Here is an neat and helpful article by Kathy Hester.
It can be hard to menu plan. It’s one of those things that if you don’t make time for, you just won’t get to. That’s what used to always happen to me. It really doesn’t take much time though. If you make a menu plan for the week, you’ll be amazed at the time you save by only going to the market once a week. You can also cook a few dishes ahead of time since you’ll know in advance what you’re making all week. Plus, think of all the money you’ll save by having healthy leftovers for lunch.
I think the best way to start planning is to schedule 30 – 60 minutes for it. Find a quiet place with internet access to get inspiration and a way to write everything down. Of course if you can steal 20 minutes away while you are at work, that can be even better. Don’t even have that in your schedule? You can do something like our grandmother’s did and have a certain dish for each day. You can still vary it with ideas found on sites like foodgawker.com or Epicurious.com.
Here’s one example:
- Monday – Chinese (simple stir fry or lo mein)
- Tuesday – Pasta (bottled red sauce, a homemade arugula pistachio pesto, or a slow cooker pumpkin lasagna)
- Wednesday – Vegetarian (stuffed acorn squash or black bean sweet potato chili – both from the slow cooker)
- Thursday – Mexican (quesadillas, burritos, or slow cooker enchiladas)
- Friday – Clean out the fridge soup (use up the leftover meat and vegetables before you do you weekly shop)
- Saturday – Casserole (corn bread topped chili or Shepard’s pie – these can be made in the slow cooker)
- Sunday – Soup or stew and salad (cream of broccoli and spinach goat cheese salad or a hearty slow cooker beef stew)
This is just one way to do it. Even within these wide categories you can make dishes that are quick and easy. For really busy days, cook dinner in a slow cooker while you are away at work. There’s nothing like spending 15 minutes in the morning to come home to a completely made dinner. When I serve it on my Noritake dishes, eating at home is as nice as going out.
Just plan dinners for now, you can add other meals once this becomes a habit if you want. I find that I have enough leftovers that I don’t have to think about lunches.
After the first month, you’ll find yourself thinking about your week even before you have to plan. It just becomes a part of your routine. Now if I skip planning a week, I regret it immediately. I go over budget by going to the store a few extra times and by eating out when I have to work late. So that hour of planning a week actually can save me at least 5 – 7 hours in the long run. Think of all the fun things you can do in the time you’ll save!
I really gotta start planning for the week. For now I do about 3 days in a row. I find myself at the store way to much!$$
I like the idea of having each night loosely planned. At least if you have the groceries all ready you will be motivated to make the dish!