Hi, guys. Welcome back to my channel. Today, I'm going to do a video on meal planning and
how we do it. These are my five simple steps to meal planning, and some hacks, as well.
Basically, we meal plan simply to save time and money and to feel organized when we are
busy working parents. I really hope that some of these tips will help you.
Right, so the first step is to assess what you already have. I will meal plan on a Sunday
night. I will check the fridge and see if we've got anything that's about to go off
or anything that needs to be used up, like leftover chicken, or something like that.
And I will write down those meals first. One hack that we do to cut down on wastage is,
if we put leftovers in the fridge, we write on the door with a whiteboard marker what
we've actually put into the fridge and what needs to be eaten up. That way, if there is
leftover dinner, someone can have it for lunch the next day, and it just reminds you what
is actually in your fridge, because there is nothing worse than going through your fridge
at the end of the week and chucking out perfectly good meals.
Once you've made a note of the meals that you want to make from what you already have,
then it's time to get inspiration from cookbooks and recipes for the rest of the nights of
the week. We tend to meal plan just from Monday to Friday, because on the weekend, we'll have
barbecues, or see friends and family, or get a takeaway, or something like that. So, as
long as I've written down what we're having for Monday to Friday, I kind of leave the
weekends quite free.
To get inspiration, I will have a look through our cookbooks. Some of my favorites are Gwyneth
Paltrow's cookbook and Jamie's 30-Minute Meals. I also have a recipe book where I keep some
of my favorites that my mom makes, where she has given me the recipes for our family favorites,
and I also always save the recipe cards from whenever we order a food box, like HelloFresh,
because we will treat ourselves to something like that every two months. So, any recipes
that we've really enjoyed from that, I will save the cards, and I will remake them, as
well.
Once we've decided on the recipes that we're going to have that week, I will write all
of the meals on our meal planning chalkboard. I just got this from an interior shop locally.
Love having it written on the wall, because then everyone in the family can see what we're
having for dinner, and it reminds me every morning what we're having, any meal prep that
I need to do, and anything that I need to get out of the freezer.
Step three is to write your shopping list. I will just look at what we're having that
week and write that on the notes of my phone, and then I will also add in anything else
we need for breakfasts and lunches, as well. If I ever forget to put anything on the list,
throughout the week, my husband and I will use the family reminders tool on our phone.
We set it up so that we can remind each other of things. So, if i write, "Get bread, get
eggs," or something like that in a family reminder, he will also get the notification,
and then either of us can run the errand, whoever's closest to a shop.
Step four is to online shop. I actually don't go to the grocery store anymore, and I kind
of stopped doing that since Caleb turned two. It was just too much hard work with a five
year old and a two year old, and then a bump as well, because I'm pregnant. So, I do it
all online, and I love it. It stops me from overbuying and impulse buying, so I can literally
just get what's on the list, and I can sit in the comfort of my own home and order it
all online, and it just arrives the next day. It's the simplest thing, and whenever I do
an online shop, I honestly feel like super mom.
For step five, I just wanted to say to be flexible. Yes, you have written down five
meals that you're going to have that week, but if you don't fancy it on the day, don't
have it. You don't have to have chili on a Monday and chicken pie on a Tuesday if you
don't feel like it. You can move things around. Meal planning is really just about sticking
to a budget and being a bit more organized.
Another meal planning tip that I wanted to say is to have back up plans. And what I mean
by that is, have a couple of recipes or meals that you can make solely from your pantry.
I make this tuna pasta dish that is completely from cans and pastas. All it is is tuna, pasta,
capers, olives, all things that I will have in my pantry cupboard. So if I do forget to
get anything out of the freezer or anything prepped or ready, then it doesn't matter,
because I can always make that backup plan. Same goes for the kids. Get some things in
your freezer that you know, if you come in late one day, if you get stuck in traffic
and you have starving children, you can just throw in the oven, it'd be ready in 10 minutes.
Like fish cakes, chicken nuggets, fish fingers, frozen veg, and chips, potato smiles, things
like that. Just have them in your freezer for those days when you're like, "The kids
are starving and I need to give them something in the next 10 minutes."
That is it from me on meal planning. I really hope some of my tips and hacks have helped
you. Don't forget to like, comment, and subscribe, and I will see you soon. Bye.
... why would you ever mess with a good sleeping baby's routine?