I highly encourage all of you busy mamas meal plan. Why? You will save money, time, headaches, whining from hungry kids as you scramble to pull dinner together…

Start out planning for a week. Start out using my weekly meal plans if you want. Print out a calendar for the week or draw one on paper. Sit down on Sunday with your calendar, a favorite cookbook, your recipe box, and your computer.

Now, that you have all this stuff in front of you… think about your week. If you have ballet on Tuesdays and don’t get home until 5- that would be a good day to do a crock pot meal or dinner salad or sandwiches and soup or leftovers. Getting the idea?

An easy way to start out meal planning is to assign different days different types of meals.

For example:

Monday- Meat, carb, veggie, salad

Tuesday- Crockpot (taking into consideration your ballet class)

Wednesday- Italian

Thursday- Soup and Salad

Friday- Pizza or something you have frozen (takes into account the days you would rather not quit)

Saturday- Fish, rice/grain, veg, fruit

Sunday- Mexican

If you plan out what type of meals you are going to serve on a given day it narrows down what you are looking for in your recipes. I have actually organized my recipes according to the types of meals.

Blogs, FoodNetwork, FineCooking, Recipezaar… are great places to look for meal ideas if your cookbooks and recipe box are lacking.

Feel free to share your favorite recipe finds and your meal plans for this coming week. A CHALLENGE FRIENDS :).

As you meal plan for your week- check the fridge, freezer, pantry, and make your shopping list (don’t forget to check out Farmer’s Markets for fresh produce).

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