As I looked over some of my menus for the last few weeks, I realized I was seeing a trend. I serve the same type of item each week. While I haven’t yet repeated a dish (I think), I have repeated the type each week.
The categories/types of dinners are:
- Meat with one or two side dishes
- Sandwiches and sides
- Pasta or rice main dish
- Breakfast for dinner
- Crockpot/soup/stew item
- Pizza (introduced this week, but will probably be a regular)
- Leftovers
To make my weekly meal planning a lot simpler, I could pick a dish from each category. That way, I know I’m not being too repetitive, but I still can balance out the prices of the week’s menu. The day I serve meat as the main dish will cost more than the breakfast night, but it all balances out.
I go grocery shopping on Thursdays, and I plan my weekly menus before I go. I post my weekly menus on Mondays, in case you’re interested.
So this week, I’m going to follow that rough outline and see if it makes meal planning a little faster.
Good idea! That would really keep the monotony at bay and force you to think up new ideas. I might try that! :)
Another thing I do is have a International night. Like Mexican, Chinese or Italian to name a few.
This may be tough to explain, but I created a 5-week menu plan. I use those small sticky tabs, one color for each week. I use a 3-ring binder with page protectors for my recipes. All recipes are divided into category: chicken, ground beef, ground turkey, meatless, etc. If you looked at my 3-ring binder, you’d see the colored tabs go down the side from top to bottom.
So, if it’s a “blue” week, and my menu suggests a chicken item, I go to the chicken section and find the blue tab. There’s my recipe.
In front is a page for each plan, with all groceries needed listed. I simply have to look at what groceries are needed to make my list. It’s very quick and easy.
Kim
I do this and it has helped immensely! When I look through a cookbook it helps narrow down the recipes, and my family likes knowing what to look forward to!