Today, my good friend Becky from Simply Intentional Life is here guest posting all about how to setup a meal planning binder! I’m so very excited because Becky is a pro at this! After you read this post, make sure to head over to Becky’s blog and check out all of her encouraging and motivational posts on intentional living!
How to Set Up A Meal Planning Binder
I started meal planning in 2014 because my husband had this great idea to start a budget. I was a mom of 2 and my youngest was just 2 months old at the time. I remember feeling depressed because I wanted to be home more with my kiddos but our financial situation would not allow that at the time.
Eight weeks after having my second son, I went back to work in a medical office working 10 hours a day and it was exhausting. I knew that our grocery budget needed a serious overhaul and I knew meal planning would help us save money so I started reading and learning how to meal plan on a budget because I wanted to be home with my kiddos more.
That was my motivation.
I knew that our grocery budget was a place where we could save money, but man did I hate meal planning! It always seemed so hard!
Since I just had my second child, I also wanted to lose a little baby weight… I gained 42 pounds with my second pregnancy and the baby weight was not coming off as quickly as it did the first time. Not only did I have to plan budget friendly meals for the family, I also had to plan healthy meals on a budget! Gah! I was so frustrated!
I would scroll Pinterest for hours then I would look at cookbooks for things that I could make somewhat easily only to spend 2 hours scanning for recipes and plan a total of 7 meals! The thought of meal planning stressed me out like crazy!
But, after a lot of trial and error, I finally figured out a system that worked really well for my family. I started teaching it to my family and friends and they told me how much it helped them. It was so simple, yet it worked incredibly well!
I have to admit that I am kind of a lazy mom. If I can find a way to make my life easier, you bet I will do it. I don’t like to spend a bunch of time on things that I can create a system for and that is exactly what I did with meal planning.
I ended up creating a meal planning binder. Now, don’t let this fool you or scare you. It is just a system to keep all of my family’s favorite recipes in one place and all of our favorite meal ideas in one place that way when I sit down to meal plan it literally takes me just a few minutes.
It was life changing for me!
I started creating systems for everyday things that Moms do because I was tired of feeling overwhelmed by all the things we have to do in a day.
Meal planning is one of those monotonous activities that I could totally do without. Here are the steps I took to develop my meal planning system.
Start with a Binder
Grab a cheap binder from the store and grab some clear covers to label sections in your binder. Label them “Breakfast” “Lunch” “Dinner” and “Snacks” “School Lunches.” If this sounds like a lot of work, stick with me because it will pay off in the long run. Just do yourself a favor and get the binder.
Write Down Every Meal Your Family Will Eat
I usually tell Moms to start with dinner because usually this is the meal that stresses them out the most. Then, write down all the meals you like to make and that your family will eat. They can be anything at all. If you are awesome at making spaghetti, write it down. If you are awesome at making pizza, just write it down.
Ask your family what they like to eat and write it down for dinner ideas when you meal plan. Keeping all these ideas in one place is a game changer when you actually go to meal plan.
Add Recipes to Your Binder
If you have favorite recipes from Pinterest or blogs or whatever, print them and add them behind the appropriate section. Then number all pages. When you write down your favorite meals on the meal planning templates or a sheet of paper, write down the page number in the binder that way you can quickly refer to the recipe.
If you have recipe books you want to refer to, write down SkinnyTaste page 137 or (ST 137 for short) next to the recipe. Again, this saves you a ton of time when you are getting ready to make dinner.
You can do this with any section in the binder. If you want more breakfast recipes or you have recipes from Pinterest you want to print out, place these recipes behind the appropriate sections.
Other Helpful Meal Planning Tips:
Keep Breakfast Simple for During the Week
If mornings are hectic in your house, limit the breakfast options to things that are super easy. For example, in my house we do yogurt, toast, or fruit during the week and on weekends we do waffles or pancakes (or whatever the family chooses). Don’t make it complicated during the week.
Serve Leftovers for Lunch
If you pack your lunch, plan on making a little extra at dinner so you can pack it the next day. Or, you can totally pack that for your kids lunches.
Keep a section for School Lunches
School lunches seem to be another area of stress for Moms. Mornings are already hectic enough and if you have to try to think of something to pack for the kiddos for lunch…. It can be a nightmare!
I started keeping a list of school lunch ideas for my kiddos and I have them grouped into “cold lunch ideas” and “warm lunch ideas”. I use a thermos for my oldest who goes to public school and his food stays warm for his lunch. It is a huge time saver to know that he can eat leftovers from dinner the night before for his little packed lunch.
I pack my youngest son’s lunch everyday in food storage containers and his preschool heats up his food (thankfully). My poor little guy has a bunch of food allergies so it is nice to know that I can pack him a warm allergen-free lunch each day.
Meal planning does not have to take a ton of time. You just need a well thought out system to plan your meals that way you can plan meals your family will eat in just a few minutes each month.
Becky Wolfe is the blogger at Simply Intentional Life where she helps moms with budgeting, meal planning, and time management. It is her passion to help Moms calm the chaos of everyday life and help them achieve their goals. She is the author of The Busy Mom’s Guide to Meal Planning.