Day 3: Simplify Dinner

A time-honored strategy to make the dinner routine easier, as well as a fantastic way to reduce food waste and promote a healthy diet, is to create a menu, or meal plan. After a long commute and the rush to pick up kids, it can be downright infuriating trying to come up with a decent dinner off the top of your head, especially while short people cling to your leg screeching for snacks. Having a plan in place for the evening meal not only saves your sanity, it will save you money and give you an easy way to ensure a healthy meal at the end of a long day.

"If we're not willing to settle for junk living, we certainly shouldn't settle for junk food."  ~Sally Edwards

It's simple to make your own meal plan. Start by making a list of your family's favorite meals. This is a great time to get family members involved -- if they're happy with the plan, they're more likely to eat the food! Narrow down your constraints. How many days of meals do you need? Any dietary restrictions? Do you want to have a few meatless days sprinkled in? Crockpot meals? Do you want a few "free" days to accommodate eating out or leftovers? Once you figure out how many meals you need to fill out your plan, add new recipes to fill out some variety between your list of your family's favorite meals and the number of total meals you need. Finally, next to your meal plan, list out the ingredients for your shopping list. This is the perfect time to double-check that your meals are sorted to make the best use of fresh ingredients while still allowing variety each week. I also note which meals take longer (to schedule them for the weekend) versus which are quick cook, and I also like to check for "rollover meals" -- for instance, today's leftover ratatouille could be used as a side dish for tomorrow's BBQ beef sandwiches.

If you aren’t ready to tackle making a menu on your own yet, there are several services that make meal planning a snap. I’m a fan of The Fresh 20, an online service that gives you a weekly menu complete with recipes and a grocery list. The Fresh 20 uses fresh, whole foods as opposed to convenience foods and mixes, and they have options for a standard menu, vegetarian menu and a gluten-free menu. I currently have six months’ worth of Fresh 20 menus that I rotate through. There are other services available as well, so if a premade plan sounds good to you, Google “meal planning services” and find one that’s right for you.

Tomorrow: Creating a “Launch Pad”

This post is part of the Fresh Start Series, 31 days of tips and tricks to simplify in the new year.