The Life Changing Magic of Meal Planning

Let's be honest. Making meals at home five nights a week isn't for everyone. Even as someone who loves cooking, coming home at 5 or 6 or 7 pm, opening a fridge to find the most random of ingredients and have to prepare something, is actually the worst.

In my house near the end of 2015, weeknight dinners were quickly losing their joy. So, as 2016 rolled in and we started to talk about plans for the year, I proposed the idea of meal planning. 

I really didn't expect this meal planning to last a year. Maybe it'll last a few weeks, and I'll feel better about making dinners. Now, a couple weeks into another year, our meal planning game is still going strong. 

I fully realize that meal planning sounds like something your grandma would do. Thankfully, I embrace my inner old lady.

Now for your top five reasons why meal planning is awesome. I mean AWESOME! 

5. You don't have to use your brain when you finish work. You have a plan, the ingredients and a recipe.

4. You know those meals that are super easy to make and you eat too much and you really don't enjoy them twice a week? Yeah. You don't have to do that anymore.

3. If you have a line of cookbooks that you use once a month, you get to use those. All the time. If you want someone to come over and look through your cookbooks, I'm free. 

2. Now that you plan around ingredients you have or will purchase (and use), food waste is drastically minimized.

1. Grocery shopping once a week. ONCE A WEEK. The only reason you need. 

Now that I've fully convinced you to start meal planning, some tips:

Devote a day or time each week to make a plan. Pro tip: don't do it while you're hungry. I spend Sunday late morning or early afternoon with my cookbooks and trusty grocery list. 

Make a grocery list. Shopping without a grocery list results in a) not getting half the ingredients you need and b) aimless wandering buying food you don't need. Without a list, I'm that person who makes about 7 laps around as I remember things I missed.

Use what you have. Whether it's in your fridge, freezer, root cellar, garden, etc. If you have fresh tomatoes to use, find recipes to use them up! Potatoes in the fall - plan them in. We have an abundance of parsnips right now, so parsnips twice a week! 

Write it down so you can see it. When you know your plan, it is way easier to follow. I've got a chalk board in the kitchen - we know each morning what to take out of the freezer or what to marinate the night before. Plus you get pretty excited about dinner when you know's coming.

Allow yourself to fail. If you come home from work and you had a terrible day and you want nachos and wine. Have nachos and wine. A plan isn't set in stone. 

Convinced now? I have more reasons...

I challenge you to try it. Even just a week. It'll change your perspective of food, meals and honestly, your life.