Monthly Meal Planning

I was wanting to blog this morning and was pondering ideas when a friend pinged me on facebook and asked about how I do our monthly meal planning. I decided to make that my topic of focus this morning - it’s almost time to do it for September so what a great way to get myself on the right page!

I try to plan our menu for the upcoming month in the last month or so of the month we are in. Doing this takes the stress out of “What’s for dinner?” and has saved us a lot of money. When we don’t know what’s for dinner we are more tempted to eat out (even though there is really only one restaurant where we can eat) and I’m more prone to impulse buys at the grocery store. By having a plan I know that if something looks interesting and new I either have to bump another dish or put it in the plan for next month.

I start with a calendar in front of me and look at the month. What is going on for the month? Are there holidays? Birthdays? Trips? What are my busy days and what days will we be away from home? We observe Sabbath from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday so I try to have Friday’s dinner be a large enough meal that we can eat it on Saturday for lunch as well. Once I have an idea what our month looks like, I start filling in meal ideas. We have specific things for breakfast every day, and we’ve changed to having our large meal be our midday meal. This allows dinner to be leftovers or a light meal.

If we’ll be out of the house all day or have a very busy day I think crock pot or simple meal. If we have company coming I want to make sure the meal will be enjoyable for them. If there is a holiday or a birthday then I make sure, before the month even starts, that I have a plan for the meals involved.

Some months I feel inspired to try new recipes and there are lots of new things. Some months I feel uninspired and we have the same meals every day each week. For instance, Monday is spaghetti night, Wednsday is stir fry, Sunday is Mexican food, etc. Most months I sort of mix it all up and some days are set in stone while others are themed and others are more creative.

Once I have the list of recipes I am ready to begin my shopping list. I first look at what I already have in my pantry (if I’ve got something super stocked in my pantry I try to make sure that I plan meals that will use that ingredient, so if I go to check my pantry and realize I have 20 bags of pasta I might add pasta meals to a few more nights that month).

After I have the list of ingredients, and know what I already have, I consider what can be bought in advance and what needs to be fresh. Everything that can be bought in advance goes on my monthly shopping list and is bought at the first of the month. Yes, it is somewhat discouraging to have money go in on the first and a large chunk of it come out within a day or two. It is also incredibly encouraging to know that no matter what else hits us that month we have the food to make our meals!

Ingredients that need to be bought fresh are put on my weekly shopping list and I make a point of going to the store before I start needing the ingredients for that week. When I’m super organized I check the weekly mailers and either price match or figure out where to go for the ingredients. When I’m a little less organized I try to hit Sprouts on Wednesday when they have the specials for two weeks in effect. At the very least I get to the store and get the stuff!

There are some things we keep on hand for backup meals, or if plans go sideways and we have to scramble for food. There can be less of this when I’m organized and we have a plan. We are more likely to switch meals during the week than resort to our backup meals when things are laid out and purchased for the week.

I really believe that food nourishes the body, but the preparation and service of the food nourishes the soul. There is something safe in knowing that there is always food for your hungry belly, and you can feel secure in a home where you know you will be well fed. The type of food might change depending on income or activities for the month, but there will always be food. It’s a good feeling.