The Different Types Of Meal Planning
Welcome back to the Hillbilly Housewife Blog Tour. I’m Susanne Myers, the Hillbilly Housewife. In yesterday’s post we talked about how meal planning can save you time. Today I’d like to share some information on the different types of meal planning with you. It will help you decide what style of menu plan is right for you and your family.
Different Styles Of Meal Planning
There are three different styles of meal planning. I am outlining each for you below. Each works well for a particular lifestyle. Find the one that you think will most likely work for you and your family and give it a try.
The Night Before
This is the simplest form of meal planning. Take some time after you finish dinner and get the kids in the bed to think about what you will cook the next day. Work mostly with what you already have in your fridge or pantry. Make a note of what you will need to grab at the store to make dinner.
If making a weekly menu seems a bit intimidating, this is a great way to get your feed wet and get a feel for the process. I recommend you try to graduate to one of the other methods eventually.
A Week, 2 Weeks or Month at a Time
This is my preferred method of meal planning. I usually plan for one week, occasionally for two when I know we’ll be extra busy. I sit down on Sunday nights and make up a menu for the entire week. I grab my recipes for the dinner dishes and write down a grocery list to make sure I’m not forgetting anything essential. I don’t usually bother planning breakfast and lunch. I just make sure we have plenty to make our favorites (oatmeal and pancakes for breakfast, sandwiches, salads and leftovers for lunch).
Rotating Menus
If you are super busy and your family likes certain meals on a regular basis a rotating menu may work well for you. Make out about 6 weekly menus and keep rotating through them. You may want to make some slight adjustments in the fresh produce you use depending on the season.
Please take a moment to leave a comment and let us know what your thoughts on meal planning are. Christine and I will put all commenters in a drawing and give away a subscription to her Meal Planning Service and one to the Hillbilly Housewife Club. Can’t wait to hear read your comments.
Susanne Myers – The Hillbilly Housewife
P.S. If you haven’t already done so, take a moment to subscribe to the Hillbilly Housewife Newsletter. It’s free and we share some wonderful recipes and great tips on all things frugal. To join visit HillbillyHousewife.com and look for the signup box in the upper left-hand corner.
September 29th, 2009 at 4:39 pm
I plan a week at a time. I have a little chart that I fill in with the meals I want to make and the days to serve them. We have a busy life, so I only plan for 3-4 meals per week, knowing that we’ll fill in the gaps with leftovers, easy freezer meals or a “staple” like tacos. My favorite thing about meal planning is being able to defrost the meat I want to use the day before – and no more last minute rush!
October 2nd, 2009 at 12:03 pm
Every Wednesday our grocery stores come out with their sale adds, I plan the week’s dinner according to what meat is on sale for that week. Our daughter has soccer practice and even games during the week so it is great to know what meal we are having for dinner; I plan something quick for those nights, like baked pasta or tacos. Planning your weekly meals saves so much stress on trying to figure out what you are going to cook for dinner, since I cook dinner every night it comes in very handy. We eat a lot of fresh vegetables; those also depend on what is on sale for the week.
October 2nd, 2009 at 1:45 pm
I love The Hillbilly House Wife website and I go there very often for receipes and hope amid the crisis of daily life. (something is always happening to throw off my plans so it is so helpful to have a resource like this). The receipes are always fail-proof and easy with good results and common ingredients are the best part. As a single Mom of three I have to be frugal!!!! I try to plan meals ahead but have not been very sucessful at keeping to them. Sounds like menu planning central could help. Thanks for the tour. I need all the help I can get. Look forward to every e-mail from HBHW I get at work, and copy some receipes to my word file for later use. Mnay times you have saved the day!…. like “what I can I have for supper tonight with what ingredients I already have at home”. Thanks for the encouragement. I would be lost without this site.