I have the last 2 weeks' worth of things I made written down. Then, I just go through the items I just cooked...and replace anything that doesn't sound "good" to have again (sometimes it's just a couple of things, sometimes it's everything). This is where knowing how many servings each recipe makes will come in handy. You want to buy enough food to feed you all for the allotted amount of time...but to not overbuy by a crazy amount either. For me/mine, I pretty well have to cook something every night...with things having just enough left over for me to have 1-2 nights off during the 2 weeks. So...that means I need to plan for 12-13 dinners total.
I then take the recipes chosen and write all the ingredients needed in a grocery list. I also like to put the actual meals along the top of the page...so that I can re-check the list to make sure I didn't forget anything. Also, this list just pretty well includes dinners...so don't forget about listing the items for your breakfasts/lunches as well before you head to the store. The end result often looks something like this...
Also, as a tip (especially if you don't have any freezer meals pre-made), it's nice to include 1-2 meals on your menu that don't really need anything defrosted to make them. Lots of people have this as a "breakfast for dinner" night...or even buy a frozen pizza or pre-made meal at the store. When we were still eating eggs, I liked to have egg drop soup on there as a backup...that way if I forgot to take something out of the freezer to defrost the night before, I'd have something I could make quickly/easily that would still be safe and healthy for us all.
Also, if you don't particularly like cooking every night...or would prefer having a pre-made freezer meal every once in a while, try doubling one of your recipes and saving half for freezing. ...or even freezing any leftovers you have after making the meal instead of having them the following night. Freezer meals don't have to be the same meal for everyone. I've had nights where everyone picks a little something different from the leftovers in the freezer (and if they fight over who gets what, then they each get a little of both).
Once you've got your list with everything needed to make the meals you want to make for the next 2 weeks, you should then go check the freezer/fridge/pantry...and cross off anything that you already have and, therefore, don't need to buy (so you're not buying things you don't need).
Here's an example showing what's in my freezer:
So, from this, we can see that I actually don't need to buy any ground beef (I've got 25 lbs. in 1 lb. packages and 4 lbs. total in 2 lb. packages in the freezer and only need 9 lbs. for the meals) or any whole chickens (I've got 9 in the freezer and need 6 for the meals)...so I can cross those off the grocery list. I don't have any roasts, stew meat, flank steaks, etc. in the freezer though, so those will still need to be bought and should be kept on the grocery list.
As you can also see, I have a tally showing me how many broths I still have in the freezer (so I'll know when I need to make more)...as well as single servings of frozen chicken soup. I like to have extras on hand in case anyone's feeling sick and whatever I've made that day doesn't sound appealing to them; chicken soup's always a good backup to have.
I would then also check the pantry to see if we need raisins or cooking oils and vinegars...and the upstairs fridge/freezer to see about the frozen veggies, eggs, or any other meats that might be up there.
Once you've gone through everything, seen what you do/don't need and adjusted your grocery list accordingly, it's nice to have a place in the kitchen where you can then write down the meals that you've planned for the next 2 weeks. I personally prefer to just have a master list and decide what I want for any given day as the day approaches (I generally remove things from the freezer the night before)...but if you prefer scheduling meals for a specific day (for example, Tuesday's taco night, Friday's pizza night, etc.), then feel free to do so. I like to keep a dry erase board on the fridge that has my meals listed in the corner. I then cross them off as they're cooked.
I have all of my recipe printouts in a pile (generally with the items just cooked on top)...and then I have the last 2 weeks' worth of things I made written down. Then, I just go through the items I just cooked...and replace anything that doesn't sound "good" to have again (sometimes it's just a couple of things, sometimes it's everything). This is where knowing how many servings each recipe makes will come in handy. You want to buy enough food to feed you all for the allotted amount of time...but to not overbuy by a crazy amount either. For me/mine, I pretty well have to cook something every night...with things having just enough left over for me to have 1-2 nights off during the 2 weeks. So...that means I need to plan for 12-13 dinners total.
I then take the recipes chosen and write all the ingredients needed in a grocery list. I also like to put the actual meals along the top of the page...so that I can re-check the list to make sure I didn't forget anything. Also, this list just pretty well includes dinners...so don't forget about listing the items for your breakfasts/lunches as well before you head to the store. The end result often looks something like this...
Also, as a tip (especially if you don't have any freezer meals pre-made), it's nice to include 1-2 meals on your menu that don't really need anything defrosted to make them. Lots of people have this as a "breakfast for dinner" night...or even buy a frozen pizza or pre-made meal at the store. When we were still eating eggs, I liked to have egg drop soup on there as a backup...that way if I forgot to take something out of the freezer to defrost the night before, I'd have something I could make quickly/easily that would still be safe and healthy for us all.
Also, if you don't particularly like cooking every night...or would prefer having a pre-made freezer meal every once in a while, try doubling one of your recipes and saving half for freezing. ...or even freezing any leftovers you have after making the meal instead of having them the following night. Freezer meals don't have to be the same meal for everyone. I've had nights where everyone picks a little something different from the leftovers in the freezer (and if they fight over who gets what, then they each get a little of both).
Once you've got your list with everything needed to make the meals you want to make for the next 2 weeks, you should then go check the freezer/fridge/pantry...and cross off anything that you already have and, therefore, don't need to buy (so you're not buying things you don't need).
Here's an example showing what's in my freezer:
So, from this, we can see that I actually don't need to buy any ground beef (I've got 25 lbs. in 1 lb. packages and 4 lbs. total in 2 lb. packages in the freezer and only need 9 lbs. for the meals) or any whole chickens (I've got 9 in the freezer and need 6 for the meals)...so I can cross those off the grocery list. I don't have any roasts, stew meat, flank steaks, etc. in the freezer though, so those will still need to be bought and should be kept on the grocery list.
As you can also see, I have a tally showing me how many broths I still have in the freezer (so I'll know when I need to make more)...as well as single servings of frozen chicken soup. I like to have extras on hand in case anyone's feeling sick and whatever I've made that day doesn't sound appealing to them; chicken soup's always a good backup to have.
I would then also check the pantry to see if we need raisins or cooking oils and vinegars...and the upstairs fridge/freezer to see about the frozen veggies, eggs, or any other meats that might be up there.
Once you've gone through everything, seen what you do/don't need and adjusted your grocery list accordingly, it's nice to have a place in the kitchen where you can then write down the meals that you've planned for the next 2 weeks. I personally prefer to just have a master list and decide what I want for any given day as the day approaches (I generally remove things from the freezer the night before)...but if you prefer scheduling meals for a specific day (for example, Tuesday's taco night, Friday's pizza night, etc.), then feel free to do so. I like to keep a dry erase board on the fridge that has my meals listed in the corner. I then cross them off as they're cooked.
It makes it easier for me to know what's still in the freezer...and then if something doesn't particularly sound "good" anymore even though it did when I made the list, I can just save it for last...or come back to it later (it might sound better in a few days).
Every 2 weeks, when I go grocery shopping again, I repeat all of the above. It might be difficult getting started with meal planning, but hopefully you'll find that it gets a little easier every time you do it and you'll be a pro at it in no time.
Every 2 weeks, when I go grocery shopping again, I repeat all of the above. It might be difficult getting started with meal planning, but hopefully you'll find that it gets a little easier every time you do it and you'll be a pro at it in no time.
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