Skip to main content

Week 4 - Summer Planning Series - Meal Planning Made Easy

On week 4 of my summer series on planning we are looking at meal planning, with Kimberly who blogs over at Kimberly A.Vogel.


I have two rules for grocery shopping:

1. Make a list
2. Don't go hungry


I break these two rules all the time. When I do, it costs me time and money.

Did you know there are on-line resources to help you with grocery shopping? Until I started using an on-line planner, my grocery list took close to an hour to plan, I didn't try new recipes, and I ALWAYS forgot an ingredient.

Top on-line Meal planners:

Plan to Eat I must confess, this is the planner I use and LOVE. While it does not yet have an app, I hear it’s in the works.

Pepperplate Mobile app, not web-based

Ziplist There is a section for coupons! (FREE!)

Emeals They provide the meal selection and list complete with sales and to save money.


Tips for Meal Planning with On-line Planners
1. Decide what features are most important for you. I find the menu and import recipe feature most important, but that might not be what you need.

2. Save Recipes when you see them. There is a save recipe button I saved to my bookmark bar. When I see a recipe I want to try, I import it right then. If I think about doing it later... chances are I won't. This creates variety in my cooking.

3. Spend just one afternoon importing your go-to recipes. I also taught my kids how to do this! If you don't feel like typing in your own recipe of Grandma's meatloaf, find one on line with the basic ingredients and import that one. This saves time! Don't get bogged down in details, just make sure the ingredients are the same.

4. What about snacks and lunches??? I made a few 'recipes' for lunches. 
For Kid's lunches, I listed the ingredients as: bread, sandwich meat, chips, fruit, and granola bars. 
Mom's lunches: salad, avocado, oil, seeds, green apples, and almond butter. 
When I'm making the menu, I slide those to the calendar and when the shopping list is created, I don't have to add those ingredients separately.


What are some of YOUR meal planning tips?



Kimberly shares God's love for children through her writing, and encourages moms through her blog www.kimberlyavogel.com. She lives in Texas with her husband, Kevin, and four daughters. The whole family enjoys serving God as leaders in the children's ministry at church. When she's not homeschooling her girls, or teaching creative writing, you can find her spinning words into stories or twisting yarn or wire into crafty creations. 


In this Series:
Week 1: Who Plans Homeschool?
Week 2: Planning an Eclectic Homeschool School Year Type A Style
Week 3: Planned Unshooling . . . Why?
 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Writing & Rhetoric - A Writing Curriculum Review and a Giveaway

Curriculum choosing and buying can be a very daunting task. So many subjects to cover, so many curriculum to browse though, and so many companies to consider. Today I would like to share with you a product and a company that I have come to hold in high regards. When it comes to teaching writing to the boys I was not sure which way to go, as I would not exactly consider myself a great writer. Then came along Writing and Rhetoric from Classical Academic Press. I heard about it when the second book in a series of twelve just released, and I was immediately intrigued. You see I homeschool classically, and writing is an integral part of it. Classical Academic Press puts out products geared towards classical homeschooling, so there you had  the first common ground. I was searching for something that would teach them what writing was, and guide them through the process incrementally, without bombarding them with pages and pages of writing right from the start. I found what...

Our Current Homeschool Routine - Virtual Homeschool Fair - Week 2

For week 2 of the Virtual Homeschool Fair, which is hosted by Homeschooling Hearts and Minds , we are talking method of homeschooling. When it comes to the how of homeschooling, and the method that we all follow, with the 20 plus blogger participating I can guarantee you, no method will be the same. Homeschooling is a lifestyle and a path unto a goal or toward a direction that each family sets for itself. For us, this encompasses academic rigor, as well as Christian values and depth of understanding of how to live in this world as Christians. To that end, earlier on we had settled on a classical education. 10 years into it, I cannot say we have been very good classical homeshooler. We did not follow the method and philosophy to a T but instead adapted it to our family's routine and rhythm. We became more relaxed classical homeschooler. I had good intentions with the Latin and Greek, but not enough discipline and it did not appeal to the boys; my oldest son did two years, the...

Reformation Day Giveaway

We are approaching October 31, which is an important date for all protestants. This date commemorates Martin Luther’s nailing of his ninety-five theses to a church door on October 31, 1517 in Wittenburg, Germany, which in turn provoked a debate that resulted in what we now call the Protestant Reformation. As the “Father of the Reformation”, Martin Luther is a vital figure in Church History. His sacrifice and willingness to wage battle against the spiritual, religious, and political powers of his medieval world allowed Christians throughout time to embrace the following truths: salvation by grace alone , through faith alone,  and in Christ alone, along with the supremacy of Scripture, referred to as  Scripture alone, and all of it for God's Glory Alone. These being commonly called the Five Solas of the Reformation.  Danika Cooley, author and creator of the Bible curriculum Bible Road Trip ,  has recently written a book for young people recounting Luther's sto...