Why I Meal Plan...

Today I am talking about meal planning and why I do it. It is probably one of the most requested questions lately, so I thought I would take a few minutes to chat with you about it today.

I was not always a meal planner. If you've read my book, then you know all about the hours I wasted each day standing in front of my pantry, without a clue as what to make. I would stare at row after row of ingredients, without a morsel of an idea as how to put them together. I would search through cookbooks each night, but by the time I came up with something, it was late...the children were whining...tummies were grumbling....and I was throwing in the towel and just heating up chicken nuggets again. It was a vicious cycle...one that I stayed in for far too long.

Finally I decided to try this meal planning thing out that I had heard so much about....oh gosh ladies it was a game changer. All of a sudden I had more time, because I wasn't spending forever and a day in front of my open fridge....I was finally serving my family hot...well rounded meals. It was a hallelujah moment when chicken nuggets was not on the menu. Woot! Woot! I had finally made grown up food. It was a true celebratory day lovelies!

You see meal planning is a sanity saver. I don't know about you, but my days can get crazy with a capital C. The last thing I need is stress during that dinner hour. Because I meal plan, I am able to save some of my Mama sanity and not have to stress when dinner time rolls around. The night before I look at my menu plan, take out any items that need to be thawed for the next day and I'm prepped. This literally takes five minutes y'all!

When I follow that meal plan, we also save money. No food is going wasted. You wouldn't throw twenty bucks in the trash, so don't do it in food form. Thrown away food, is exactly like throwing away money. Just don't do it! :) It also saves you because if you have leftovers, you can use them for lunch the next day. Using leftovers is like getting something for free. We all love that word right? I know I do!

The key to meal planning is to keep it simple. Look at what season of life you are in and what you can realistically do. If you have a crazy month coming up, choose simple meals that can be thrown together in a matter of minutes or make some freezer meals ahead of time. Look at what your schedule looks like for the week...month...etc and plan accordingly.... and above all else give yourself a little grace. There may be times you slip and get off that meal plan, but the important thing is to get right back at it the next day.

Meal planning will become your saving grace if you only allow it :)

XO Danielle