Easy Meal Planning for Beginners
You can find Taran at Undomestic Mom
At play group a few weeks ago, I was shocked to learn that most of the moms do NOT enjoy meal planning. A chore that involves no cleaning, how could that be?! Oh wait, I’m the resident hoarder of the group who routinely hides from the cleaning chores. We actually often joke that I’m more like the husbands when it comes to tidying up. So I guess it makes sense that I love meal planning because it often gets me out of vacuuming. So I wanted to jot down a few tips and tricks for the So Much Spinach readers who might also dread meal planning. I assure you it can be done quite quickly every week and you won’t die of boredom. Plus you might even get out of cleaning the microwave!
Simplify the Plan
I think that when some people hear “meal plan” they assume it’s some super involved and organized plan that takes hours to put together. I can assure you this is not the case. My weeks are usually filled with classic standbys and one newbie. We also eat leftovers once a week (or takeout) and one frozen convenience meal. Do NOT be afraid of those! Trader Joe Mandarin Chicken is without a doubt one of the tastiest meals I make. (Have tried to replicate it homemade and cannot do it!) Throw some rice in the rice maker (Or get the microwavable kind!) and steam some broccoli. *PRO TIP* You can make rice and steamed broccoli at the same time in a rice cooker.
Use your Slow Cooker!
People tend to either love or hate the slow cooker. While some things don’t turn out so good in it, there are plenty of recipes that do. Chili, soups and shredded chicken dishes all work incredibly well for me. I’m a big fan of putting my slow cooker to work in the morning with the meat and liquids and adding most other ingredients an hour before serving. This keeps veggies and dairy from over cooking. Find a recipe or two that work well for your family and just keep them in the rotation. You don’t have to use it every night but once or twice a week can do wonders for your cooking morale.
15 Minute Meals
It used to be the standard for quick meals was 30 minutes. As a die-hard Rachael Ray fan, I can attest to the fact that some of the most delicious dinners only take 30 minutes to make. Yet there are still times when I need to get something on the table even faster. I have a handful of 15 minutes meals in my arsenal, such as the breakfast for dinner I chose for Friday night. (You can never go wrong with Brinner!) I can also throw tuna salad together in 15 minutes or BLT’s. I love keeping a Caesar salad kit on hand during busier season of life.
Raid the Salad Bar!
You hate chopping and dicing veggies but you still want to put a healthy meal on the table? Hit up the salad bar. Grab a container and toss in pepper and onions slices along with a couple lime wedges. Load up another with chopped lettuce, tomatoes and shredded cheese. Grab a rotisserie chicken and tortillas. When it’s time to cook, sauté the onions and pepper with some cumin, chili powder, oregano and salt & pepper. Once crisp tender, 5-7 minutes, add some shredded rotisserie chicken. Boom! Chicken fajitas in mere minutes.
Sure it cost a bit more than getting all of the ingredients whole but it was definitely cheaper than takeout. Our time is valuable too. Do NOT let lack of time keep you from making dinner every night. Salad bar fajitas take the same amount of time as running into Chipotle.
*PRO TIP* You can also get lots of chopped veggies in the freezer section. I can whip up a stir-fry in 10 minutes using a frozen veggie stir-fry mix.
Easy Meal Plan for Beginners
Sun: Sheet Pan Meal
Mon: Slow Cooker Meal
Tues: Frozen Dinner (Such as TJ’s Mandarin Chicken, steamed broccoli and rice.)
Wed: Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup
Thurs: Salad Bar Meal
Fri: Pancakes
Sat: Leftovers/Takeout
Okay so each one of those is an idea of what I had in mind but definitely sub in your own recipes to make it even easier. I just wanted to give you guys a rough idea of an easy meal plan. You can keep it very similar every week! Don’t feel the need to switch it up unless you are getting bored. I used to put a lot of pressure on myself to make new and exciting dishes every week and I have no idea why. My family loves of standbys and I can be on autopilot when I master a recipe.
I made the readers of So Much Spinach a Quick & Easy Weeknight Meal Guide to help expedite dinnertime on those crazy nights when we don’t have anything planned! Come one over and download it!
Taran writes at Undomestic Mom where you’ll find more on meal planning, recipes and mom life.
