Family meal planner full#

I just knew I had to find another way – an organized way! I didn’t know that what I was doing even had an official name. I decided to only get what I needed and to have some structure with our family dinners. I actually got so fed up with it that I decided to completely clean out my pantry, renovate the space, and start fresh.Īnd that’s where meal planning came in.

Family meal planner full#

My pantry was full of ridiculous things that made no sense! I would get home from work and struggle to think about what ingredients I had, and which recipe they would work for.Īt times, I would forget about the produce I had waiting to be used in the fridge that would go bad before I remembered to use it!

I grocery shopped depending on what I thought we might need – with maybe 2 or 3 dinners actually planned for two weeks I shopped for. I had boxes and cans of food from a previous year that were never used and had to be tossed. It’s hard to picture a time before meal planning, but I can remember being very disorganized. It also helped us manage bills and expenses on just one income. It has saved us tons of money and has helped me to be able to organize and utilize all of the groceries I buy with minimal waste. I started meal planning once my second little guy turned two – and it has been a HUGE lifesaver! Here are some meal planning ideas, over 100 family-friendly recipes to inspire you, and a FREE weekly meal planner template…