Because They Want To Eat Dinner EVERY SINGLE NIGHT!

I know, the audacity, right?! :)  I have a family who wants to eat dinner every night!  I was on such a roll with the freezer meals, and I may go back to that at some point, but for right now I haven't had big blocks of time to shop and prepare them.  I have been struggling to find time to meal plan, make a shopping list, and go shopping every week or two.  I find that we are just eating the same thing every week!  So this weekend I thought it was time for a change.

None of these ideas are new, but I thought I'd share because I think I have found something that will make life easier for me, and because sometimes it's fun to see what other people do.  I'm a total nerd and love organizing, charts, and tables :)  So for me this is a perfect fit!

May I introduce you to my meal binder...

It. Is. Awesome.  I have been working on it for a while, adding recipes and making sure that everything in it is something we like to eat and is safe for Matthew.  And it just got better.

On Friday, I sat down and wrote out all the meals that we really like to eat.  I added in some that we love but don't eat very often (like some Korean dishes that I don't often remember to buy ingredients for).  I organized it by category - Mexican, Crock Pot Meals, Italian/Other, Easy Meals, Pizza/Leftovers, Asian Food, and Soup/Sandwiches.  I thought this might make it easier to plan and also help us to have a bigger variety of meals each week.

Next, I made a table and started plugging in meals.  I tried to make it so that we weren't eating chicken four nights in a row.  Then I added side dishes underneath the main dish.  Pretty soon, I had six weeks worth of meals without any repeating!

From there, I decided to create shopping lists for each week so that I don't have to look up the recipes and make sure I have everything before my shopping trip.  I've decided to try to shop weekly (right now I go every two weeks) since we are eating so much more produce these days.  I looked at each recipe and compiled a list that I can reference when I make my shopping list each week.

The next part was the most time consuming (it only took one evening but I have had to update it a little as I realized I was missing things).  I made a printable shopping list with a list of the foods we buy most often.  I always shop at the same store in the same order so I tried to put things in the order of the store (I always shop from the back of the store to the front).  This way I can just keep this on the fridge, check off what I need and how many I need, and then take this week me to the store.  I think it will help me to write it down when something runs out and also will give me ideas of things I may want to buy.

I have printed off several copies of the shopping list and store them in a clear pocket in the front of the binder.  Behind that I have my recipes.

I have to say, it is a lot more work now that we're not eating as many processed foods, but I feel like it's worth it!  Brad just had his cholesterol checked and it has come down almost 100 points!!!!!  Just from us eating better.  Amazing.  I need to do more baking and freezing so that we have snacks and breakfast foods on hand, so that is my goal this week.  I really hope this new system will lighten the load when it comes to meal planning and shopping.  I'll let you know in a few weeks how it is working out!