My 4 Tips for Meal Planning in 15 Minutes or Less

I have to admit, meal planning is ingrained in me. We live 30 minutes away from a decent grocery store and I HATE errands, so stopping at the store to pick up dinner is basically torture for me. If I meal plan, I only have to deal with a grocery store once, maybe twice, a week.

However, I have come to understand that many people struggle with meal planning because they think it takes too much time, organization and planning. I want to make your life easier! So here are my 4 tips for meal planning in 15 minutes or less.

Tip #1: Look at your Family Calendar

With a quick look at your family calendar you can make an assumption about how much time you will have to deal with dinner on any given night. Is there a night with an activity that means that you will need a super quick to make meal that is easy to eat? Is there a night that you will be getting home late and a slow cooker meal might be more appropriate? Is it someone's birthday and you are planning on going to a special dinner? Jot those notes down so you can find a recipe that fits the requirements.

Tip #2: Assign a Theme

In our house, we have had Taco Tuesday for many years. This means that I don't have to pick a meal for Tuesday, it is automatically tacos. Some other options are Meatless Mondays, Stir Fry Fridays, or Spaghetti Sundays. You don't have to alliterate to have a good theme. If you like to pick up a pizza on the way home from work on Friday, make Friday a Pizza Party night. (Pro Tip: Try to limit to one or two themes as having the same thing all the time gets a little boring.)

Tip #3: Keep a Pinterest Board for Dinners

I love Pinterest because it is an easy way to keep a whole variety of recipes at my fingertips while I am meal planning. After I have decided how much time I will have to make a recipe for each night, or how many slow cooker meals I will need, I do a quick scroll through my Recipes-Dinner Pinterest board and pick things that seem to fit the time requirements. (Pro Tip: Some people find it easier to create separate boards for different types of meals. Example: Slow Cooker Recipes or 30 Minutes or Less Meals) Click here to see my Recipes-Dinner Pinterest board.

Tip #4: Family Favorites

Every family has a set of favorite meals. Think about your family, I bet you can list 3-5 right off the top of your head. Keep those dinner items on the back burner. It never fails, as I get down to Wednesday or Thursday in my meal planning, I lose creativity and just need to write something down. (I grocery shop on Thursday or Friday, so my meal plans always end on Wednesday or Thursday) I try to limit Family Favorites to one night a week so we don't get bored with them.

By using these tips, I can get a week long meal plan written up in less than 15 minutes and I think you can too!