How to to Plan a Months’ Worth of Meals for Your Family

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By rckymtnhome
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Plan menu's for a month.

Do you know people who always seem to have a plan for what they are going to feed their family for dinner? Do they plan their menus’ a week or more in advance? Do you wonder how in the world do they do it? Well, it’s not that hard. And, if you plan your meals for 2 weeks or 4 weeks at a time then you can cut down on trips to the grocery store, which will probably save you some money.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

Blank calendar

Step 1

Start with a blank calendar.

The first thing I do when planning my months meals, is print out a blank calendar from my computer. Then I look at my family’s schedule. What I make for dinner is very much dependent on when everyone will be home and how much time I will have to prepare the meal that day. I write everyone’s activities on my monthly dinner calendar. Soccer practice, band concerts, and evening meetings all impact the meals planning. Also if one or more family members will be gone during dinner time, this could impact what you choose to make.
Step 2

Use leftovers before they spoil.

I make one night per week “leftover night”. This is usually the evening before trash day. This give me a chance to clean out my refrigerator and we have less food being shoved to the back of the refrigerator and spoiling before it can be used up.
Step 3

Plan any special meals.

Next I plan any special meals for the month. Some families like to have a special meal on Sundays. Or maybe you are having company one night. Or does a holiday fall during the month. Put these special meals on first.
Step 4

Pasta is quick to fix.

Then I look at days were I am really short on time. On these days I try and plan meals that can be cooked in the crock pot or are really quick. Spaghetti and pasta can be prepared in many different ways and are quick to fix.
Step 5

Plan to eat more than once on big meals.

Next, if I’m making a roast, ham, turkey, or chicken that will result in a lot of leftovers, I plan a meal to use up those leftovers. Chili, stew, and soup can all use up leftover meat. We also have salad as a main course, with leftover meat on top.
Step 6

If your family has a certain meal that is a favorite, make sure to put that down. You may be surprised by how many different things you actually cook when you write it down. Or if you don’t cook a lot of different things, maybe you will be inspired to try a few new things.
Step 7

See what you already have in the freezer.

Look in the freezer when you are planning your menu. What is in there that you need to use up? Don’t let that meat go to waste, plan a meal around it.
Step 8

Be flexable.

Finally, even though I write down my menu plan for the month, I know I can still be flexible. Don’t worry if you don’t follow your schedule exactly. During the month feel free to switch days around.
Step 9

Shop based on your menu plans.

Make your shopping list based on what your menu plan is and what you already have in the freezer. If you have space in your freezer you can make one major shopping trip for the entire month. If you know you will need hamburger for 4 meals you can buy it in a bulk package, saving money, and split it when you get home into the size packages you will need for your meal plan. I like making one major shopping trip per month and then I make a couple of smaller trips to get fresh fruits and vegetables and milk.