5 steps to make monthly meal planning easy (with our October dinner menu links!)
How to create a monthly meal plan
Look at your calendar
The very first step in creating a monthly meal plan is figuring out what your schedule looks like for the upcoming month. Will you and your family be eating at home during the entire month or eating out? Mark off on your calendar days you may not need to plan a meal and jump to the next step. How many meals are you aiming to make at home this month? Maybe you’re challenging yourself to make 20/30 meals at home this month. Whatever path your taking, decide on the number of dinners you will be preparing at home.
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What are you going to make?
I recommend starting with a list of 10 recipes. These recipes can be old family favorites, new ones or a mixture of both. When I first started meal planning I stuck to family favorites and gradually incorporated new ones into our calendar. Take a piece of paper and simply write down the meals you will plan on making for the month.
POSTS YOU WILL WANT TO READ!
Write it down
I like to use my Happy Planner to record my meal plans, however I used to simply print off a free calendar PDF that I would find on Google and use that. I’ve also used Google Calendar, Google Keep and Apple Reminders app to record meal planning in the past, whatever you have will work! Starting from the first of the month (or whatever date you choose to start on), write down your first meal on your list. Going day by day and write in each meal in order. When you get to the end of the list, simply start over again!
Prepare your grocery list
I like to do my grocery shopping twice a month, which means my grocery list is quite large when I do shop. Some friends like to grocery shop weekly, its totally your call! When you’re preparing your grocery list I suggest going through recipe by recipe to write down all the ingredients you will need for those dinners. Then add in any breakfast, lunch and snack items you will need as well. I don’t purchase a lot of cleaning supplies since I make my own cleaners, however if you do be sure to write them down on your list as well!
Personally, I don’t see myself as a fine dining restaurant, and my family doesn’t expect me to produce elaborate three course dinners. We keep things simple, nourishing and as whole as possible.
Simplify Breakfast and Lunch
Breakfast and lunch doesn’t have to be complicated! I simplify my monthly meal planning by creating a capsule menu for our family. Basically each day is a variation on the same thing. Check out this post for more info!
This month I decided to take us back to basics and focus on primarily plant based meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
We’ve had an indulgent Summer, and some family events that left us craving comfort food and more fatty foods. Now it’s time to turn back to our plant based diet that we had previously and really nourish our bodies as we go into the fall season!
October Recipes
I try and incorporate between 10-15 dinner recipes and simply rotate through them for the duration of the month. So meals may be repeated once or twice during an entire month of planning, which works perfectly for us. When I started meal planning for the month I focused on 5-10 meals and rotated through them, just to get the hang of this kind of schedule. Now that I feel more confident in the kitchen, I find it easier to incorporate more meals into my planning.
October dinner recipes
Roasted cauliflower hummus bowl - This has become a staple in our home! Super simple to whip up, and delicious with homemade hummus.
Sweet potato pad thai - Family favorite!
Mushroom teriyaki - Family favorite!
What’s on your meal plan for this month? anything fun and new to you and your family?! Let me know in the comments, on Instagram or Facebook!
Happy cookin,
Lauren
