Whats for dinner?
A question that comes up in every household almost every day. Whether youre single, married, with kids or without, this question will pop in your mind, or ring in your ears at about 5pm every.single.day UNLESS you have a plan. Not only will planning a menu save you time and money, it will also encourage healthier eating habits and help save your sanity. Over the next 3 weeks, I’ll show you simple ways to feed your family in an organized fashion.
…so let’s get started, shall we?
Having an actual board to display your menu is absolutely necessary to successful menu planning- let me tell you why
1. It will help you stick to your plans. When I get up in the morning, I am greeted by my menu board, reminding me I may need to take the meat out of the freezer or get everything thrown into the crockpot before I leave the house. I can look at my menu and think, “There is no way I am going to have time to make Wednesday’s meal today- I need to switch it out with Friday’s meal!” Because my meals are all in plain sight, adjusting is easier and I have time to make adjustments.
2. It is a Good Reminder. What is the point in planning a menu if you can’t remember what you planned?! That scrap piece of paper you made your menu and grocery list on is fine temporarily, but it is more likely to become lost! Display your menu in a permanent location and you won’t spend time digging in your purse to find out what your dinner plans are.
3. Eliminate the question “What’s for dinner” … at least for the ones who can read anyway!
4. It makes you look good. Even if you aren’t that great at menu planning, people will think you are! Let’s be honest, it looks totally domestic and it will impress people!
My menu board is a smooth tile supported by a pretty easel with some vinyl lettering on it.
When I am on top of it, I plan for 2 weeks and I put my meals in 2 columns. I posted a tutorial on how to make your own Tile Menu Board HERE.
Here are some of my favorite ideas from some talented bloggers:
1. Frame some burlap and from Under The Table and Dreaming
2. Get a free menu/grocery list printable from The Project Girl
3. Paint a plaque with chalkboard paint from The Idea Room
4.All Things Beautiful covered and embellished a cork board.
{For more ideas, check my Pinterest board with menu displays }
First, COMMIT to planning a menu for the week. Then, MAKE YOUR OWN menu board! When you are finished, or if you already have your own, leave a comment on this post telling us what you are using or paste a link so we can round up even more ideas!
See you next week when we will discuss
Stephanie Dulgarian is the creator of Somewhat Simple. She is married to her best friend and a mom of 4 kids living Arizona, USA. She loves ice cream, autumn, Sunday naps, traveling, game nights and shopping. She is not a fan of unloading the dishwasher, Peeps marshmallow candies, mushrooms, and she despises laundry more than anything else in the world!
A few of her favorite creations on her blog include “Cute wrapping for a baby boy shower“, “The Excercise Block” and “The Dry-Erase Glass Calendar.”
I find myself in the same fix,cooking the same meal the next day. Previously ,i never took time to come up with a schedule.Like you said, I try to plan for two weeks and hung the menu on the kitchen wall in order stick to the plan
I’ll never again ask myself whats for dinner.Thanks Stephanie.
Katrina do you mind sharing your spreadsheet. I love Excel!
I create my meals a month at a time. I created a word document that I use for each week. When planning, I print on the blank form(it has all 7 days with breakfast, lunch, dinner and 2 snacks). I write it the meals and snacks and then the Sunday before the week starts I type it and print it out.
The printed copy goes upstairs in the kitchen(we live in the basement of my in laws house). I have a basket on the counter that holds the menu, any recipes I need, as well as post it notes (we put these on leftovers so everyone knows what is fair game). The handwritten copy stays in my home management binder so I can quickly glance at it to see what I need to make that night (we also make our meals a day ahead of time; since we are all on different schedules this is easier, everything goes in out lunchboxes and then its ready at meal times).
I also have a dry erase frame I made (http://armyofvirtues.blogspot.com/2011/11/frames-part-1.html) that is downstairs on our wall. I put the dinner meals on here (whatever we have for dinner one night we have for lunch the next day). This allows my husband to see what’s for dinner, and on days he is home and not me, he knows what recipe to cook so that I can pack lunches when I get home. When we get our own place, the frames will be in the kitchen, and I won’t have the printed menu up there too, but this is what we use in our current living situation.
I love my menu board! I used to shop and try to come up with something after rummaging around the fridge and pantry. Now I remember all the fun recipes I planned on trying out and my shopping list is much more organized. I’m excited for week #2’s assignment.
My planner:
http://whitelightsonwednesday.blogspot.com/2012/01/weekly-menu-planner.html
I have a simple spreadsheet in Excel that I use – it has room for all three meals, two snacka, and (what I find really helpful) – a column to write prep that needs to be done for meals the next day; for example, defrost the meat, cook extra rice, make bread…It helps me to have the snacks planned out and to be able to glance and see what I still need to do to get ready for the next day. It has really helped me keep meals organized, even if nothing else is. 🙂 Someday I will make it cutesy, but for now it works for me.