If you are anything like me, figuring out what to eat each night is a chore, which in turns means we eat out more than we should, and in turn means we spend more money on food than I would like. I have always been good with planning our meals on a weekly bases, however, not always as good at making sure we cook the food instead of opting for eating out (in other words I prefer to Pin meal ideas then the actual cook the meal). And I might even be worse at making sure that the leftovers are not wasted (that is why we have dogs, right?).
For the past months we starting planing our meals on a weekly bases to make the week easier. Here is what our meal planner looks like.
Each night of the week has the same theme but what we cook each night changes from week to week. It has cut down on eating out, leftovers, and wasted food in general.
As you can see there is a notes column is for things when dinner might be different, say eating dinner at a friends house, or a girl’s night. I also use it to post any appointments or reminders for the day– if the kid has a doctors appointment or something that the Husband might want to attend. I keep the menu on a clipboard in our kitchen so both the Husband and I know what is going on that week. Under the menu I keep our shopping list (will post this soon), and any recipes we need for the week.
I am also very into the Fly Lady, and she does zone cleaning. Each week is a different zone to concentrate on. I circle the zone for the week is so I don’t forget. I also use a great app on my iphone called Home Routine. I might have to write a whole post on how great this app is! Huge time saver and if you are a check list person like me this is the app for you to get your housework done.
Ok, so back to the Menu Planner– It has been a HUGE money saver and time saver. First of all I can cook taco meat for the month and then we can use that to make tacos, nachos, and enchiladas for mexican night. It cuts down on waste and has been a huge time saver. We go to the store every Sunday.
I made a editable version for your to download. Just open in Preview (on a mac) or Adobe Acrobate to edit. Don’t want to edit? Just print it out and write on it.
Weekly Menu with background pdf
Weekly Menu without a background pdf
Tip: Print out one version and put in a clear plastic sleeve. Then use a dry erase market to write on it each week.
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