There are all kinds of studies touting the benefits of eating together as a family. We believe eating together is important and would like to help make meal preparation as easy as possible so everyone, including you, can enjoy dinnertime.
One of the hardest questions of the day can be “What should I make for dinner.” You are often so tired by the time it comes to making dinner that it is painful to try and think about what to make, and half of the time you don’t have all the ingredients you need once you think of something to make. Meal time becomes stressful instead of enjoyable.
Here are a few tips to make mealtime more enjoyable.
- Make a weekly menu. One day a week, (I like Sunday) pull out your planner and write down a meal plan for the week.
- Make a shopping list for the week, and write it in your planner.
Six Simple Menu Planning Ideas.
- Choose a cookbook for the week. Look through the cookbook and decide on a meal for each day. Write the name of the dish along with the cookbook name and page number in your menu planner. Look through the recipes and see what you need to purchase and write on your shopping list.
- Designate a type of food for each night of the week. For example, Mondays might be Mexican food, Tuesdays – Italian, Wednesdays – soup, Thursdays – chicken, Fridays – pizza, etc.
- Gather your family together and have everyone brainstorm meals they like. You can make subcategories; for example: meals kids can help with, special occasion meals, quick meals, crock pot meals, etc. Tape the list inside a kitchen cupboard or pantry door. Use this list to help you plan your meals for the week.
- If your kids are old enough to help with the meals, give them a day of the week that is their night to cook, and help them choose a meal they can prepare.
- Take out the grocery store ads for your area and plan your meals around what is on sale that week.
- Don’t forget to make your shopping list as you plan your menu.