Setting Yourself Up For Success – Meal Planning

Sometimes it’s the little things that have the biggest impact. Taking time to plan ahead can help you be successful.

Making a meal plan (and a grocery list before you go shopping, for that matter & then sticking to it!!) for the week is a great way to set yourself up for success. It only takes a few minutes to make a meal plan, but it saves time & money throughout the week (not having to eat out or resort to convenience food, knowing ahead of time what meat to get out of the freezer & thaw ahead of time, etc…)

I do meal plans 1-2 weeks at a time, based on what the calendar looks like (do we have a busy day? We need an easy meal), also based on what we have on hand that needs eaten, etc. I don’t always do a great job, but that’s what I strive for. And we keep easy meals on hand for days that something pops up, like spaghetti, mac & cheese, frozen pizza, etc.

For myself right now, I HAVE to plan ahead & make food when I feel well enough, because I don’t have “easy” options. If I don’t plan ahead, I cheat & feel awful. So, the planning ahead really does make me successful. I like to make big batches of whatever I’m making & freeze some individual servings. That way A)I’m not eating the same thing all week & getting tired of it and B)I have a few meals in the freezer for when I need them.

This is a big way that we save money, by planning ahead and meal planning. (I’ve already shared that we stock up on food when it’s on sale & try to eat what we have on hand in the pantry & freezer). We hardly ever eat out. Once a month we like to get fried chicken for our Sunday lunch, but still that’s a much less expensive option than going out to eat. We also like to buy pizza from a local pizzeria, but try to limit it to once a month or so. And then we do take the kids out on dates & that does cost some, but we feel it’s important & build it into the budget. Sometimes the date is just ice cream, sometimes we’ll do a full lunch, but either way it’s memory building & special.