Meal planning for the non-planner

So much has been written about meal planning.  If you haven’t been following the discourse, you might want to begin over at my friend Laura’s place to read what it’s all about. 

Meal planning is like a micro-whole world all by itself.  You’d be surprised at the many web rings, online resources, printables, techniques and methods, and other cool menu planning ideas floating around out there.

But what if you aren’t really much of a planner, much less a meal-planner?  What ideas can you take away from meal planning, without having to go whole hog on the idea?

If you want to dip your toes in the water, without having to jump all the way in, try my baby steps approach to meal planning and see where it leads…who knows, you just might get hooked.

Here goes:

Step 1. Start by deciding what’s for dinner tonight. Don’t know? Head to the fridge or pantry now and figure it out. Write it down. Hang it on the fridge. How’s that for easy?

[You can stop here if you like. But, if you are feeling courageous, move on to Step 2.]

Step 2. Repeat Step 1 every day this week. Do it every morning, and hang it on the fridge. How hard was that? 

[Don't look now, you're already planning.]

Step 3. Next week, plan all 7 nights of dinner on the same day. Pick any day you like, but shopping day works best for a lot of people.  Example: when you return from grocery shopping, write down what you plan to serve for the next 7 nights. Hang it on the fridge. Easy!

[Not perfect. But, we'll get there...]

Step 4. Repeat Step 3 for several weeks. No jumping ahead. No cheating.

[Listen to this song repeatedly in the background as you wait.]

Step 5. Now, look back on the previous few weeks. Ask yourself this question: which meals did your family love, and which meals were a complete failure? Write only the ones you love on a piece of paper.

[Hide the list somewhere; you'll need it again.]

Step 6.  Look back on the past few weeks again.  This time, ask yourself this: How many times did you run back to the store during the week to pick up things you forgot? If the answer is any number greater than 1, it’s time to move on to Step 7.

[Get ready, it's a big step...]

Step 7. The next time you shop, BEFORE leaving the house, make a list of what you’d like to serve for dinner that week. Use your hidden recipe list as a guide to choosing dinners you can serve that week.  Then, head to the store, buying only what is needed for those recipes, plus any breakfast items, lunch foods, and household/personal stuff you need as well. 

[I don't want to overload you too quickly. Baby steps, remember? So, the last step for today...]

Step 8. Do that for a few weeks, then come back here for my next meal planning post. I’ll link to it here eventually. Meanwhile, go subscribe to my feed so you don’t miss it.

Let me know what you think so far…there’s a comment area for rants and raves, below.

[You already know that I stink at photography.  This yummy image really came from Free Digital Photos.]