It’s back – by popular demand: A whole month dedicated to the ins and outs of Menu Planning.
Over the course of December, I will be sharing the many ways that menu planning can help you save money — and time. And even a little bit of your sanity.
But today, I want to kick things off by sharing my family’s menu plan for December.
For all of December?
Yes, indeed.
I like to make a monthly menu plan. Some do it for two weeks at a time. Others make a new plan each week.
You’ll notice that I repeat a lot of meals and I definitely keep things simple — because it’s not about spending hours in the kitchen every night. It’s about feeding your family.
You’ll also notice that every Monday and Thursday I have planned for us to eat sandwiches. This is not typical for my family.
But throughout this month, our boys will be having twice weekly basketball practice from 5:30 – 7:30 pm.
After trying to figure out how to make a family dinner fit with their practice schedule, my husband and I finally agreed that “dinner to go” would be best for those days.
Again – it’s not my preference. But sometimes life gets hectic and you have to adapt.
One last thing — you’ll notice that Saturdays aren’t planned. Those meals will get fleshed out as we invite guests, or get invited out, for Shabbat lunch. Friday night dinners we have at home 99% of the time — with just the five of us. Especially after our crazy Mondays and Thursdays, I think we’ll appreciate our family Shabbat dinners even more.
With all those disclaimers behind me, here is my family’s dinner menu plan for December. You can click on the calendar to enlarge it or download it, if you want.
Are you a monthly menu planner? Or do you prefer to do it weekly? Or maybe you’re new to menu planning entirely? Stick with me – this month will have lots of posts to help you get started.
Awesome! I am new-ish to your blog but super excited to see the menu plans and tips. I’m hoping it will really help me with our family for the coming months.
Thanks, Jill – I bet you will see a big difference in the time and money you save with menu planning!
We plan monthly, so December will be written up tonight. When people ask why I plan a month at a time, I tell them it’s because I find the task to be annoying–helpful throughout the month but irritating in the moment–so why would I want to do that every week? Better to just do it and be done.
By the way, our December dinner theme is Stuff I’ve Pinned but Haven’t Yet Made. If anybody wants to take a peek at the possibilities, I pin at http://www.pinterest.com/carolineemb.
Trying to combat the “always pinning, never doing” issue, eh?
Yes, although I do have a board called Pins I’ve Completed. Sometimes I even comment on whether the thing was good or not. Spicy Thai Noodles: best recipe of my entire life. Cutout LOVE card: total. uncrafty. fail.
It is so encouraging that my menu plans look like yours – not very “foodie” or “exciting”, but yet, filling and healthy! Thanks for sharing real life!
Aw, thank you! Yes – not fancy, not food! One day, I”ll get back to fancy, but this isn’t the time in my life for that.
Eating the curry vegetable and chickpea stew tonight! Very yummy.
We loved it, too! Definitely going on my regular rotation.