Improve Your Meal Planning in Just 10 Minutes

Meal Planning doesn’t have to be overcomplicated.  Often, we choose to make it that way.  Got 10 minutes?  You can plan your meals for the whole month.

I have shared my thoughts before about it:

::Why you need a menu plan even if you think you don’t

::How to Meal Plan: A Step by Step Guide for Busy Moms {Review}

::Make meals easier during the school year

Here are some other ideas I have considered, that you could easily pull off in under 10 minutes:

1.  Let Your Kids Create the Menu

I regularly ask my kids what they want for dinner.  Usually the answer is pizza, McDonald’s or Chick-Fil-A.  Then, I add “that mom cooks.”  I usually hear chicken, spaghetti, and sloppy joes.  With a little prodding, I can usually get 10 ideas out of them.  If I add a few easy favorites, I can easily come up with 25-30 ideas, leaving us room for a few sandwich nights or eating out.

2.  Let Your Husband Create the Menu

When I ask my husband what he would like for dinner, I almost always get “whatever you feel like fixing.”  Occasionally, I’ll get a special request for one of his favorites like Hamburgers & Gravy, meatloaf, or hamburgers.  You can tell he is a so-not-a-vegetarian-meat-eating-sort-of-guy, right?  Once he tells me I think of 5-10 of his favorites and add some kid-friendly picks, I have a month’s worth of meals.

3.  Rotate on a 30 Day Schedule

Whether you realize it or not, you probably eat the same thing.  Unless of course, you’re a gourmet chef or testing out recipes for your new cookbook.  If you’re a regular ol’ gal like me, pick about 10-15 meals your family enjoys (and you regularly have supplies for).  If you have that meal 2-3 times on a repeating cycle, you’ve filled up the month.

There you have it!  Three easy ways to meal plan in under 10 minutes.

Read other posts in the 31 Days to Make Being a Working Mom Easier series.