Ya Ya, What is Menu Planning?

Some of you may have heard of menu planning but don't quite understand what it is, how useful it can be or how it can save you money.

Menu planning is, planning your menu. Sounds simple? It can be.  Some people wait until they go shopping and set the menu, some shop according to the menu. Whatever you do, grab a piece of paper, your calendar or do it on your computer, but write it down!

Okay, but how do you DO it?

Go to your kitchen and take a look around. How long ago did you buy something you thought you would use but it’s sitting there collecting dust? What about the freezer? Is it full of things you can no longer identify or is it echo empty because you have no idea what you are making every day. Go ahead, look, I’ll wait.

Do you know what you are making for dinner tomorrow? What about the next day? If you do, jot it down. If you don’t, take a minute and think about what tasty morsel you can make with what you currently have on hand and then… you guessed it… write it down.

Before you go shopping again, think about what you can make for the week. How much will you need? If you are roasting a chicken on Sunday, you can squeeze a mid-week soup out of it. Making a meatloaf on Monday? How about pizza casserole on Wednesday? No, you don’t have to make every meal stretch in to two, but if you know you will make a meatloaf on Monday and burgers another day you can get more for your buck by getting it all at once (I will go over Once a Month shopping/prepping/cooking another time).

Planning out your menu means there is usually no food waste. Every bite of food that is tossed in the trash cost you money. If you are the type who enjoys tossing money, I will give you my address!

See, I told you meal planning can be simple.

How I Do It

In the beginning I used the everyday calendar but moved on to using an online calendar.  It was quick. It was easy. It was there! I wrote up the menu and then grabbed the things at the market for the week. I was finding it hard to stick to it because I would get to the store and find a good sale on something that wasn’t on the menu, or worse, overpay for something that was just because it was there.

Now, I shop first and plan around what I have. I buy my meats at a wholesale club. Pork chops can range from $2.49 to $4.50 a pound. Instead of getting several packages at that price, I have them cut a tenderloin piece in to ½ inch slices at the store and only pay $1.99 per pound.  Once I get home I bag them for the freezer and know instantly how many meals I can make of it. (The last one was $13.00 and will make 16 dinners for us.) I do the same with beef.  I have meals planned for 2 months at a time.

There are times I will need to buy things to supplement what I have because there are some things I won’t buy in bulk – milk, bread and fresh produce – but I know ahead of time how much I need because I have a written reminder of when I will need it.

The best investment I ever made was my planner. I not only write my meal plans in it, but I keep track of all the appointments, activities, bills and cleaning schedule in one place. Best of all, it’s Momma size! I carry it with me everywhere, yes,  it’s big, but I have a messenger bag purse so it fits nicely. I like it much better than the online calendar I was using. I can’t carry my laptop with me at all times and if the power goes out, I was lost!