The way I meal plan is extremely quick and easy. I don't use a planner, spreadsheet, calendar or anything fancy. Just a pen, 2 pieces of paper and my cookbook is all I need. So gather your favourite recipes in one place and that is a good start. A few notes on the recipes I use are at the bottom of this post.
While I sit down to breakfast, I jot down the meals that I want to cook this week on one page and on another page I write down the ingredients I need to buy. I pin the meals to make on the fridge and page with ingredients goes into my pocket.
All my recipes are cost effective and the ingredients can be purchased at ALDI.
My plan for this week goes something like this:
MONDAY - Chicken pasta bake. RECIPE HERE
TUESDAY - Thai Pork Mealballs.
WEDNESDAY - Chow Mein.
THURSDAY - Meal from the freezer.
FRIDAY - Coconut chicken noodles. RECIPE HERE
WEEKEND - Toasted sandwiches, chicken nuggets, pizza something similar... I'll make this up when I get there.
OTHER THINGS TO COOK:
- Cupcakes for my son to take to school on his birthday
- Banana bread for lunch boxes RECIPE HERE
- Date balls for lunch boxes RECIPE HERE
- Blueberry muffins for lunch boxes
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| MONDAY |
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| TUESDAY |
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| FRIDAY |
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| WEDNESDAY |
Most of the recipes I cook with come from my self-published cookbook (Food before 5) or from the recipes from my next cookbook which is yet to be published. Unfortunately, all my cookbooks are sold out but you can download the app (Simple Cook) on your ipad which contains them all. If you don't have an ipad, you can download the PDF version of the recipes here http://www.harbourpublishing.com.au/products/books/simple-home-cook
I am certainly not pushing it on you but I am just sharing what I use each week. All my recipes are ALDI and budget friendly which helps me keep the costs down and only visit one supermarket.
So that is it... my sophisticated meal planning process with 2 scrap pieces of paper, a pen, my recipes and about 10 mins!
Happy planning!
Amanda
