My Weekly Meal Planning Habit



Firstly, I always have a shopping list on the fridge [so it doesn't get lost with all of the other lonely pieces of paper] with a pen and whenever we run empty / low on something, we write it on the list.
On a Sunday night after our weekly meal prep, I spend time refilling all of the containers and jars in our pantry with the packets that we have. I do this for two reasons:
1. Going through our pantry also helps me to compile a shopping list of the things we use often and are running low on plus I can see what we have plenty of and I can plan our meals for the week accordingly. This is one of the ways we have significantly reduced our food wastage and with also buying unnecessary items that we already have plenty of.
2. Refilling our containers and jars helps with a smooth and speedy meal prep so when I step into the kitchen, I can start cooking rather than stopping and starting when I grab a jar that is empty.
Next, I spend time earmarking recipes in my cookbooks or links that I have found online and compile a meal plan for our week (I do one week at a time: Wednesday to Tuesday) and I write this meal plan on a post-it note that I pop on our fridge once I have finished.
When I am meal planning, I also look at our weekly family schedule as there are a few things I consider;
+ who will be home (if Steve is travelling for work)
+ if we have social plans and need to 'bring a plate' or are entertaining at home
+ if I am working on the weekend (I usually pick a quick dinner option that I can cook before I leave)

I base our meals around our weekly schedule and time restraints. Again, this helps us to limit food wastage and means that we have all of the ingredients that we need in our pantry to cook our meals for the week ahead - it is so inconvenient to be missing ingredients when you are in the kitchen!

With our post-it note filled in with our week ahead meal plan, I keep this in my mind while I finish off our shopping list (so I can stay focused with what ingredients we actually NEED).

On a Sunday night, I complete our online grocery order and tick off our shopping list items and then on a Monday night, I pop out to purchase our fresh produce. If we need anything extra, any particular health food items etc, I usually make a trip to our local bulk foods shop once a week / fortnight.



If you are wanting to know more about meal prepping, here are the resources we have available for you:
+ You can view my meal prep tips here
+ You can view my weekly meal preps with recipe links here

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