Today as I was preparing my notes for my next call, I remembered that this new mama I am going to meet asked me to give her some tips on meal planning.

We had some issues in estimating her weekly grocery shopping and I advised her to do a shopping list before she go for shopping. As a new mom she was not prepared for their grocery list. So she asked me to explain to her how she does this and also some recipes!! (honestly cooking is my other passion but I could never have thought that I would combine these two passions.)

So what it is: Meal planning is asking the what’s for dinner question once for the whole week, instead of every night, and then shopping for and prepping the ingredients before cooking.
Select your dinners and their recipes, if needed.
Shop for ingredients.
Prepare those ingredients.

Start on a Friday: We’re big fans of putting this practice into place over the weekend, kicking off the planning on Friday, shopping on Saturday morning (or night — less people in the stores), and then using an hour or so on Sunday for meal prep.
Are you looking for variety?
To save money?
Eat better?
Prevent food waste?
Preserve you sanity?
Or to have a ready answer to the daily question from your partner or kids of what’s for dinner?

Meal planning is one of those situations where you can indeed have it all, but let’s do this slowly.
Meal planning is not difficult, but it’s not a walk in the park either — especially when you’re new to it.

So if you showed up here seeking to make your life in the kitchen a bit calmer because of it, you’re already well on your way. Every time you go through the process of meal planning you learn what not to do, the places where to improve on next week, what you can skip, and how to customize the entire practice to fit your needs. Continuing to do it only makes you better.

Do you prepare your list and your meals before shopping??
Burnout is real, so if you’re a beginner, pick just two or three of the things that matter most and keep them in consideration when you move on to the next step of picking the recipes — our favorite part!
Next, Choose Your Recipes Very Carefully
Choosing your recipes puts the philosophy of meal planning and the reasons why you’re doing it into action. In fact, we think it’s the most critical step since it sets this whole process in motion.
Use a 2-Step Process for a Smarter Grocery List
Okay, you’ve got your recipes. Well done, you! Now what do you need to make them? We recommend a two-step process of making an ingredient list and then a grocery list. Don’t get overwhelmed! This isn’t as tedious or time-sensitive as it sounds. In fact, go through the process once and you can pretty much consider yourself an expert. If you make your final grocery list this way, you won’t ever buy another bag of shredded cheese when you already have some in the fridge!

Reduce grocery store trips. If your weekly menu is planned ahead of time, you can do your best to buy everything for the week in one trip.

Reduces wandering at the grocery store. I’m a wanderer. Even now when I have a list, sometimes I just want to search for sales or find yummy new items. But too much of that wastes time.
By planning your meal and preparing your grocery list you are going to stick with your budget and make sure you are on track of your finances.

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