7 Tips for Meal Planning

I attended a ladies brunch at my church last Saturday. During a question and answer session after the two speakers, the topic was brought up about meal planning and what to do for those days when you don't have time to think about dinner plans, much less actually cook! Our pastor's wife asked that we send her tips for meal planning, which she is going to compile to share with our members. I wanted to share with you what I shared with the church ladies.

Tip 1. My mom would be the first to tell you she is not a cook. However, she had three tried and true meals that she could make well and fell back on (a lot.)

1. Baked chicken
Baked potatoes
Baked beans
Brown & Serve rolls

Bake the first three for one hour, add the rolls and serve it all after the rolls are golden.

2. Baked Ham
Baked potatoes
Baked beans
Brown & Serve rolls

Bake the first three for one hour, add the rolls and serve it all after the rolls are golden.

3. Spaghetti
Salad
Brown & Serve rolls with butter and garlic on top

So…the tip here is: Have a couple of tried and true recipes that are quick and easy. Always keep the ingredients for those meals on hand and you’ll be ready for whatever life hurls at you that day.

Tip 2. Crockpot cooking. Defrost and even put the ingredients in the crock the night before and refrigerate. Pop the crock into the pot in the morning, turn it on and forget about it until time to serve.

Tip 3. Cook ahead and freeze for those days. Foods that freeze well: Pasta sauces, most casseroles, baked ziti, lasagna, red beans & rice, soups, stews. The nice thing about most of these type dishes…they cook well in the crockpot so combine Tips 2 and 3 for really streamlining your cooking!

Tip 4. Meal planning is very important. Why? Because if you don’t plan what you are going to prepare, then how do you know if you have all the ingredients on hand? I don’t mean a diehard list that you must have chicken, rice & broccoli for dinner on Monday, May 12th, but just jot down some menus. Then buy the items you need to make all the items on the list. Then on Sunday night, May 11th, you just choose from the list what you want to fix on May 12th. Another reason meal planning is important is to take advantage of the grocery store specials and seasonal specialty items. We can all use some help trimming our food budget these days. Shopping and then using the on-special items really does save.

Tip 5. Plan ahead. Look at your calendar for what is coming up during the week. If you have a late meeting or a sports event on Tuesday night, then you will know and can plan a crockpot meal, or soup/sandwiches or pizza out that night. Don’t wait until the last minute to decide on what to fix. A little planning ahead relieves a lot of stress.

Tip 6. Sign up for my free weekly e-newsletter that has a new recipe plus other tips and information in it every week. The recipes are tested, nutritious and are geared for people with busy lives. You can sign up on the home page of the No More Chaos website at http://www.nomorechaos.biz/

Tip 7. Cooking and meal planning is much easier in an organized kitchen. Check out articles on my website, http://www.nomorechaos.biz/ for kitchen organizing articles such as, Clutter Free Kitchen Counters, What’s for Dinner, Parts 1 and 2 (about meal planning) and Cleaning out the Pantry. Once on the website, click on Article Archives to find these articles and lots more.