Looking for a quick trick for planning your weekly dinner meals? (Sound the trumpets!) Themed meal planning to the rescue! This is an easy RESET that makes it SO EASY to plan ahead, purchase your needed groceries and know what you will be having for dinner on Friday, when today is only Monday.
Weekly Themed Meal Planning Guide
Here is the weekly Themed Meal Planning Guide I use, along with a few meal ideas, but of course, you can create your own themes to fit your family and your life:
Sunday – Family Dinner
This is our bigger, fancier meal of the week, usually with a bottle of wine and dessert. Sometimes the kids are over, sometimes not, but the tradition is there, nonetheless.
Monday – Meatless Monday
Sounds just like what it is. A meal that has no meat. Sometimes, it is Caprese Stuffed Mushrooms. Sometimes, it is a Very Veggie Spaghetti Squash. You get the idea. This week it was a delicious Spinach Artichoke Pasta with Garlic Bread. (NOTE: This is NOT Russell’s favorite night of the week, I assure you, but he plays along anyway, since I do most of the cooking, but he actually L.O.V.E.S. this recipe.)
Tuesday – Souper/Salad Tuesday
In the Summer, it is a fun Salad usually made from items from our garden, which is currently over flowing with beans, zucchini, tomatoes and carrots. In the Winter, it is a hearty bowl of soup, stew, or chili, usually made in the crockpot throughout the day.
Wednesday – One Pot Wonder Wednesday
Always something One Pot, either Crockpot, Sheet Tray or in my Cast Iron Skillet. My personal favorite is Egg Roll Bowl in my Cast Iron Pan. We usually have this about once a month, because it has very few ingredients, easy clean up and dinner is ready in about 20 minutes.
Thursday – Chicken/Turkey Thursday
Yep, you guessed it. Something made with either Chicken or Turkey as my main dish. It can be something as simple as Grilled Chicken (Russell does all the grilling in our house) or one of my personal favorites, Chicken with Asparagus in a Lemon Caper Sauce. (Stay tuned. I’ll be sharing this recipe later this week.)
Friday – Fish Friday
Need I say more? Fish is the main ingredient. It could be Shrimp Tacos, Teriyaki Salmon, or Oven Fried Cod with Oven Fries, but always something with Fish.
And last but not least…
Saturday – or Satisfied Saturday, as I like to call it.
Saturdays are usually my day to try new recipes or do something that I can use as leftovers for the following week, such as a Mississippi Pot Roast in the Crock Pot for sandwiches later in the week, or a Roasted Chicken in my Dutch Oven and pick the bones for a yummy Chicken Salad. Two for the price of one.
Have you used Themed Meal Planning?
Again, you don’t have to follow my themes. Come up with your own. But I promise you, themed meal planning makes it easy to plan your weekly meals (and your grocery list), which will save you time, save you money, and help you answer the age-old question of “What’s for dinner?”
So, here’s my challenge to you… Create a Meal Plan using themes for the coming week. Then feel free to use this Grocery Shopping List for getting everything you need for your upcoming meals.
Here’s to resetting your home, your meal planning strategy, and your life!
Roberta
“A place for everything and everything in its place.” – Benjamin Franklin
P.S. Please be sure to share your weekly themes with me, so I can change things up from time to time. I’d love to hear what you’ve got cookin’! And if you found this post useful, please be sure to share it with others, who may like it as well.
