To start, I look through my Trim Healthy Mama cookbook for recipes I want to make. Some weeks are exactly the same as the previous ones. (hey, when you find recipes that everyone loves why change?) I then make a list of 6-7 meals I want to make that week. It looks something like this:
Chicken Alfredo
Spaghetti & Meatballs
Eggroll in a Bowl
Homemade Pizza
Coconut Thai Chicken
Taco Salad
Cabb & Saus Skillet
I then look at each recipe and make a list of every ingredient I need to buy. I usually have the staples such as spices, baking blend, Dreamfields pasta (yes, I am aware of the lawsuit), canned tomatoes, etc., so it's mainly things like meat, cheese, fresh veggies, and such. Mondays are my grocery shopping days. Once I have my groceries, the fun part begins...
...Because I don't actually PLAN my meals!! I wake up that morning and decide then what dinner we are having. Now, don't panic...because there is a method to my "madness." I usually choose the meals with the fresh veggies first. Depending on if I am working out at the Y that day, I will usually do a crockpot meal, which has to be in the pot by 1:00pm.
It works for us, it just does! Before I started this method, (which was before THM) I sometimes would fall behind on my meals if something came up and I didn't have time, or something would spoil before I made the dish because I would forget to plan out the meals according to food spoilage dates.
Trim Healthy Mama was instrumental in helping me develop my dinner schedule!! I know it's going to be a THM meal, and with THM we use a ton of fresh ingredients. I never have spoiled veggies in my fridge, spoiled dairy, or spoiled leftovers!! My favorite part of the THM recipes is that it is made for large families! I don't have to double the recipes for ingredients...it's already done for me.
*I would love to hear some tips on menu planning from you lovely ladies! Please share in the comments below!
