Put Meal Planning on Auto Pilot
After a busy day at work and home, deciding what to make for dinner can be overwhelming. With so many decisions made throughout the day, why worry about the looming question: WHAT’S FOR DINNER? Create a Meal Cheat Sheet to put meal planning on autopilot.
Make a Meal Cheat Sheet for Dinner Ideas
We’ve all felt decision fatigue – a lack of energy and focus leading to poor decisions. That poor decision could be running through the drive-thru or ordering pizza. While these options are great and relieve pressure off the family cook, they should be a planned option that makes it a special treat. Not a decision that makes you feel guilty or wasting food in the fridge
I devised a grid of many of our family favorites. I share them with you to help with your meal inspiration. All these recipes and more are on the website.
This week’s menu at my house:
Recipe Organization
I organize my recipes by protein type: Beef, Chicken, Fish/Seafood, Meatless/Eggs, Pork, and Turkey. If meat or protein is on sale at the grocery, I can quickly scan my list and determine what sounds good for the week. I rotate my recipes with different cuisines. By sticking with these cuisines, the unique ingredients, spices, and condiments are in the kitchen and used rather than collecting dust in the pantry or going out of date in the fridge. Cuisines include Asian, Classic, Italian, Mediterranean, Southern, SW/Mexican.
Invest in Cookware
Another way to stay varied and efficient is to think through the cooking methods that make sense in the home and invest in these appliances or cookware needed: crockpot, grill, pressure cooker, Dutch oven for stovetop, casserole dishes, wok for stir fry, etc. Having the proper tools helps with cooking. Check out the Kitchen Essential Checklist.
A Meal Cheat Sheet is Your Friend
I use a Meal Cheat Sheet of my favorite recipes with a month of menu ideas. This makes it easy to choose a meal if I have the protein in the freezer or the meat is on sale at the grocery store. I generally choose one of the protein categories each week to get variety and cuisine style. When you have meal ideas on a grid, it is easier to choose—NO DECISION FATIGUE.
Keeping a list of your favorite dinners helps with meal planning. Do you have a meal-planning tip? Please share it in the comment section below. Supper Sanity is a simple system that offers shortcuts in the kitchen for meal planning, grocery shopping, and recipe organization. It simplifies daily decisions so you can tackle other interests.
