This post has been a long time coming. If you follow me over on Instagram, you are probably well-acquainted with my weekly dinner plans (I have them saved under this highlight). Dinner is really the only thing I majorly plan for because it takes away that afternoon guessing game and just makes my life easier. It takes me under a half hour to plan and order groceries and then I feel confident for the week, taking one less thing off my mind. Why don’t I plan for breakfasts and lunches, too? Well… these are sort of on autopilot. I shared a master kids lunch list here and some easy breakfasts here. For myself, I am a creature of habit and have oats in some form every morning and my lunch is usually dinner leftovers or whatever soup I made for the week. I do prep a few other things, which I will get into below. So here we go.
Step 1: Plan Out Week
Like I mentioned above, planning the week is mostly figuring out dinners and then filling in a bit with the breakfast/lunch options that I have in mind. I pick out a couple things from both of those master lists for the kids to make sure we have what we need. But the main thing here is planning dinners. By planning ahead, I know exactly what I need to buy. I do have a master dinner ideas list but I also get inspiration from Pinterest and other bloggers. I am not big on cookbooks… they take up space and I am a big believer in the fact that you can find EVERY RECIPE UNDER THE SUN you need online.
If I have leftover vegetables or anything in the fridge that is on its way out, I make sure I find a recipe to use with those items first so they do not go to waste. A few really easy ways to use extra veggies: soup, pasta with sautéed vegetables, stir fry over rice, or roasted.
If you have extra beans from last week, make enchiladas, tacos, or burritos.
Extra rice? Quick stir fry or rice casserole.
Greens? Sauté them with a little olive oil and garlic.
But whatever you have left, USE THEM FIRST! This is what will save you money.
Once you made a plan for the things that you have leftover, move onto new ideas and take note of the things you will need. I use a plain ‘ol spiral notebook to keep track of my to-do lists and I include my meals on this as well. Label M-Sunday and jot everything down.
A few tips to make life easier on the dinner front: automat a few things… like Taco Tuesday, Pasta Night, Crock-Pot Day, Pizza Fridays… whatever works for your life. Having these “themes” to work around makes it easier to pick and choose. I also schedule in “leftovers” because we always end up having more in our fridge that I do not want to go to waste. So for example, a week will look like:
M – Mom’s Choice
T – Mexican Food
W – Pasta
Th – Soup Night
F – Breakfast for Dinner or Leftovers
Sa- Pizza or Takeout
Su – Leftovers
It doesn’t look as daunting when you have a few “freebie” nights mixed in with leftovers and/or takeout.
Step 2: Grocery Shop Online
I shared recently that we no longer shop in store and order groceries online. Pandemic situations aside, it is easier for this season of life to not have to spend time on our weekends going grocery shopping. It is also easier on my budget because I am in complete control of what we need and stick to our list rather than get caught up in a store and buy more than we need. I order online and they place it in our trunk… shopping done!! Game changer!!
To my list I will add my staples, which is usually seasonal fruit, non-dairy milk, bread, hummus, etc. Then I will fill in with the things I need for meals.
Since we buy in bulk at BJ’s Wholesale, a lot of things like rice, beans, etc. are not purchased every week. We have enough that lasts for weeks… it makes things easier and we save money this way in the long run.
Step 3: Prepare Basics
Like I mentioned above, the kids stuff is easy because I have my master lists. I will choose 5 or so things off those lists and make sure that whatever I need is prepped over the weekend or on Monday mornings (I block off a good hour or two on Mondays to do my prepping if I didn’t get to it over weekend). But so much of their meals are just made easily on a whim so it isn’t much prep. For myself and in general, I prep some basics: a batch of rice, beans in the crock pot, sliced vegetables or fruit, a pot of soup, greens, baked potatoes. Once these things are prepped, it is easy to throw together quick lunches/breakfasts.
So really, that is pretty much it. If you are looking for meal ideas that are easy, please browse the recipes on here using the drop down menu because there are a lot and these are the things I am making in my kitchen. You can also purchase my eBook: My Budget-Friendly Plant-Based Kitchen. There, you will find everything from shopping lists, my best money-saving tips, budget-friendly recipes, and more.
Be sure to again, follow on Instagram for the dinner ideas that I share in my stories and if you ever have any questions, do not hesitate to message me on there. That is the best way to connect with me. I hope this was helpful. x
