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Planning your meals ahead of time is undoubtedly a stress reducing, efficiency boosting task, although most systems don’t leave room for the fact that sometimes you’re just not in the mood for the meal of the day: emergency pizza night happens. Here’s our solution to keep you organized and flexible so you’ll never sour at the question “What’s for dinner?"
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Start by picking which days of the week you want to plan meals for. For instance, maybe you only want to plan meals Monday through Friday, and leave weekends open. Write out each day on a Post-it® Super Sticky Note, 2 in x 2 in and place them in a row, in a visible spot in your kitchen (the front or side of the refrigerator makes a great meal planning space).
Next, jot down a range of meals you want to make on Post-it® Super Sticky Notes using the ingredients you already have in your refrigerator, or plan to buy while grocery shopping. Don’t limit yourself – having a few extra meal ideas gives you more flexibility. Make sure to place certain meals on days you know for sure what you want to eat – such as “Stir Fry” or “Tacos.”
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Once the week starts, be sure to leave the stack of additional meal ideas off to the side just in case. As the week goes on, add in and swap meals around as needed— so, if there’s a unanimous vote that it’s take-out time, or the grocery store is out of tuna steaks, you can push that meal back a few days. Roll over any unused meal ideas onto next week’s meal plan and always add more as they come to you. Happy planning!
