Meal Planning Tips

So today we went to the grocery store because we were supposed to make last week's groceries last for 2 weeks, but they only lasted a week. It was because I did not have a meal plan. So this week I downloaded an app on my phone called Meal Maker. It has the seven days of the week listed like this:

Then you can click on the day of the week you want to see the meal plan for like this example;

When you hit view meals that is where you can edit what you want to have for breakfast, lunch, and dinner that day. You can add the ingridents that go in each meal and then add them to the shopping list feature it has. 

So this one for me was turkey sandwich with carrots and oatmeal cookies. Then as you got through the grocery store you can check off items as you get them. I really like this app because I used to do my meal plan on paper, but either lost the paper or forget to bring it to the store. This way my meal plan and shopping list is in one place. The only bad thing is the shopping list isn't categorized by meats, produce, etc. and if you want to add other things like snack foods or items that aren't designated for a specific meal you just have to add it in under the ingredients for a meal.

I like having a meal plan so we know we will have enough food for the week and we don't impulse buy on junk food and blow our grocery budget. Meal plans are definitely a must if you are on a budget. I can only meal plan a week at a time because we eat at home at least 6 days a week breakfast, lunch and dinner. We may have fast food once a week if we are out for a long period of time and usually I eat dinner at my mom's once a week, but other than that we eat at home. So to plan 3 meals a day for more than a week would be too much to handle. It usually takes me 2 days to make a meal plan for a week just because I have limited time to research recipes and sit down and think strategically so that food doesn't get wasted. 

So there are my tips on meal planning. If you have any questions on meal planning comment below! :)