Meal Planning

If you're new to all this, the easiest way to start is by planning a week's worth of dinners. Once you develop a routine, it becomes second nature. Here are some suggestions on how to get started.

• Consult a cookbook for tips on using leftovers. For example, use Sunday's pot roast for Tuesday's roast beef hash or vegetable beef soup.
• Plan around the basic food groups: whole grains, meat and poultry, dairy and eggs, veggies and fruits. Keep your pantry and fridge stocked with staples like brown rice and whole-wheat pasta, and common vegetables that will keep fresh for a while, like potatoes, carrots, onions and garlic.
• Cook double or triple portions to prepare extra food for the next day or so.
• Try to plan around your family's activities. Save the easiest meals, like soup and sandwiches, for the busiest days.
• Once you have a few recipes in mind, print out a blank calendar for the week, and write down meals for each day.
• Before you shop, jot down all of your recipe ingredients, and inventory your pantry and fridge to avoid buying duplicate items.
• Keep a notepad attached to the fridge, and write down ingredients as they're used up. If you're like most cooks, you tend to use the same things repeatedly.
• Don't worry about deviating from your meal plan. If you come across a good deal at the grocery store, take advantage of it. For example, if rotisserie chicken is on sale and cheaper than a whole fryer, pick up one or more and freeze the extra.• 
• Repeat your menu every two weeks for a season. Most of us don’t mind eating a meal twice a month, and when you create a two-week menu plan, you can be set for a few months. Try creating a two-week plan for the summer.
• Rather than starting from scratch each week, I have a template of the general types of foods I cook each day of the week and the number of times I use each main food. In other words each week I cook:

• 1-2 Chicken meals
• 1 slow cooker or soup meal
• 1 beef
• 1grain/pasta based meal
• 1meatless meal
• 1 Turkey/Pork based meal

• As you find recipes your family enjoys, make them core recipes that get re-used every few weeks. Try to build up about 20 of these and you won’t ever be bored with your meals.
• Protein is typically the most expensive part of the meal so if you can use less expensive cuts of meat and stretch them, it might allow you to buy organic and grass-fed rather than conventional meats.
• A basic easy recipe can taste completely different just by changing the spices. 
• Don't let the kids be picky! Encourage them AND reward them to TRY everything! Kids are required to try one bite of everything cooked before they can have more of any one food.