Meal Planning stress you out?

Me too!  Or at least it use to. I don’t know about you but there is nothing more stressful than worrying about what’s for dinner. Then wondering if you have all the right ingredients for your last minute ideas. Thanks to meal planning, those moments are few and far between.

Over the past several years, I’ve developed a system for myself that takes the stress out of wondering what i’m feeding my family every night. I meal plan every Sunday after i’ve made breakfast.

This allows for several things to happen:

• I have a captured audience who can add their suggestions to the weeks meals
• It eliminates complaints because I’ve given them a chance to participate
• It’s another nice little slice of family time
• It alleviates me having to come up with ALL the meals for the week

I also have a little notebook of tried and true favorite meals for each family member.  These meals get plugged into the menu when I run out of ideas. I’ve had this notebook for years and it’s been interesting to see how their tastebuds have changed or not *cough RJ*

The system

Once menu suggestions are listed I go onto my calendar and look at two things – upcoming events and the weather. Those two factors will determine what meals gets made on what days. Busy days require easy meals, special weather days require certain meals to help the body maintain its equilibrium. The latter deserves a whole post all by itself, but that’s for another post. 

After our meal plan is laid out, I tackle my grocery list.  Checking my pantry, fridge and freezer for the things I need. Things I don’t have gets added to the running grocery list I have on my fridge. One of my pet peeves is buying something I already have on hand. 

Lastly I go online and grocery shop which is a time, money and sanity saver.  The bulk of my shopping is done on Walmart.com but I also get items from Kroger, Sams, Target and Sprouts.  I cannot emphasize enough what a money saver it has been to shop online. 

• It allows me to stick to my grocery list
• It prevents me from wandering around the store adding unnecessary items to my cart
• Curb side pick up is a massive time saver allowing me to have more time to do other things

Almost all the stores I mentioned above has some kind of grocery pick up.  If you haven’t tried it, I highly suggest it.  If picking up is an issue you can also do instacart for grocery delivery.  My local Walmart has started a delivery program – $98/year for unlimited grocery deliveries. I’m seriously considering this service  as another step to save time. Check your local stores to see if this is available in your area.

Since I’ve got a well oiled meal planning machine, let me share my exact meal plans with you.

I hope

• It takes the guess work out of cooking and alleviates unnecessary stress.
• It’ll give you more menu ideas to add to your own planning
• It’ll allows you to make fairly healthy, delicious home cooked meals in less time

SIGN UP to get:

• One email a week that will include the exact meal plan I’ll be feeding my own family
• Corresponding shopping list
• Healthier alternatives for some of the meals
• One dessert recipe

Also don’t forget to follow me on INSTAGRAM for cooking demo’s on some of these meals. Let me know either on Instagram or in the comments below if you have any questions or recipe requests.

xo,

FUNNY STORY:

I keep my grocery list on my fridge.  Everyone knows that’s where they put stuff they need from the store.

I have one rule, if it’s not on the list, it doesn’t get bought.

Last week, RJ wrote Cheerios.  So I bought Cheerios….the plain old school basic Cheerios. When I set it on the counter, he shrieked and said “That’s not what I wanted!”  I showed him the list. The list clearly said….Cheerios.  

Apparently he wanted Honey Nut Cheerios, because above all else, I should be able to read minds.  Now mind you, I didn’t just buy the small box of Cheerios. I bought the FAMILY SIZE which means a hell of a lot of cheerios needs to be eaten. 1 entire pound to be exact.  

Since he wasn’t going to voluntarily eat these doggone plain Cheerios, I had to come up with something because one way or another these damn cheerios needs to be eaten. I racked my brain for a few minutes and came up with something similar to Rice Krispy treats.  

 I put some of his favorite things in it – marshmallows, peanut butter & nutella.  This took me all of 10 minutes from start to finish and dare I say they taste pretty damn delish!  When my daughter got home she had 2 bars without any coaxing.

This means 3 things: 

1. It’s delish 
2. If she’s eating it, then everyone will eat it
3. I win, the Cheerios will be gone in no time.

Here’s my Cheerios bar recipe. It’s super yummy. I also provide a few options to make it healthier. 

I hope you enjoy it!  Tag me on Instagram if you make it @heynayheyyy

Print Recipe

CHEERIOS BARS

Prep Time2 mins

Cook Time8 mins

Course: Dessert

Keyword: cereal bar, snack

Servings: 10

Ingredients

• 1/2 LB or 1/2 box of Cheerios
• 1 stick of butter save the wrapper
• 1 bag of mini marshmallows
• 1/2 cup of peanut butter
• 1/2 cup of nutella
• 1 13x9 pyrex dish

Instructions

• Use the butter wrapper and coat the pyrex dish, set aside
• In a large pot, melt entire stick of butter
• When butter is melted add the mini marshmallows
• When marshmallows are completely melted add the peanut butter & nutella.
• Mix thoroughly
• Then add the Cheerios and mix well
• Transfer Cheerios mix to buttered pyrex dish & set aside to cool

Notes

Optional:
Drizzle melted chocolate over top of the Cheerios
For a healthier option, use almond butter or sunflower butter instead of peanut butter
And add nuts and dried cranberries to the cheerios mix.