Meal Planning my way

Living about 30 minutes from the nearest grocery store and having a busy schedule I have found meal planning to be my best friend!! Not only are we that far from grocery stores but fast food too! Currently I have appointments with kids 4 days each week, 3 of those days run right into dinner time. I can imagine nothing worse than having to decide what's for dinner while rushing home with tired, hungry little ones! I started meal planning a couple of years ago, and over time I have found a plan that works for me.I have tried the weekly method, where I only planned a weeks worth of meals at one time. That didn't work so I tried planning an entire months worth of meals, that was very time consuming and very easy to become boring.  This is what is currently working for us:

 I start by setting up my "calendar" I like dividing my days this way. This makes it very easy to plan themes or types of meals for which day. (Monday Mexican, Tuesday Soup, Wednesday Crockpot, etc)

Once I have my plan in mind for each day it is very easy to come up with 4 or 5 Ideas. I also like to change up our proteins during the week.  Our family likes trying new meals so each month I include lots of new recipes, we rarely have the same thing 2 months in a row. Also when planning I only plan the main entree.

Even though I have a meal plan written out I can adjust as need during the month. After I have prepared a meal I use a highlighter to highlight that item. I also like to make note of where I found the recipe.
Then for each week I use one of the Meal plan pages for my Happy planner. That is where I will add side dishes and any extras. And notes about alternatives for the kids.

So this is  what each week looks like in my planner. I love these insert pages for the Happy Planner, you meal plan one side and write your grocery list on the back side.  

I always start by dividing the page into categories, this makes it so much easier to make sure I get everything I need at the store. As I write each meal down I look at the recipe and write down the ingredients I need from the store. (This is also a good time to check the pantry, fridge and freezer inventory. I want to use what I already have on hand as much as possible.)

Once that is all written down I then make note of any prepping I need to get done before dinner time. I also plan ahead if I need to get things going in the crockpot.

Monday, Wednesday and Thursday I get home late so I have planned accordingly. I am truly blessed, my big kids can throw a prepped meal in the oven or occasionally hubby will fix dinner on those nights. 

Lastly, each month I have a Pinterest board to keep new recipes, as well as two apps on my phone- Mealthy and Mealime. (I have made several recipes from both apps and highly recommend both!)

For your convince here is a link to my March '19 Meal Plan on Pinterest-

click here->   March '19 

Please share in the comments below your meal plan and any tips you have.