![monthly food menu calendar monthly food menu calendar](https://i.etsystatic.com/11953651/r/il/e3abb6/1436765636/il_794xN.1436765636_en4r.jpg)
You’re likely to waste the food you come home with since you had no idea what to do with it in the first place.You’ll spend a lot more time in the grocery store, wandering aisles, trying to come up with meals on the fly.Skipping the meal planning process usually makes life more hectic. But sometimes it’s more trouble than it’s worth since we do have to eat multiple times per day! I am all for being spontaneous with food when it makes sense. I wish I had a guide like this when I first started! I had to learn all of this the hard way. Without a plan, I just feel lost! In this post, you’ll learn my step-by-step process for meal planning for beginners. It also reduces food waste, as you’ll know exactly what’s in your fridge/pantry, so you won’t have to throw out ingredients that are past their best before date or are rotting away at the back of your vegetable drawer.Meal planning is one of my all-time favorite weekly routines, and it doesn’t have to be intimidating even if you are a beginner! Every Friday, I sit down and follow the exact steps below to create a meal plan for myself that’s interesting, realistic, full of variety, and most importantly, something I look forward to. How many times have you stood staring into the fridge after work, wondering what to serve your family?Ĥ. As mentioned above, despite the fact that it takes a few minutes of time to plan a menu, it’s also a considerable time saver. It improves your family’s nutritional intake as it forces you to be more aware of what you are serving, rather than staring into your fridge or pantry at the end of a long day and grabbing the first thing that will fill the gnawing hole in your belly.ģ. It saves money by reducing impromptu visits to the grocery store, which often results in impulse spending.Ģ. Why Plan a Menu: 20 Benefits of Meal Planningġ. It’s one that kids tend to love, and it can easily turn into a family fun night. Themed Dinner Menu Plan– this menu plan is entirely theme-based. Since you already know what you have on hand in your freezer, fridge, and pantry, you know what items you have to accompany the meals or to create main dishes. Scan through the sales ads of your favorite grocery stores, and jot down several meal ideas based on those specials.I’ve found that this is quite helpful when it comes to trying to figure out what to feed the family. I’ve always been this way with my family and my children are not picky eaters by any stretch of the imagination. For us, I have a 2 choice option on our menu, take it, or leave it. Generally, this list is considerably smaller. I feel it’s imperative to have an idea of what they won’t eat. I know that lots of menu planning articles like to focus on what you will eat or want to eat. Make a list of what your family absolutely WON’T eat.If you have a fully stocked pantry of basic items, congratulations, the battle is nearly won! This serves several purposes: first, you may be surprised at how much food you actually have on hand. (I’m not talking about a physical list, just a general overview so you know what you have available to use).
![monthly food menu calendar monthly food menu calendar](https://moneybliss.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Meal-Planning-Calendar-1187x1536.jpg)
Start by taking an inventory of what you have on hand in your pantry, fridge, and freezer.This type of menu works well for families with very picky eaters. These same meals are eaten over again (hence the “rotating” menu). Generally speaking, a rotating menu consists of 15-20 meals that are within the family’s budget. Rotating Menus– This is the least time-consuming method of menu planning, but also the most boring.