Revolutionizing my Menu Planning System

I have a problem. It’s an addiction of sorts. No, it is not coupons or stockpiling. It is recipes. I find a recipe. It will be perfect. The family will “ooh” and “aah”.

Then my issue comes into play.

I move on. I leave the recipe behind. Simply satisfied that I found a great recipe, I go on search for another one.

It is a sickness. I know.

Obviously, this issue put a kink in fast menu planning. At the beginning of the school year, it became apparent I had to simplify the recipe obsession. I also had no time or energy to think of meals. I was running to the store without a plan. I needed to revolutionize my game plan. I got serious about developing a simplistic system.

My revolutionized system (though not that extraordinary) is this: 1 menu for all time. Here is what I did:

1. I sat down and brainstormed all of our favorite tried and true meals. My goal was to think of enough meals for 1 month.
2. I wrote each main dish on a notecard.
3. I wrote all of our favorite veggies on individual notecards. I duplicated each one several times.
4. I wrote all or our favorite side dishes on individual notecards. I duplicated each one several times.
5. I organized the main dishes by week. I made sure we were not having spaghetti, lasagna, pizza and baked ziti in the same week.
6. I matched side dishes and veggies with main dishes. Again, making sure I was not having the same side dish 3 nights in a row.
7. Once done, I wrote it all on my master menu.

Voila! I now have a menu plan that allows us to eat our favorite meals all month long without eating them more than every 5 weeks.

I have a lot more to share on this system, but you may glaze over if I tell you more in this post. I am telling you though, I feel revolutionized.

Please share if you have a planning system that has simplified your life!

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*photo courtesy of sxc.hu

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