One of the many points I reiterate to my students…”When you fail to prepare, you prepare to fail.” Usually I’m talking to them about planning their treatment route to avoid tangled lines and wires, but the same statement holds true when we talk about meal planning.
A few months ago, our family decided we needed to make this a priority and really just put the extra effort in to meal planning and prepping. I know, many of you are probably sitting there thinking “That sounds great, Kalette, but I just don’t have the time for that.” I’ll be honest, I thought the same thing, but after sticking to the plan for many months now, I understand that I just needed to make the time.
There are numerous benefits that come from meal planning, including: saving money, less stress at dinner time, and an overall nutritional gain from the home cooked meals. I’m sure many of you would agree that you want nothing more than a healthy family, and part of that goal starts with a little preparation. You can decide if it’s once a week or once every 10-14 days (whatever is best for you), and when you’re done, you’ve set yourself and your family up for a successful week!
So to help you with your journey, I’ve prepared a free meal planner template for you to utilize! Simply download and print, and use the boxes to help you navigate the menu planning and grocery store shopping process.
The template starts with an inventory of what you have leftover from the previous week (because if you’re like me, we always tend to have one night that we stray from the menu for whatever reason) and then a quick pantry check, where you can list items you may have ran out of (spices, sauces, etc.). Once you do that, it’s time to plan what meals you will have for the upcoming week, and I recommend seven separate dinners, but then only one or two breakfast and lunch options (b/c most of us purchase those items in bulk to allow for the same option(s) everyday). Once you decide what you’re having to eat, break the recipes down and add all of the ingredients to your shopping list.
That’s all there is to it…see so simple, especially now that you have a template to help you 🙂
Stay tuned and we’ll talk more about meal prepping later on!!