Summary:  If you’re like many people, you have such a busy life… that making homemade, healthy meals each day is a constant struggle. Instead of just giving in and going through the local drive-thru or ordering pizza three nights a week, why not give meal planning and meal prepping a try? Here are some things to know about each of these options to help save time, money, and still prepare healthy meals each day for your family.

What is Meal Planning?

Before you can start on your meal prep, you need to plan your meals. Naturally, this is what you’re going to focus on with meal planning. Meal planning is nothing more than figuring out what meals you are going to make in the near future. It can be as detailed as you want, though the more information you include in your meal scheduling, the better off you will be.

  • By starting with meal planning, you will then know what and how to better meal prep.
  • This is going to help save you time because you aren’t running to the supermarket every day trying to figure out what to get for dinner that night.
  • You already know the meals for at least a week beforehand.
    • Here’s a rundown of how meal planning works, though keep in mind there’s a lot of room for variation.

How Many Weeks to Plan For

The first thing you should decide is exactly how much meal planning you want to do, in regards to how many days or weeks to plan ahead of time. This really depends on you and a number of factors should be considered.

Think about how much time you have for meal planning and prepping, how often your family likes to switch up recipes, and realistically what you can spend at the supermarket for planning these meals.

  • You should also consider how much room you have in your refrigerator and freezer.
    • Planning for 3 weeks ahead of time is fine for the schedule, but you might not be buying food for this long if you don’t have somewhere to put everything.
  • When you are just starting out, try to plan for just one full week and see how it goes.
    • This should include all meals and snacks your family will eat for that entire week, including breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, and desserts.
  • It includes meals you’ll prepare at home with leftovers, lunches your kids and you’ll bring to work or school, and any extra items you need, such as bringing brownies to the local potluck or any other special occasions.

A Good Way to Start Meal Planning

If you’re not sure where to start with planning your meals, you can make it easy by taking stock of what is in your kitchen. Take note of everything in your pantry and refrigerator, write it down, and see what meals you can make from those ingredients.

  • This should be a good start, and then all you might need are some filler ingredients.
  • You may have almost all of the ingredients you need for homemade biscuits, so you know you can have a meal that uses those biscuits as a way of saving money and time.

Once you know everything you already have, start considering what the different meals are that your family will be interested in, but don’t forget about considering how each of those meals will be prepared.

If you know you will be pressed for time, try to think of meals you can make ahead of time or that can be made in the slow cooker all day while you’re at work.

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