Meal Planning: Ideas from a Convert

I used to HATE meal planning. I thought it made life super boring and could not understand why in the world I would ever want to eat the same things over and over again.

And then I actually tried it. And it has made my life a million times easier. It gives me so much extra bandwidth to think about other things, and I no longer dread the 4 o’clock hour because I have to figure out what’s for dinner while the kids lose their minds around me.

This year I’ve settled into a pretty good rhythm:

Friday/Saturday

I put together my grocery list and decide what meals will be on the schedule for the next week on Friday evening so I can schedule a grocery pick up for Saturday morning.

Kroger Clicklist is my favorite thing by the way because it means no impulse buying and no accidentally forgetting items because of a toddler). Going to pick up groceries is also the only alone time I get each week, because pandemic y’all.

Saturday meal is whatever sounds fun and easy because Mark is usually home to help cook!

Sunday

Sunday night dinner is always roast chicken. It’s the budget friendly version of a Sunday roast and still has that “the house smells really good but it’s not a lot of work” feel to it.

Monday

On Monday I take the leftover chicken from the roast and add some veggies to make a pot pie. I cheat and use frozen puff pastry for the top.

Bonus: there’s an extra sheet of puff pastry in the box, and I make a simple dessert with it.

Extra bonus: This is Gram’s favorite meal, so I’m guaranteed 1 night a week she doesn’t complain about dinner . . .

Tuesday/Wednesday

These are the open menu days of the week. I switch them up each week, and the kids get to help choose meals they like.

Most of our favorite easy meals come from Skinnytaste but I also have a Pinterest Board with many more.

Thursday

At this point in the week my creativity and desire to cook dinner is at it’s lowest ebb. So Thursday night is breakfast for dinner, most often egg skillets and bacon, but sometimes it can mean pancakes or even just plain old cereal.

It’s a huge hit every week. Also, budget friendly.

Friday

THE BEST DAY OF THE WEEK, mostly because it means the week is over. Mark gets *most* weekends off, and it is glorious.

Friday nights mean frozen cheese pizza for the kids and some sort of shrimp pasta dish for the grown up after the kids are in bed.

Other Things that Help Me Out with my Budget and Time

• Bread making during the week
• Once every 2 months I do a Costco run for fresh items. We buy our meat in bulk, along with items like tortellini that make for easy meals. Then it all goes in our big freezer.
• I also buy all of our dry goods from Costco, but I use the website and get them delivered- this is a huge money saver for us, because I’m not impulse buying anything (and neither are Mark or the kids)

Leveling Up the Meal Planning

Now that I feel like I’m in a good place with meal planning, I’m hoping to start incorporating more of the liturgical seasons and feast days into the rotation and taking the Tuesday/Wednesday meals to do that.

When I first read The Catholic All Year Compendium, I loved the idea of having a book of Catholic liturgical living traditions, but I also found myself very overwhelmed by it all, especially the food stuff. Not to mention, I forget to sit down at the beginning of the month and look up all the saints and their corresponding items.

I was thinking about giving it another go (the book is really just so good), but then Kendra Tierney came out with the perfect resource for me: A liturgical living meal planning set. It’s perfect, and a digital download, which makes it even easier to use right away.

It has space for grocery lists alongside the meal plan calendar (which is my favorite set up), and then there’s a handy chart of feasts by month along with meal ideas. Can you say easy peasy?

If you’re interested in getting a copy for yourself, click on over to the 2021 Catholic Mom Bundle. It’s on sale through Friday, and Kendra’s kit is included!