I think you all know by now that I am a list-maker. I like my life all planned out and written (typed in a cute font preferably because I don't like my handwriting) nice and neat on a pretty piece of paper. I don't always stick to the plan but I like the thought of having one on paper.
Last summer, I tackled meal planning. I got so tired of realizing it was almost dinner time and I had completely forgotten about dinner! We were in a bad habit of grabbing something out or doing what my family calls FIFI. Find It, Fix It. When I got on my health kick, I realized this would not do and only a cute list could solve a problem like this. So I decided to come up with a weekly plan. I knew that if I was going to stick to it, we needed it to be simple so we went with this idea:
Sunday - Beef Night
Monday - Breakfast for Dinner Night
Tuesday - Chicken Night
Wednesday - Fish Night
Thursday - Pasta Night
Friday - Pizza Night
Saturday - Soup, Sandwich or Salad Night
I then listed all of the meals in these categories that I knew most of my party of five will eat and put it on a magnetic chart for the fridge. On Sundays, I go through the list and usually let the kids help decide.
We check off what we are having and then no one asks all week "what's for dinner?" It has worked great. We don't stick to it ALL the time but for the most part, we've got a pretty good system going. I've added lots more meals into the rotation since joining a freezer meal cooking group which has been awesome! Now that we've been using this system for almost a year, we pretty much have it memorized so I decided an upgrade was in order for the fridge.
I tried taking a pic while it was on the fridge but I kept getting a horrible glare. I'm not a photographer, so I gave up. You get the idea. This is one of my
dry erase boards and I put magnets on the back so I could hang it on the refrigerator. I see it every morning when I'm getting my Diet Dr. Pepper so I am always reminded if there is something I need to thaw or put in the crockpot.
I put the old chart in my binder to use when I'm planning out the week.
This system works great for my family! The kids always know what's for dinner and they like that I let them choose which meal to check off. I always have veto power but I do let them choose the main dish for the most part. It's made grocery shopping so much easier too!
Would this plan work for your family? If so, leave a comment telling me your favorite meal to cook for your family and one lucky reader will win a Menu Board personalized for you!!
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