Easy Meal Planning for a Month When You’re Extra Busy

Meal planning is such a valuable asset for moms, but not every way of going about it fits everyone the same.  I’m in a crazy season right now, living in a “tiny house” on our property while we figure out what is causing some major health issues for me when I’m in our home. (We suspect mold, but that’s another post for later!)  During this time, I decided that we needed to simplify things and make it easier for my teens who are helping to carry the load in the kitchen while I can’t be there, so I’ve changed things up a bit.  Honestly though, this is a great plan for any busy mom, anytime!  It makes it so that you can plan a whole month of meals at one time (half the battle, right?) and even make some things ahead of time to reduce the amount of time in the kitchen for later meals.  So what is this magic you ask?  Let’s jump right in!

This plan is basically making a simple meal plan for one week and then repeating it each week for one month.  You can add a little variety here and there to make sure life doesn’t get too boring.  To save even more time, since you’ll be eating the same thing next week, you can cook double the first week and have some things already prepared for the next week.  I’m always a fan of saving time and energy!  Planning ahead for a month of meals allows you to feed your family healthy, homemade foods rather than ready made items or feeling like you have to order in.  It also offers peace of mind.  We mommas have a lot on our plates and the daily strain of figuring out meals is no joke!  Making a monthly meal plan takes all of that away and helps your days run smoother.  

Ready for the details?

1. Get out a blank calendar (or I use the app Plan to Eat for my meal planning).  Write out your plan for dinners for one full week.  Make sure it’s things that your family really enjoys and won’t mind eating once a week for this month.  You can either stick with doing the exact same thing each week, or you can add a little variety.  For us, we do “Taco Tuesdays”, but we switch back and forth between true tacos and then burrito bowls.  They are both in that same Mexican family and share most of the same ingredients, but still feel “different” enough to not feel monotonous.  Another example would be “Fishy Fridays” where we switch back and forth between broiled flounder and baked salmon.  Also, think through the kind of month it is going to be.  If every Thursday is sports practice, maybe a “no cook” meal would be best.  Maybe on Sundays you’re out most of the day.  Crockpot meal it is!  
2. Now copy this week-long plan and place it in each of the other three weeks, adding in any variety you’d like.  Don’t go overboard with the changes though…remember, simplicity is the goal here.  There are some days that are just exactly the same for us, like Saturdays are always Spaghetti, green beans and a big salad from the garden.  Super easy!
3. Now you can go in and do the exact same process for your breakfasts.  Check out my sample meal plan for some ideas!
4. For lunches, I always plan to make enough extra of each dinner meal to last for a leftover lunch the next day.  Again, keeping things simple.  We just reheat the leftovers and tada!, lunch is served.  No time or stress trying to figure out what do for lunch every day.
5. Here’s where it gets fun.  During the first week, plan to make double of some of the things you will be having again the next week (or weeks if you want to go bigger).  When we cook our taco meat, we will do enough for all 4 weeks and then freeze the extra in meal size portions to pull out later on each taco day.  Are you planning muffins with one of your breakfasts?  Make double to have again the next week.  They freeze beautifully!  Do you want homemade bread every Wednesday to go with your roasted chicken?  Make 4 loaves instead of one.  It only takes a few minutes longer than making just one and you’ll have all of your delicious bread just waiting in the freezer for you to pull out for each week.  This can be the main dish too!  For our “Asian” nights on Thursdays, we’ll have Pumpkin Chickpea Curry on the first and third Thursdays, so I’ll make double the first time I make it and have my main dish already ready to go next time.  Can you imagine what a good feeling it will be when you get to that day and the majority of your dinner is already done?  Glorious!  
6. Now it’s time to make your shopping list.  I really love Plan to Eat for this part.  Once I’ve put the recipes onto my calendar and set the serving sizes, it automatically makes my shopping list for me!  If you don’t have that, no worries, just sit down and make your list the old fashioned way.  We usually shop for two weeks at a time, making a quick run in between to grab extra fruit and any veggies that may go bad too quickly if I buy them too early.  Don’t throw out that list!  If you’ve really stuck to planning the same things, you should be able to use the same shopping list next time (with a few tweaks for any variety you’ve added).
7. Now go shopping!  Have you tried ordering online to pick up?  So many stores offer it now.  It’s been a game changer here!  My husband and I will go grab a quick dinner together, go to Costco, pick up our grocery orders and head home.  A “Date Night” twice a month =).

So what do you think?  Ready to reclaim your meal planning life and try something new?  Commit to trying it for one whole month and see if this way of planning is right for you.  It takes a little work up front, but it’s well worth it!

I’d love to hear in the comments about any tips or tricks you’ve honed with meal planning for a busy schedule.

EXAMPLE MENU

*Note- Several people in our family have AlphaGal so we don’t do any mammal products (red meats, dairy, etc)

Breakfasts

Sundays- Healthy Pumpkin Breakfast Bake, Frozen Yogurt/Grapes/Granola Bars

Mondays- Pancake squares or German pancake; Lara Bar, Chicken sausage and fruit for AG folks

Tuesdays- Oatmeal and fruit

Wednesdays- Eggs, Chicken sausage, fruit, sauteed greens w/onion and mushrooms

Thursdays- Smoothies and muffins (we switch back and forth between banana and blueberry); Eggs, leftover sausage and greens for AG folks

Fridays- Make ahead freezer breakfast sandwiches, yogurt 

Saturdays- GF Breakfast Casserole and applesauce

Dinners

Sundays- Grilled chicken, sweet potatoes or regular potatoes (sometimes mashed, sometimes baked), steamed broccoli or brussel sprouts

Mondays- Turkey burgers, fries or tots, fruit salad

Tuesdays- Tacos or Burrito Bowls

Wednesdays- Roasted whole chicken, some kind of salad (kale w/lemon, cucumber/tomato, green salad, etc), homemade bread

Thursdays- Asian dish (Pumpkin chickpea curry, Pad woon sen, Crockpot chicken curry) carrot slaw or fresh rolls or thai cucumber salad

Fridays- Fish, corn on the cob, caprese salad

Saturday- Spaghetti, green beans, salad from the garden

** Please note the links to Plan to Eat are affiliate links that will give you 20% off and we’ll also get 20% off as well. I’ve been using this program for 10 years. My whole family uses it to figure out each meal.