A Month of Meals...

My inner Planning Patty is always battling my inner  Spontaneous Sally. Sally wins a majority of the battles but one battle Patty wins every time is the meal planning battle.

I'm the kind of girl that loves to cook but hates having to go to the grocery store ten times a week.  The weekly trip to HEB isn't bad but nothing irritates me more than being in the middle of cooking and realizing I didn't get such-in-such ingredient...UGH! This discovery usually ends in frustration and us sitting in a restaurant someone where.

I found that Andrew and I were spending way to much money eating out because I didn't have the ingredients on hand to make a meal or just didn't have any idea of what to make when 6 o'clock rolled around. I solved this little issue was meal planning (Patty is doing summersaults in my head right now). I used to only meal plan a week at a time: I would make the menu followed by the detailed grocery list and head out.  Then I got a little braver and would meal plan for two weeks. Now I'm a complete Planning Patty, Beastmode, month at a time meal planner!

I will say planning a month at a time isn't for everyone. It take a lot of time and one very long, expensive trip to the grocery store but I love it! When I was going to the grocery store weekly I found myself buying things that were not on the list and spending about 80 dollars, which adds up. When I do one big shop I stay much more focused on my list therefore leaving out the unnecessary items and saving myself a lot of money.

Meal Planning helps me to use my left overs for new meals too...I might bake a chicken on Sunday and use the left overs for chicken pot pie later in the week. Or instead of buying 3 potatoes I can buy them in bulk because I know I will use them.

Now I walk into the kitchen and start cooking rather than standing in the fridge having the "I don't know what to cook" conversation that leads to eating out.

My Meal Planning Process-

• Print out any new recipes I might want to try and make a list of old favorites.

• Print out a calendar of the month and fill it in with any previous engagements that will prevent us from eating at home.

• Write in all my meals. I pay close attention to all the ingredients to see if i might be able to transform them into a new meal. I also try to mix it up...I mean who wants to eat a chicken meal everyday. I also leave room for leftover eating. I work hard cooking these meals, no reason we should only eat them once and through the rest away. When I am finally happy I type my meals into a calendar (my favorite is a free calendar found here) and print it out for the fridge.

• Make the grocery list. I write a rough draft then divide it into the sections of my store for an easy shopping experience for the final draft.

• Go shopping then when I get home I put meats and things in the freezer so they won't go bad.

• That's it!! I'm ready for the next month of cooking!!

Now although Planning Patty has won and I have every meal planned Spontaneous Sally is still in me which will cause for some last minute happy hour plans and thats OK. If we miss a meal I just add it to next months menu or keep it in the house for meal emergencies! If I wake up and decide I am really in the mood for something I am supposed to have later in the month I just switch the two meals.  Although I plan I feel it is very important to stay flexible. 

Here's a little preview of what we will be eating this month...

Happy September and Happy Meal Planning!