Menu planning for the holidays!

For the holidays coming up your going to have to start thinking about meals....Make weekly or monthly menu plans, and you’ll find staying organized and eating well is all the easier. Meal planning means fewer trips to the grocery store, a stocked kitchen, less stress at dinner hour and healthier eating. Here are six tips to get you started.

6 Menu Planning Tips

Whether you’re planning weekly meals or big holiday dinners, streamline mealtime with these tips and tricks:
1. Schedule a time to plan. First set aside about an hour or so to create your menu plan. Whether you sit down weekly or deem the first day of every month as meal planning day, pick a time that works for you and make it part of your regular routine.
Tip: When making holiday menus, the earlier you can start, the better. Try to finalize your recipes a month in advance and spend the next few weeks getting all the ingredients you need. The payoff? As the holidays draw nearer, you’ll have one less thing to worry about!
2. Write down your cooking repertoire. Create a list of meals you like and know how to cook. The list can grow and change, but having a collection of realistic recipe and meal options makes meal planning easier.
Tip: create your own cookbook to keep recipes organized.
3. Get inspired. Keep mealtime exciting by regularly trying new recipes, whether it’s a new packed lunch or something different for friday meal night. Sitting down with cookbooks and cooking magazines is a great way to get inspiration.
4. Decide what kind of meal plan you want to create. There are many ways to tackle weekly menu planning. For starters:

• Create a weekly meal plan of dinners only, or breakfast, lunch and dinner.
• Have a monthly plan, with 4-5 dinner ideas set up for each week.
• Theme weeks around ingredients. For example, the theme could be Tomato Week and all the recipes would use tomato sauce.
• Give different days different themes. For example, Monday is slow cooker supper, Tuesday is mexican favorites, Wednesday is pasta dishes, Thursday is leftovers night and so on. Having recurring themes helps simplify the planning process.

5. Write down the plan. Organize your menu using our printable monthly menu planning, hang your weekly meal plan on the fridge, tack recipes to a bulletin board calender  or keep it on your computer. Wherever works for you, and is most accessible.
6. Make a shopping list. Create a list based on the meals you have planned. (Be sure to add staples like bread, milk and eggs, too.) With a list based on your menu plan, you’ll likely spend less on food and more effectively use what you buy.