When I was pregnant I knew once Lizzy was born things were going to change and cooking and meal planning wouldn't be top priority but I knew we had to eat so I started meal planning. Over time I created 16 weeks worth of different meals for variety. Each weekly meal plan has a meal for each day and a grocery list to go with it.
To make things even more simple each day is themed as such, Meatless Monday (Vegetarian Meal), Cultural Tuesday (Italian, Mexican, Indian, Chinese Ect.), Soup and Sandwich Wednesday, Breakfast for Dinner Thursday, Easy Meal Friday (Crockpot meal, Frozen meal, leftovers Ect), Take out/Eat out Saturday, Homemade Pizza Sunday. These themes are great because neither Mike or I are great cooks and for the most part these themes keep things easy and predictable.
The weekly meal plan is numbered week 1, 2, 3 and so on so you can go in order and once you've gone through all the meal plans you can repeat. I put everything in a binder with tabs labeling the week, the menu and grocery list is behind the tab as well as a pocket for recipes needed or coupons.
This system is so simple and easy to follow. On Sundays I just pick a new week of meal plans take the Weekly Menu out and post it on the fridge, take the grocery list out, go shopping and follow the plan.
What are some of your favorite meatless Monday meals? I find vegetarian dishes the hardest to find good recipes for. You have inspired me to come up with my own menus!
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