It has been a little over a month since I told y’all about my attempt at a monthly dinner menu, and I wanted to give y’all an update. In short, it is fabulous! This has been one of the best things I’ve ever done.
Last month we followed the plan almost every single day. There was one day where I said “screw it” and ordered pizza, and there were a couple of times where I moved things around, but mostly we followed it exactly. It made my evenings so, so much easier. There was no running around trying to figure out what needed to be cooked or worrying about what were going to fix for dinner. The night before I checked the menu, defrosted anything that needed it, and then David or I started dinner as soon as we got home.
I would say it saved about half of what I normally spend on groceries. I started with one big trip to Sam’s and the grocery store. First I planned the menu. Then I made a list of everything I needed. I checked that list against what was in my pantry and freezer to narrow it down. Then I went to the store. During the month I only had to go to the store for milk, bread, and lunch stuff (I haven’t got that all planned out yet.)
We have not thrown hardly any food away. We cook what we need for the night and any leftovers are either frozen or I take them for lunch the next day. Also, we have not made hardly any fast food runs because we just didn’t know what was for dinner.
This was a big change for the kids, but they have fallen into the routine and are really enjoying it. The one thing I did not think about when planning before was what are their favorites and how often would they like to have them. Before planning the monthly dinner menu for July I sat down with them and asked what are some meals they would like to have more than once per month (spaghetti, tacos, and breakfast for dinner).
For July I added the things they requested first, then I added some things that worked out really well in June, then I scanned my freezer for meat that I still had that I could use in July and added those items, and lastly I added new items, some new and some that are old favorites that didn’t make the cut in June (like meatloaf).
Another thing I didn’t plan for was the heat. One night last week we had chicken spaghetti that had to be baked in the oven. My house was so hot afterward that it took forever to cool down. For the rest of this month and August I will try to plan things that can be made on the stove top, be grilled outside, or that will fit in my convection microwave oven or in the toaster oven.
All in all, the monthly dinner menu is a fantastic idea. It provided the structure we needed to avoid the dinner time panic, but offered enough flexibility that we didn’t feel tied down to eating one thing. I’ve already started planning my menu for August (I find it works better if I keep it on my desk and add things as I think of them). I hope this is something I can keep going for a long time.
Have y’all considered doing a monthly dinner menu? What about trying just two weeks?
I’m so glad it is working for y’all! I definitely worry about getting tired of food too quickly. My husband loves to grill, so we do that the most, but finding variety is tricky. I need to get back to meal planning.
The good thing about this is that everything is mixed up. Before we were eating all of the same stuff all the time. Now we are pretty much eating something different all the time.
Sounds like it is working well for you!
I finally had to make a meal plan sheet. And to it I’ve left space for my grocery list because often I’d be out wondering why I was buying (or had listed) an item. Now I go see the meals and know!
That’s smart. I do my meal plan and then use an Excel spreadsheet to plan out my grocery list (because I’m a dork).
I do mine two weeks at a time. It helps with my grocery shopping, but mostly it helps me use what I have in the pantry and stay on track with my eating.
That is two of the reasons why I love this. We are using what we have and throwing away less, and I’m staying out of the grocery store!
You’re tempting me, girl! This sounds like it’s working out beautifully!
It is working out so, so well. It has taken a ton of stress off of me in the evenings.
I actually really need to do this. Half my problem is trying to figure out to make with what we have…if we don’t have something I hit the store and ALWAYS buy unexpected items.
Exactly. Me too.
I think Kraft (and maybe All Recipes) has a tool on their site that lets you add in what ingredients you have and tells you what you can make with them. You could try that.
We’ve subscribed to emeals. It has potential, but a lot of things have interfered last month. It is a weekly plan. I am thinking the monthly might make more sense.
Lunch stuff is so hard to plan ahead on.
Heating up the house is not funny. We had a meal or two last week or the one before that were ‘Riddikulus’.
I’ve tried emeals, but I didn’t keep up with it so it was just a waste. I do think it is a really good idea though.
I’m so glad that this is working for you!!
I added a few crockpot meals to my menu this time, the first of which I made last night. It was great! And didn’t heat up my kitchen. But I avoid anything that requires the oven because of the heat problem.
But if it rains…..I’m baking something!!
Let me know of any good crock pot meals you find that aren’t chicken. For some reason I just don’t really like chicken prepared in the crock pot.
Wow, you plan for a whole month? I am impressed with your organizations skills. I do a weekly one, but then invariably I always forget some important item and we have to resort to breakfast for dinner (which the kids love).
Last night James wanted to know when we were going to have pancakes again.
I’m doing it for now. I hope it lasts because it makes my life so, so much easier. Doing it for just a week really didn’t work for me.
Alright, you have inspired me. I am going to try and this in August because I think it would be something that would be really easy to have during the school year.
I can’t wait to hear how it goes.
I so need to do this. Maybe I will do something like this for August which is a CRAZY month for us. I am happy, but also totally jealous in a good way, that you have a system that works for your family!
It has definitely made things easier. I’m anxious to see how it will work during those busier months.
Look at you being all industrious. What day are you going to NYC? I need to plan to hug your neck, multiple times if possible.
I fly in on Wednesday, and definitely multiple neck hugs are on the schedule.