Episode 45: Meal Planning-Building Your Menu
What You’ll Learn
Building Your Menu (01:00)
Make Sure the Meal-Ease Fits Your Schedule (03:20)
Nights of Ease (04:20)
Use What You Have and Check the Sales (06:10)
Have A Back-Up Meal (07:05)
Invite Help (09:00)
Make A Note to Take Out the Meat (11:30)
Recap (12:30)
Invitation (13:05)
This is part four of a five part series ALL about meal planning! Today we’ll be looking at building your menu. If you’re following us on Instagram @thedeliberateday, send us a DM with the word “bonus” and we’ll send you a link to our free mini meal planning kit which has a beautiful meal planning template in it that encourages you to put your schedule right on there, AND it’s an 8-day planner so you can work in that planning and shopping day!
Building Your Menu (01:00)
When you’re building your menu, choose meals that you, your husbands and your children will look forward to and enjoy! Also, challenge your tastebuds a bit, because trying new foods, and teaching our children to love food, creates a rich food childhood—with more benefits than you could ever imagine.
Food connects every person on this planet, so what a gift to teach our kids to appreciate food and love and respect the people who are sharing food with us, which is such a gift of love. So, in creating your meal plan, you are doing so much more than you realize.
If you’re a bit discouraged because your kids don’t seem to like anything you cook-take heart-perhaps cook things that you and your husband like and take the kids along for the ride.
Creating a rich food childhood doesn't have to be all or nothing, it doesn’t have to be elaborate meals every night. Challenging your tastebuds might be just adding broccoli to one dish, trying one new fruit, or maybe taking a beloved dish and adding something new to it! It could mean cooking one new dish a week (don’t overdo the change).
Choose meals that you, your husband, and your children will look forward to and enjoy!
When you choose your meals, you can look on Pinterest, or you can get inspiration on Instagram (like visiting us @thedeliberateday every Wednesday for meal inspiration).
Make Sure the Meal-ease Fits Your Schedule (03:20)
When you’re choosing meals, take your schedule into account, and make sure the meal-ease fits! The meal-ease is all about how elaborate or time consuming this meal is. You cannot plan elaborate meals on busy days and hope to be successful. It’s going to flop, be difficult, be a strain, and it’s going to be stressful.
On busy days, plan meals that make use of the crockpot, the instant pot, re-inventing leftovers, or maybe even picking up food from “out.” Anytime you’re choosing your meals, make sure the meal-ease fits your schedule.
Nights of Ease (04:20)
Motherhood needs loads of grace, so does your menu have at least two nights of ease? This is key for moms, because we always try to do everything at 110% right out of the gate, but this isn’t easily maintained.
In Brittany’s home on Fridays, they have a family movie night—which can mean anything from a big meal to sandwiches and chips, or cereal—bake in these nights of ease where you need them!
If you have soccer practice on a Wednesday night, make it a pizza night, cereal, or boxed Mac-n-cheese night. Some families have a night when they order pizza out, my family has a buttered noodle night (or we did. . .until my kids revolted and asked for baked potatoes).
Use What You Have and Check the Sales (06:10)
Look for anything in your pantry or freezer that can be made into a meal, that you can use up and save yourself a little money on this week’s budget.
Then, check your sales and coupons. Look at sales flyers, store apps, cash back apps, and make sure you are being savvy with them! You want to use sales and coupons, don’t let them use you!
(If you PROMISE to be responsible and you can control yourself with gameified apps, our Ibotta code is NHOJAQU. You can find Ibotta in the App Store, and if you put the code in, you’ll get an EXTRA $10 back once you redeem your first receipt).
Have a Back-up Meal (07:05)
A back-up meal consists of three things. . .
It can be made in 30 minutes or less.
You have all the ingredients on hand at all times.
You can bulk it up if needed.
A back-up meal will save you on the nights where someone shows up (possibly because they were invited by your kids), and what you had planned isn’t going to work. It will also save you if you’re just exhausted and can’t cook, or something comes up and there’s an emergency, or if an appointment went long and you’re not going to be able to make the meal you intended.
Having a back-up meal is a life-saver! A few examples include spaghetti & meat balls, Mac-n-cheese, egg tortillas, quesadillas, or even pancakes.
Invite Help (09:00)
When you’re making your menu, don’t forget that you have a spouse who loves you and want to help you and you are a team!
Meal mastery will require more work up front (because you’re teaching you kids), but the return on that investment is unlimited for you and for your children.
Consider how you might invite help, or teach kids as you plan your meals as you make your menu.
Britt’s oldest son is 14 now, and her oldest daughter is 12. . .she pulled together a meal all by herself just the other night while Brit was working.
One of the mommas in our community recently messaged Brittany with a story of encouraging meal mastery in her own home! She simply printed a recipe, handed it to her teenager who was baby-sitting and when she came home, her son was so proud of his work. This is a fantastic way to teach adulting skills and build your kids up!
Make a Note to Take Out the Meat (11:30)
This is quite possibly the leading cause of family dinner shortages in the world, that someone forgot to thaw the meat. This happens after the menu is made, but it is very important.
Take out your calendar, note it on your meal planning page (get yours here), get a homing pigeon, tie a string to your finger, or make a neon sign, whatever you need to do to make sure the meat is taken out, do it!
Recap (12:30)
Plan for meals that you and your family will look forward to.
Does the meal-ease fit your schedule?
Have you planned for at least two nights of ease?
Is there anything in your pantry or freezer that needs to be used up?
What sale items or coupons can you utilize?
Did you plan for a back-up meal?
Can you invite your spouse into sharing the daily meal responsibilities, or spend time teaching meal mastery to your children sometime this week?
Have you made notes to take out food when necessary?
Invitation (13:05)
If you’re following us on Instagram @thedeliberateday, send us a DM with the word “bonus” and we’ll send you a link to our free mini meal planning kit!
