Happy 2017, everyone!  With a New Year comes new goals, right?

Now, I'm typically not a New Year’s resolution girl. But, this year I really want to get better about meal planning. I tend to make healthy choices when it comes to food and exercise, however, there are often days when it's 4:30pm and I have absolutely no idea what I'm going to make for dinner.

Having a plan will not only cut back on this stressful mealtime-scramble, but also save some money on groceries since I will know exactly what we will be eating that week. (No over buying!)

I’m not into the complicated.  (Who is?)  So I've been looking up meal planning tips to try to make this as easy as possible for myself...and for all of you interested!  The tips below are a few of my favorites.  They’re simple, they’re easy, and they account for “life happened” moments.  

Write it Down

This is the most obvious tip. Writing it down will, of course, help you to keep track and remember the meals you are planning. I'm a planner girl, so I've decided to use Limelife Planner's Meal Planning Notebook to help me stay on track. (Plus it makes things that much easier to organize!)

Save Recipes

Save yummy/healthy/easy recipes as you find them. I save mine on Pinterest so they are there to refer back to when I'm ready.

Schedule a Few Leftover/Easy Meals

Let's face it. We all have those days that are so rough that we make the “I’m not cooking!” declaration. Having a quick, easy meal on hand can save you from spending $25 on pizza delivery. Crockpot meals are also awesome for THOSE days.

Theme it Up

Having a favorite meal weekly can make planning just a bit easier. Plus, it gives everyone something to look forward to each week. Who doesn't love Taco Tuesday?

Shop Sales

Use sale items to your advantage. Check your grocery store's weekly sales and try to plan meals using those ingredients.  Some stores make this process super easy with a fully integrated app.  Shopping weekly sales can not only save you money, but also may dissuade you from repeating the same recipes over and over.

Do you have any meal planning tips? Let us know!

The Limelife Planners Menu Planning Add-On has been a great help to me and my family. I love the simplicity and design of the planner. I have a family of four: two adults, a 4.5 year old, and a 2.5 year old. Having all of our tastes line up is difficult. Before using the menu planning add-on, we would just buy whatever looked good at the store and figure out the actual meals on the fly. This was stressing me out. I would look in the fridge and cabinets and have no idea what I was going to make that would please everyone in the house. Once I started using the menu planner I felt so much better and in control at meal time.

The grocery list keeps me organized. Having it placed on the same page as the meal planning means once I decide on the meal I am able to jot down all the ingredients that are needed to create the meal. No more guessing and hoping I have what I need! Once I have a completed weekly menu and grocery list I take a picture of it with my phone. This way I have it with me and I can send it to my husband if he is the one doing the shopping. I usually don’t plan out a budget for my shopping, however I do like to write down what we spent so I can get an idea of how much we are spending from week to week.

This week I started tracking my own personal food intake using the menu planner. I jot down what I ate, including snacks. I’ve been working on being healthier and counting calories. Using the menu planner is just another way to track and journal my food.

Hopefully, using this menu planner will help me develop a healthier relationship with food and make my time in the grocery store and the kitchen more pleasant. So far, it has been great!

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This blog post was written by Katharine Poppe for the Limelife Planners Media & Creative Team. Please share and repost this blog entry with your friends! All we ask is that you give credit to Limelife Planners and the post author. 

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