Menu Planning

I have a confession to make. I have not been a good menu planner over the last few years. A few weeks ago some friends of mine got together to learn about menu planning. Two friends presented different ways they plan their menus. For the last three weeks I have tried out one of the plans, somewhat successfully.

6 Week Menu Plan

First: Brainstorm all the meals you make. We used the categories: beef, chicken, pork, miscellaneous, and side dishes. Ideally you are looking for 42 different meals, 6-7 of which should be super easy ones (think grilled cheese and canned tomato soup).

Second: Plug the 42 meals into a 6 week menu chart. (I only did 2 weeks worth on mine so I could try it out). Obviously you vary the types a meals per week, adding in the easy meals on your busy nights. Also, if you have a Sunday dinner tradition of mashed potatoes and roast, or Friday pizza night you wouldn't need to think of as many meals.

Third: Make a grocery list of every item you need for that weeks worth of meals. I admit I planned most of my meals by things I had on hand, so I didn't need to buy too many items.

PROS: Wide variety of meals (no more spaghetti and tacos every 3 days), know exactly what's for dinner and you have the ingredients on hand, and if there is something someone doesn't like it won't appear in the rotation for another 6 weeks.
CONS: Some meals I can't economically make on the week planned. One of the reasons I didn't plan farther than 2 weeks ahead is because I needed to reserve the right to see what items I could buy for cheap that week. (It didn't make sense to need mushrooms for a meal that would cost $2.99/8 oz when I knew I could get them for $1.00 if I could wait for a sale).

I admit I loved having a plan. I have been in a dinner rut for a long time, so it was nice to know I had 14 meals planned. I'm not sure I'm ready for a full 6 weeks though, it seems too daunting for me. I will try to plan a months worth and then switch meals around if I can't get the ingredients I need cheaply enough.