Easy Menu Planning

Thanksgiving is behind us, and both meals went without a hitch (thanks to meal planning!).

Here's our menu plan for the week:

Monday - pork chops, julienne potatoes, green beans
Tuesday - spaghetti and meatballs, salad, garlic bread
Wednesday - sauteed chicken, salad, penne pasta
Thursday - leftover buffet, salad
Friday - spinach enchiladas, Spanish rice
Saturday - steak on the grill, baked potato, salad
Sunday - chili and corn bread

Want to try meal planning, but afraid it will take too much time? Or not sure how to get started creating your first meal plan?

Well, you're in luck, because the folks at Dine Without Whine have created a weeks worth of meals and a shopping list for you... And they're free!

I'm not sure how long these will be available, so grab your free sample menu and sample shopping list now.

Meal planning may sound intimidating at first, but it's really not that hard. The first thing you should do is to write down all of your family's favorite dishes. This will be very handy when you just can't think of anything for dinner ;)

Next, grab the grocery ads. If you don't get these in the mail or in your weekly newspaper, just jump online and visit your favorite grocery store's website. Most grocery stores have their weekly ads listed right on their websites now, and some are even interactive (allowing you to create a printable shopping list - very cool!). Once you have your grocery ads in hand, scan them for sale items that can be used for this week's meals.

Before you get to deep into your menu plan, you might want to look at your calendar for the week. If you have family or work activities that will keep you from getting home at a decent hour, you will want to plan very simple meals or even leftovers for those particular nights.

Next, you should take an inventory of the items in your fridge and pantry. Do you have any food that needs to be eaten right away? This is one of the greatest benefits of meal planning. You waste much less food because you only buy what you plan on using that week.

At this point, you should have an idea of what you want to cook for the week based on the grocery store ads, what you already have on hand, and your family's activities for the week. Go ahead and write out the meals you plan on cooking for the week, and fill in your grocery list for the items you don't have in hand.

All you have left to do at this point is to do the grocery shopping, post your menu on the fridge for all to see, and create your meals each day. The rest of your week should go much more smoothly now that you don't have to worry about "what's for dinner" at the end of each day. See how easy meal planning can be?

How often does your family have dinner together? If you're like most families nowadays, the answer is probably, "Not very often."

It's understandable. Modern families are busy. Both parents work and sometimes get home at different times. Children have activities to go to, and Mom's got to drive them all over the place. Really, who's got the time and energy to even cook dinner every single night?

You, that's who! Eating together is good for you and your family. So you better make time and find the energy to make home-cooked meals and sit down and eat together more often.

Researchers have found many benefits to home-cooked meals. Watch this video to learn about some of them. In my own experience, though, there are many more. Here are 24 reasons I have found to share family meals more often:

Continue reading '24 Reasons to Gather Around the Dinner Table'...

Looking for free tools to help you with menu planning?

Menu Planning Central offers a free report, "A Quick and Easy Way To Get Dinner On The Table and Enjoy More Quality Time With Your Family..."

In this free special report, you'll learn:

* Why not planning your meals ahead of time can cost you hundreds of dollars and precious hours not spent with family and friends.

* How a regular family dinner can result in a more loving relationship with your kids and spouse.

* Get started right away with a Free Menu Planner and Shopping List.

Meal planning is a great way to save money and time, so please take advantage of these free meal planning tools today.

Need some motivation to keep up with your menu planning? Join over 200 ladies who post their weekly menu plans at 'I'm an Organizing Junkie' each Monday.

This is a great way to keep on track with your menu planning, and a great way to find new ideas and recipes!

To join in, please click here. Looking forward to seeing your weekly menu plans!

A Simple Step-By-Step Guide To Meal Planning

If you're ready make some big changes in the way
you get dinner on the table, then you need to
learn how to plan your meals.

My friend Cara of The Household Helper has created a new resource that gives you a step-by-step formula for meal planning.

Here's What You'll Learn:

* A simple method to save time and money
* How to plan according to your schedule
* Write a grocery list that works
* Learn how to navigate the grocery store
* How to organize your food once you get it home
* Discover how to make simple, quick meals
* Easy cure for leftovers: how to use them to make a whole new meal
* The no lose way to bulk cooking
* The correct way to store and reheat foods
* But that's not all; this ebook also includes recipes

What are you waiting for? Start meal planning today, and start bringing your family to the table for a stress-free, enjoyable meal every day of the week!

If you're just getting started with menu planning, it may be because you are wanting to save money.

While meal planning is a great way to save money, it may not be enough... especially in today's economy.

I know most people cringe at the "B" word (that's budget!), but setting up and living by a family budget is very important so you know where your money is going each month, and so you can make decisions regarding your money.

My friend Cara of TheHouseholdHelper.com loves to budget (I'm a financial planner and I don't like to budget, so I think she's crazy, lol!).

Knowing that most people DON'T like to budget, Cara wrote a step-by-step guide to show families how to setup a budget and how to stick to it without sacrificing the things you love to do or buy.

In her guide "How to Set Up a Family Budget", Cara shows you:

- the secret to why we spend, spend, spend and not know where the money went

- how to sit down with bank statements, checking accounts and investment statements and to find out your true financial status

- why this guide is different than other budgeting" books. (It has to do with our "hands-on" approach)

- 26 simple tricks to help you keep to your budget (without grinding your teeth)

- 3 most common reasons why budgets fail. Know what to look out for and you'll avoid these budget busters

- what to do if your expenses total more than your income

- how to handle your paycheck strategically to make sure your bills get paid. Hint: This trick is so good, you won't notice how responsible you are being

- and much more!

The "How to Set Up A Family Budget" report is very reasonably priced (at $8.97), and combined with your meal planning can help you save more money so your family can do more of the things you enjoy :)

Here are some great resources to find worksheets, templates, calendars and forms to help you with your menu planning.

This weekly Meal Planning Worksheet is provided by Healthy Menu Planning.

If you are cooking on a budget, you can find frugal recipes and worksheets at BetterBudgeting.com. The founder, Michelle, also publishes "101 Coupon Tips... To Help You Save More at the Store!"

For meal ideas and over 15,000 recipes, check out Meals.com. This is a great website to browse when you need ideas for dinner. Created by Nestle, this website uses prepackaged foods to make cooking dinner fast and easy!

I will continue to update this section and will look for free meal planning tools to include as well.

Gas prices aren't the only thing that has gone up in recent months. With it has come a slow but steady increase in the cost of groceries as well, along with anything else that must be transported from one location to another. Everything from milk to meat has gone up and with it the amount of money we must allocate for groceries each month. Now is a great time to get into a few little habits that will add up to big savings at the cash register.

If you've thought that coupons were a big waste of time, now may be the time to rethink it and give these little money savers another try. Yes, coupons can save you money, but use them carefully. Don't let the fact that you have a coupon for product X bully you into buying it if you don't really need it. Figure out what you really need from the store and then go through your coupons. Only grab those you actually need and weed out any coupons that have expired as you go along. Make it a habit to clip coupons once a week and stick them into a little box or an envelope.

Comparison shopping is also a good idea. Take a few minutes to glance through the different store advertisements to find out who has chicken on sale or where you can find the cheapest milk (check your local gas station for milk). If you know your family eats a lot of chicken breast for example, it's worth making a trip to the store that has it on sale and stock up on a few pounds. Freeze some of the meat for the next few weeks.

Make sure you don't go to the store hungry. Grab a little snack before you head out the door. When we're hungry, we end up buying a lot more food - especially junk food - that we don't really need and weren't planning on buying in the first place. All these extra little purchases add up, not only at the register, but also later on the scale. Shop after you eat, or at least grab a piece of fruit or a handful of nuts to eat on your way to the store.

So far so good... while all of the above will help you save money on your groceries, we haven't gotten to the most powerful strategy yet. You'll be surprised how simple, yet effective it is once you put it into place. Here it is - Plan your meals ahead of time and only purchase the items that you need for those meals. You can plan part of your meals around the items that are on sale, or look for a good deal on the ingredients you need to prepare the dishes you picked. Why does planning ahead of time work so well? Because you can make a grocery list that includes everything you need to prepare those dishes (avoiding extra trips to the store), and you don't buy too much extra "stuff" that ends up going bad in the back of the fridge. Coming up with a plan is also the best strategy to avoid impulse buys that will have you overspending on your weekly grocery budget.

Planning your meals and your grocery list is easy with the Menu Planning Basics report and the menu and shopping worksheets that you can grab free at Menu Planning Central - Or if you prefer, you can have "The Menu Mom" create the menus for you.

Meal planning is a great way to save time, energy and money when feeding your family. For those thinking about meal planning, it is critical to note that you don't have to sacrifice a tasty, healthful meal for a busy schedule or a tight budget. If you are searching for an awesome way to create meals for your family, following are some useful ideas.

Plan Your Meals in Advance
The key to meal planning is obviously planning your meals ahead of time. Unfortunately, many parents come home each night, ready to cook a easy dinner and have absolutely no idea what to make. With your family getting hungry and a little cranky, most families give up and drive to the nearest fast food or casual dining establishment. If you want to make sure that you stay home for dinner and that you and your family are all eating healthy, you must plan ahead.

Usually, the best way to organize your meals is to plan them out a week ahead of time. Determine a budget, determine which foods you and your family would like to eat, add in some of your family's favorites and then create a shopping list. One of the best ways to meal plan is to make a calendar. Start out with a main dish for each night and then add in a side dish, desert and soup/salad.

Main Dish
Main dishes are obviously an awesome place to start. Usually the majority of main dishes consist of protein such as poultry, beef, pork or fish. Any one of these make a great option and by changing it around during the week, your family won't be bored and you can please almost everyone's favorite foods. For families that are trying to lose weight or have a history of disease such as heart disease and diabetes, the main dish is the main area you should focus on creating meals that fit your dietary requirements and lifestyle. You can easily choose lean meats, choose to eat more fish and for vegetarian eaters, substitute meat dishes with soy and main vegetable dishes.

Side Dishes
Side dishes are very critical to planning meals. This is your best chance to introduce vegetables into your family's diet. Be sure you have at least one vegetable in the rotation each night. For best results two or more types of vegetables each meal is optimal.

Soup & Salad
For those watching your weight, a soup or salad is an ideal option to fill up in the beginning of the meal and enjoy smaller main dish portions later on. Soups are excellent during the winter months when the weather is cold outside and salads are an awesome way to get a healthy blend of fresh seasonal fruits or vegetables.

Desserts
If you are trying to get everyone to stay until the end of the meal, desserts are your best bet. Yummy desserts are very popular; you can also choose healthy fare such as fruit salads, fruit smoothies, and Jell-o.

For those looking to save time and money throughout the month on meals, your best option is through meal planning.

For a free meal planning worksheet and shopping list check out http://www.dinewithoutwhine.com/ShoppingList.pdf

By Janelyn Chandry

With today's fast paced lifestyles, who has the time for healthy meal planning? You might be surprised to learn that it's not hard to get organized and plan healthy meals that are easy to prepare, inexpensive and good for you. Whether you are trying to loose weight or just eat to improve your health, read on to discover how to develop healthy meal plans that save you time and money.

Organization is Key

Before you do your grocery shopping, take note of what you have on hand and what is advertised for sale that week. Not only can this save you money, but it can help you brainstorm ideas of what to prepare for this week's meals.

Recipes are your best friend when it comes to planning healthy meals. You can print out recipes for all sorts of healthy dishes right over the internet, many of which can prepared in an hour or less. To keep organized, a three hole binder will store your recipes in order so you don't have to hunt for them later. Once you know whats for dinner, you can make a shopping list with the ingredients.

Variety Keeps It Exciting

For those that think that eating healthy has to be boring, just remember that there are so many ways to prepare all of that healthy food that you will never get bored of eating the same old thing. If you love to cook, it's an exciting opportunity to try new recipes and dishes.

When planning your meals for the week, opt for a variety of healthy choices and rotate different types of food throughout the week. Variety is also important in making your that your body is getting all of the nutrition it needs.

Healthy Cooking Methods

When planning your meals, select recipes that use healthy cooking methods like stir-frying, baking, steaming, and stewing. All of those methods of cooking preserve the nutrients in your food where as methods like frying and boiling can let vitamins and minerals escape.

To save even more time, have a look at healthy crock-pot recipes. Crock-pot cooking can be good for you and a big time saver too. Prepare your evening meal in the morning and when you are ready to eat, simply serve it.

Don't Forget Snack Time

You've done your best to eat healthy, so don't back down come snack time! The best way to avoid unhealthy snacking in between meals is by not keeping unhealthy snacks around. Instead, make sure that you have fresh fruits, veggies and other healthy snacks on hand. Including nutritious snacks as part of your healthy meal plan will make sure that you are prepared when hunger strikes.

By taking a little time in advance, you can prepare healthy meal plans for a week or more in advance. Planning ahead will save you time and money in the long run, thanks to your careful organization. Eating healthy will not only help you lose weight and look your best, but it will keep you feeling your best as well.

Considering a weight loss plan? Be sure to read the weight loss reviews to get the real skinny on top diet plans.

Learn more about how you can achieve effective weight loss... Click Here Now to learn how you can loose 7lbs in the next 7 days!

I'm a numbers person, so I pay close attention to my family's budget. For the most part, we're a pretty frugal family, but the one spending category that really bothers me is how much we spend on food. And I don't mean eating out... I'm talking about how much we spend on groceries each week. For a small family, our grocery budget is out of control.

So when I learned about weekly menu planning, I was thrilled. Especially when I realized how much menu planning could help reduce our grocery budget.

There are many benefits to weekly menu planning, but the greatest benefit to my family is how much money we save on groceries. By planning our meals in advance (I usually plan our meals one week at a time), I know exactly what I need to buy at the store, and I avoid buying food that we won't eat that week. Before I started planning our meals, we wasted a lot of food because it spoiled before I got around to cooking it.

Continue reading 'Save Time and Money With Weekly Meal Planning'...

Eating healthy is a choice that we make. If you work outside of the home or if you work at home, you need to prepare a dinner for your family. Sometimes this may be complicated to think of once you get home and you need to prepare your food. The family is hungry and they are waiting on you to start cooking so they can eat. You may have just a few minutes to be creative or you may have all evening but wouldn't it be great to know what you are going to prepare for dinner and then have most of the preparation already done? Now you can with a little planning.

The first thing you need to do is plan your menu. Try to make it simple but if you can't that is fine too. Ask everyone in your household if there are any special requests for dinner, besides the usual pizza and hot dogs. Make a list of all the meals you have decided on. Include a main course, two vegetables, add bread and something dairy. You can add more to your menu if you like but these are good guidelines to use. After you have decided on your food make a grocery list that will fit into your budget. Do your shopping and do not alter the list unless you are able to keep the same menu.

Over the weekend, prepare the meals by baking what needs bake and allowing it to cool before storing it in the freezer. Remember to put everything in a container that can be frozen or heated without needing to change. Chop, dice, or cut any vegetable or other ingredients that may be time consuming if you had to prepare it during the week. Store in baggie's or containers inside the refrigerator until you are ready to use.

When it comes to the weeknights you can prepare the rest of the meal and heat up what needs warmed and reduce your time in the kitchen by half. This type of planning can allow you to have more time with your family and relaxing. You can be more organized and better prepared if you are sick and cannot prepare the meal yourself. Every week should be the same routine. You may not feel like spending your weekend afternoons preparing for the week but you will be relieved that you did during the week when you come home tired or late. Although cooking can be something everyone can help with, it makes it easier when everything is prepared ahead of time. This simple process saves time and also money because when everything is planned out you spend less money on better healthier and home cooked meals.

You can eventually do this type of meal planning and preparation for every meal of the day, including breakfast and lunch and snacks. Once you get the hang of preparation it won't take as long to prepare saving you a lot more time to spend with your family.

Another alternative is to use the crock pot. With a few minutes preparation in the morning by evening you will have the most amazing meal cooked for your family. And only one dish to wash. These crock pot beef recipes and crock pot beef recipes are fantastic and easy to prepare.

Lisa uses her crock pot every week and shares her crock pot recipes with you at http://www.a-crock-cook.com.

By Stephanie Nelson

Over the past five years there has been a dramatic increase in the number of grocery coupon offers available from printable coupon websites. There were only a handful of printable grocery coupons available on a couple of sites five years ago. Today, you can print a total of over 200 coupons from several credible websites.

However, there are some individuals who sell counterfeit grocery coupons over the Internet on auction sites. These coupons are not from legitimate coupon sites and are actually forgeries. Sellers may sell several printable sheets of coupons for a nominal fee of $5 to $10 per set. Unfortunately, shoppers who buy and use these coupons are committing a criminal act and are risking severe penalties. Therefore, to avoid the confusion of knowing how to identify counterfeit coupons, your best bet is to avoid buying any coupons over the Internet. Simply find the free printable coupon sites and use their coupons!

You will get plenty of free grocery coupons if you learn what the legitimate printable coupon sites are and how to get more of their coupons. Studies have shown that the average coupon value for printable grocery coupons is slightly higher than newspaper grocery coupons, and they are available for many popular brands. You can expect to find many coupons from General Mills, Pillsbury, Betty Crocker, Aquafresh, Red Baron, and more. You can also visit the websites of food manufacturers and sign up for their email newsletters to receive free printable coupons.

When you sign up for a coupon site, you may be asked if you would like to receive their email newsletter notifying you of new offers. You should select "yes" so you receive their reminders when new offers are added.

Check the printable grocery coupon sites when you are creating your weekly shopping list to make sure you take advantage of free offers for items you are buying.

The printable sites will require you to download a coupon print manager. You can trust that the coupon print managers from the sites we recommend are safe and will not damage your computer.

The printable sites limit the number of coupons you can print for each offer (either one or two per offer, depending on the site). Once you have reached your limit, you will not be able to print any more coupons for that specific offer. However, when the site's advertiser renews their offer you will be able to print more, so it pays to check each site on a weekly basis.

Ask your grocery and drugstores if they accept coupons printed from the Internet. Because of some counterfeit coupon problems, some stores will not accept them. However, most stores do accept them. This policy also varies by store and even by individual store manager, so it is worth asking nearby stores if your store doesn't accept them readily.

Stephanie Nelson's free grocery-saving system at http://www.couponmom.com is used by millions of shoppers a year. Stephanie is a regular contributor on ABC News’ Good Morning America and writes a bi-weekly savings column for ABCnews.com. She is the author of the book “The Greatest Secrets of the Coupon Mom” and writes a weekly syndicated newspaper column, "Supermarket Shopper."

A craving does not have to derail your healthy eating meal plan. Cravings can come from stressful situations or just wanting something that you're used to eating. You know you're not hungry, you just 'need' to have that ice cream or that candy bar.

Food craving is emotional and there's not a lot we can do to control a craving once it's upon us. We can learn to manage how we respond to the urges. Success on your healthy eating meal plan requires that you learn how to manage sudden cravings. When we are upset many of us go for 'comfort foods'. Those are the foods that taste good like ice cream, potato chips, cake and chocolate. First recognize that you want to eat, not out of hunger but emotions. By coming to grips with this and realizing that you might be taking several steps back in your weight loss journey, you might just curb the craving right there.

Learn how to redirect that craving to something more constructive. Take a walk, ride a bike, call a friend or go window shopping. Do something to take your mind off the stressful situation and therefore the need to eat. The last thing you want to do is be sitting at home alone stressed out. As you're grocery shopping keep in mind that if you don't have the 'comfort foods' in the house, you will not eat them. Don't give yourself unnecessary temptation by keeping unhealthy foods around to snack on. Part of your healthy eating meal plan should be responsible grocery shopping.

If you still feel the need to snack, try some low calorie, healthy foods, such as:

Ritz whole wheat crackers
Fat free chips
sugar free jello or pudding
Meal replacement shake like Slim Fast
Low fat ice cream
Non fat / sugar free yogurt
Light microwave popcorn

The above snacks may not be the most nutritious but they're better than eating a pint of Chunky Monkey ? or half of a Sara Lee cream pie. There are whole sections in grocery stores now dedicated to 100 calorie snacks. Most of these are just smaller portions of normal junk food but if you can discipline yourself to only eating one serving, they can be a good alternative.

Part of any healthy eating meal plan is the flexibility to once in a while give in to those strong urges. Sometimes if you have a craving, it cannot be squashed with a substitute. If you've been sticking to your meal plan then you have earned the opportunity to give in to that craving.

An excellent way to guard against emotional eating is to have a good diet plan that allows you plenty of flexibility. With a healthy eating meal plan you should expect to lose one to two pounds per week.

Don't go at this alone. Get help in creating a healthy eating meal plan that fits your lifestyle.

About the Author

Ms. Jones is a stay at home mom who has successfully managed weight loss by using Healthy Meal Plans.