How to Design Your Own Weekly Meal Planner
These days people are trying to pack more and more into their lives. The more activities that find their way onto your calendar, the less time you have for things like cooking. A menu plan can save the day---or week. With just an hour or two once a week dedicated to planning, you can cut back on fast-food and convenience-food consumption and eat healthier--and cheaper. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
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Decide what method will work best for you. Will you be able to follow a menu to the letter, or do you want some flexibility to change the menu around? Do you want to use a computer with special software, or the backs of envelopes? Be realistic about what you actually will do when making this decision. It doesn't matter how fancy it is if you don't do it.
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Make a list of main dishes, side dishes, breads and desserts (if desired) that your family eats. A menu won't be effective if it's full of items your family won't eat. Get the whole family involved and encourage everyone to suggest new dishes.
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Go through your local grocery store's weekly flier to see what's on sale and match those items up with your main-dish options.
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Look at your family's calendar. If you know the family has only an hour between activities on Wednesday, plan for something quick and easy or put something in the slow cooker.
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Pick a main dish, side dish, bread and dessert (depending on what sort of meals your family eats) for each day, taking into consideration the amount of time you'll have to prepare it and the number of people who will be eating. Writing the menu directly on the family calendar is often the simplest. Stick a piece of paper beside the calendar for menu-item suggestions.
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Don't be afraid to switch menus around. If you find yourself running late when you've planned to make lasagna, cut yourself some slack and swap the whole dinner menu with a day that requires less cooking time. Or substitute something with similar ingredients, like spaghetti, for the main course.
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Save your menu plans and reuse them. No one will notice, and if they do, they won't care. Many supermarkets have their products on a sale rotation, so when the same items are on sale again, you can use the same menu.
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Tips & Warnings
Plan for leftovers. If roast is on sale, buy two and cook them at the same time. Have roast on Sunday and shredded beef sandwiches on Tuesday.
Look at the next day's menu each evening and see if there is any prep work you can do if you have a few free minutes.
Try to combine tasks. If you're chopping half an onion for supper on Thursday, chop the whole onion and put half of it in the refrigerator for another meal.
