5 Easy tips to meal plan for the week !
On Thursdays I plan out meals for my family for the following week. I use those plans to order groceries to be delivered on Friday. At the end of 2019 Walmart came out with the option to pick up groceries and I thought I had hit the lottery because with a family of 6, I literally have to shop weekly and I hate it. When they came out with the pick up option I started creating a simple meal plan for each day, so that I would not have to go to the store. At the beginning of 2020 Walmart offered grocery delivery for $99/yr and I could not get my debit card out fast enough to sign up. It’s one of the best things that happened to me and inadvertently ended up coming in clutch throughout this pandemic. You can read more about my experience with Walmart delivery here. I have been planning out meals for over a year now and it’s vital to my sanity. I am not the most disciplined person, like I'm currently avoiding working out right now, but I’m going to get to it. However, when it comes to weekly planning out our meals I have this down! Deciding what to cook used to drive me crazy and I’m glad to have conquered that hurdle.
Let’s get into 5 tips for planning out your meals.
Take Inventory. Look in your deep freezer, fridge, and pantry to see what staple items you have on hand. Staple items for me are meat (i.e. chicken thighs, drumsticks, ground beef), potatoes, rice, mac and cheese basically the main course or side items for your meals. The idea is to build meals around what you already have, to avoid to being wasteful and to eat the food within a reasonable time frame. This step alone helps save money as you aren’t over buying, but instead buying for just the meals that week and maybe one additional filler meal. One thing to note is that I actually buy most of our “meat” in bulk at Costco every 2 weeks, which is why it’s important to take inventory. Yes I weekly shop and do Costco every 2 weeks, it’s a whole job.
Create a list for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the week. I cook dinner 6 days a week and sis listen that’s all I got, I’m not cooking breakfast and lunch too no ma’am. So for breakfast and lunch I keep it simple with 2-3 options. For example for breakfast waffles, pop tarts, or cereal. I used to make lunch for the kiddos when they were going to brick and mortar school. Now that they are home I leave them options like sandwiches, ramen, or hot pockets. I make sure they have enough to choose from all week. For dinner I make a menu around the staple items I have after reviewing my inventory. I cook 6 days a week, so I always have 6 meals planned. I tend to add an extra low maintenance meal just in case I don’t feel like prep work or if work gave me the business. What is a low maintenance meal? One that I just pop in the oven and for my family that’s ready to cook chicken tenders and fries. My kids loves this great value brand chicken tenders and fries. I put them on a baking sheet and keep it pushing. Talk about the easiest 30 minute meal ever.
Make the actual grocery list. I do this in conjunction with #2 because I add what I need to complete each meal into the Walmart Grocery app. To make it clear I start with listing out meals in my notes app. For instance as mentioned above my kids like chicken tenders and fries, I will add those to the cart in the Walmart app along with any condiments like bbq or honey mustard sauce to complete the meal. Every time I put a meal on my list, I add all the ingredients I don’t have to the app. It’s extremely helpful and keeps you focused on what you need vs. what you want. If you prefer going into the store to grocery shop, this would be where you are either listing out each item you need on paper or digitally.
Add Snacks and Miscellaneous items. At this point I add in filler items. I start with the household items we NEED like laundry detergent, paper plates, dish soap etc. Yes you can order these items in the Walmart Grocery App. I’m telling you it’s a complete life saver. Once I have all of those needs down I go back and add in stuff I know my kids will want. Since I do my best to keep my weekly grocery runs at $150 or less, this helps me gauge how much I have left for those wants. Some extras I purchase are different flavors of Cran Juice (thanks to their Uncle Cheddar for introducing them to this smh), cookies, chips, chicken and biskit crackers stuff like that.
Order or pick up your groceries. If you are like me and despise grocery shopping I order my groceries on Thursday night and have them delivered on Friday. This works out best for me since at my house Friday is Fend for yoself Friday, the grocery delivery is right on time with options for my kiddos to choose from for dinner. Find a day that works best for your family. If you are not interested in paying for grocery delivery (which is $99/yr or $12.95 a month), you can choose the pick up option which is free. They will load the groceries into your car for you. It is definitely a low stress option as well. For those of you heading into the store, bless you. When my kids were little it used to be some escape time for me. As they got older and I had to go more often, I became less and less interested. These steps have truly helped me get over such a tedious task that I take on for my family of 6.
These tips are designed to help you provide structure and peace when it comes to cooking for your family or for yourself. Take some of that guess work out of the process and modify it for your needs. I know not everyone needs to shop weekly, you can try this process every other week. Whatever works best for you. Happy Meal Planning!
