Meal Planning - A Time Saving Tip for busy Creative Moms

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Sometimes, in order to embrace our creativity, we need to A) make time for it and B) save money for purchasing supplies. One of the ways we can accomplish both is by meal planning. Now, I confess - I've never done this before. Sometimes I'll make enough for left overs and occasionally I'll make a second 'batch' for freezing. That's as far as my plans go. So I was happy to have a guest post on the subject. Jamie Ussher of Baby Get Green is not only well read on the subject but she's also written an ebook. Win a copy by leaving a comment...tell us what your favorite fall back meal is. You know the one, it's what you make for your family when the fridge is empty and you're short on time. You can comment until Dec 15th.

Now, have a read of Jamie's post :)

The Basics of Meal Planning

I’ve always loved planning meals – writing the grocery list, pricing out the items, going shopping… When our daughter came along I knew we needed to save money, but until I saw how chaotic the dinner hour gets with little ones, I wasn’t serious about meal planning! Family members coming home from school or work, kids wanting attention…All while you try to think about what items you have at home to make meals with and whether you accomplished your own projects and goals of the day.

In comes serious meal planning! I know it may sound like a bit of work, but it’s much less time consuming than not having a plan! I promise! There are so many reasons to meal plan, but I think we all kind of know the reasons – boiling down to saving time, money and energy! Where a lot of people get stuck, though, is how to start.

Here’s a bit of a beginners guide…

• Take inventory of what you already have. This might take awhile, but it will be so helpful when you’re getting your plan together. Grab some coffee, a pencil and paper, and make a morning of your first meal planning adventure!
• Ask yourself if you could make any meals with what you already have at home. Write those down. Also write down meals that you have most of the ingredients for (making a note that they aren’t complete).
• Write a list of meals you want to make or your family would enjoy. You’ll then pull from these when you plan meals for the week.
• You can now pick your meals based on that list or on the ads from your local grocery store (the cheaper option). Going through the sale items won’t take long once you have done it a few times. Starting with the meals you have, or almost have, from your inventory is a great place to start!
• Write down the meals you’ll make for the next 7 days (plus or minus, depending on your schedule).
• Write a separate list of the items you need to get from the grocery store to complete your meals.
• If you’re looking to save money, price out the meals. Then adjust meals as needed to fit your budget (take out items or make different meals). If you’re new to this, you may not know the prices. You can spend extra time at the store your first time to get a price list going.

There are so many benefits to meal planning, especially giving you more time and energy to do the things you really want to do! If you're interested but are not yet sure you know enough to start, you can pick up my meal planning eBook complete with meals, recipes, weekly plans for a month, shopping list and more! I also write other tips and my personal weekly plan on my blog – Baby Get Green.

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