How to Get Started

Once I create my month, I often repeat it the next month or make only a few changes.
Each week when I go grocery shopping, I just look at my list of meals and I know what to buy. Along with staples of course. I think it cuts down on last minute trips to the store and impulse buys, helps us to eat well & a little healthier, and most of all (the reason I do it) reduces stress and the work load for me. Knowing what I am making ahead of time really helps me out. I know if I need to take something out of the freezer, or use the crock pot. I avoid being stressed out in the kitchen during the time of day that all my kids are home and the little one's are starting to melt down. It wouldn't work for everyone - if you like food spontaneity, you'd hate this - but it works pretty well for us.

So, several people who know that I do this have asked for a copy of the meals we have, plus recipes. Which, of course, I am happy to share.
However, unless you have people in your family with the same likes/dislikes as us - which is unlikely - it's better that you understand the process of how I make our meal plan, and then you can use the principles to custom make your own.

STEP ONE
Make a list of all the meals your family likes. I like to have mine divided into 2 types
Spring/Summer or Fall/Winter.

STEP TWO
Get a blank calendar page for the month. I use iCal now I have my Mac, but I just used a blank printed out page from Outlook when I had my PC.
I like to look at the whole month at once. I think it gives us more balance. If I'm adding a Mexican themed meal, and notice that we've had something like that 3 times in the previous two weeks, I can change things around. I also do a lot of repetition (especially on Mondays & Tuesdays) and it makes it easy to just add those meals to all Mondays at once, etc.

STEP THREE
Fill in any days on the calendar that have events planned already. Is it going to be someones birthday & they'll choose the meal that night? Are you going to be out & the babysitter will order Pizza? Will the whole family be dining out? Is it Fast Sunday the next day, and you'll be making a simple dinner on Saturday night just for your kids? Having people over & you'll need to make something that's good for a crowd? Add any holiday meals - the obvious one's are Christmas, Thanksgiving & Easter.


STEP FOUR
Decide what your food philosophy is. Are you looking to make mostly things that will be very easy to make? Cater to a picky eaters? Stay within a particular budget?

These are my "meal goals" -
* Work around our family schedule; this means that I try to have more simple meals on our busiest days in the week. For example, I try and have something that can be made ahead or done in the crock-pot on Wednesdays when we have a late piano lesson. I always do something that's a little nicer on Sunday's and plan for dessert then too. I make sure I don't forget a treat on Monday nights.
* Have Three Meatless Meals per Week; Rick complains he's "practically vegetarian" compared to how he used to eat, but I would like to do better. My kids love vegetables (it's fruit Emily & Jane have issues with) so why not? It's better for us, and better for the planet. I don't always make it the 3, but sometimes I get 4 or more meatless meals in the week, and then I'm super-happy!
* No Meals that Take More Than an Hour to Prepare; Dinner is only 1 of three meals and two snacks per day that I am preparing. We are always busy with Pre-School, swimming, soccer, ballroom dance, piano, play-dates, drama club, errands, etc.
I have 4 kids. Two of whom are Pre-Schooler's and my husband works insane hours - need I say more?

STEP FIVE
With my goals in my head, and my preplanned days already marked off, I start filling in the calendar. Here's how it works for us.

The kids & I LOVE spaghetti, but Rick hates it. Since he doesn't eat dinner with us through the week anyway (he gets home late, so we save his) we came up with a plan - we have pasta every Monday. Usually once a month it's spinach tortellini - and then I'll tell Rick and he'll eat that. Otherwise, he knows to grab himself an alternative on Monday nights on his way home, or eat leftovers from the fridge. We've been doing it this way for several years, and so far every one's happy.

Tuesdays are one of our busier days, and the day the house is cleaned from top to bottom. There's NO WAY we are eating anything with rice, or shredded cheese on Tuesdays. In fact, in the summer we eat outside on Tuesday. I'm OCD - I know- but I just have to go to bed one night in the week knowing my floor is clean! Tuesdays in the warmer months are always for Sandwiches - easy, not messy and fun to eat outside. In colder months we have soup. Yum! Often also hot homemade bread - or I grab some from the bakery if needs be. I can usually make the soup early in the day and reheat just before dinner. Soup simmering on the stove is wonderful to come home to when we're tired and cold.

Fridays I do something pretty casual. If Rick and I are stealing away for date-night it's easy for the kids and if we're home we often like to have a family movie night, and then we all feel like something easy. Often we make pizza. Homemade pizza is so yummy, and the benefit for us is we can all make our own kind (sausage & pepperoni for Rick, vegetarian for me, etc.)

All the other days I just plug in - trying to make sure we don't have fish more than once a week, or something Mexican, or curry more than once a week, etc.

So, there you go. Easy.

Let me know if you make one yourself ....