Monthly Menu

Just finished planning my dinner menu for the month of June. Now I can go to the store tomorrow and buy everything I will need for the entire month; then there will only be quickie trips to supplement the produce supply. I've found that planning for the entire month drastically reduces how much I spend, much moreso than only planning for a week, which is what I tried to do before. I am able to plan around what's for sale at the store, as well as what I have in my freezer. I also like planning for a month because then when it's done, it's done for a month! and I don't have to think about it again next week.

I print out a blank calendar for the month in question. (I get mine from Outlook.) Then I write in the major activities that will be taking place--this month, it's softball and baseball games. I also make a note of when my husband will be traveling; then I can plan less complicated meals for just me and the kiddos. When we've got a softball game at 5:30pm (have to be there at 5pm, must leave the house by 4:20pm), I know I'm going to have to pack sandwiches, so that goes on the calendar for that day. A later softball game means I need to make something easy, so we eat early. This month I focused on not using the oven, so I have a lot of grilling scheduled, as well as the crockpot and some pasta salads.

When I began doing this, I first went through my recipes and made a huge list of all the recipes I make regularly and that my family likes. Then it was just a matter of fitting them on a calendar so that we wouldn't be eating chicken three nights in a row or having an elaborate meal when we needed to head to a church activity. Now I always consult the previous month's meal calendar, too--sometimes there is a meal I didn't get to use, due to a change in circumstances, so I'll put that on this month. Or the kids may have really liked a new recipe I tried, so I'll want to repeat it.

This IS a great way to try new recipes. You can fit them in right where they will work the best for your schedule and make sure you have all the ingredients ahead of time. Leftovers, too, can be planned for, rather than just left to turn funny colors in your refrigerator.

Friday is always movie nite for us, and we like to have finger foods in front of the movie for our dinner. I've found good, cheap recipes that everyone likes, and they just go in a regular rotation on the calendar. Sundays I don't cook dinner at all--the kids and the hubby need to forage for themselves. That's how we use up a lot of leftovers!

I don't plan breakfasts or lunches. For breakfast, I just have a list of recipes/ideas, and pick from that each morning what I feel like making. Lunches are made by a designated child each day--he/she either can choose from a list of acceptable options or come up with something original, as long as my dinner ingredients are not violated!

The thing is, I really don't like cooking. I don't like having to leave something fun that I am doing, or a project that I am working on, to have to go hide away in the kitchen, to make food that will just get eaten right away and leave a big mess behind for me to clean up! :-) Having a menu plan seems to work for me, keeping me motivated and efficient. When I already know what is planned for the meal that night, I often can get started in the morning, while I am cleaning up breakfast. And somehow, knowing what dinner is going to be makes me more motivated to prepare it--I don't have to decide what to make first; I can just dig right in.

I have been hot and cold on the whole menu planning thing for many years. But these days I honestly believe it is what works best for me. I had to persevere (off and on, admittedly) until I found a system that fit my working style--which for me is MONTHLY planning.