Meal planning. ( complete with the list of meals)

Ok so I know some of you may be wondering how we feed our family. Really the truth is simple. Meal planning !
Meal planning is an easy way to save money , produces less waste and and makes life a little easier in a hectic world. Meal planning for a month makes you think outside the box . Dont worry I am about to show you why its so easy and how you to can do this.
How does meal planning save you money you ask. Well when you make your meal plan you write down all the ingredients that you need to be able to make these meals. When you go to the store you have a specific list of what you need. Stick to it .
One thing I do that helps to save money is to but prepaid gift cards. When I budget I budget in the amount for grocceries splitting it up over the month. Then I make my list . While at the store I know exactly how much i have to spend. Tip: leave creditcards or bank cards at home.
I also after making my shopping list check the local flyers to see whats on sale and then price match. If I have a coupon for that I will also use it with the price match sale.
I realize that you have to have some fresh things, as well as more milk and bread. You can incorporate these into that list because you can freeze them. I tend to leave fifty dollars on the gift card so that I can pick up the little extras.
Once I get everything home i put it in the freezer and just take it out as I need it. Tenice thing about a meal plan is that if you have something like chicken broccoli casserole on the menu for that night but it takes to much time you can always switch days so that you have a crock pot meal for that day . Just remember which day you switched . If i switch a meal I cross of that dinner so I know i have already used those ingredients

We also freeze leftovers so that those incase moments where something comes up eg one of the kids is in the hospital and hubby gets home late he just takes it out of the freezer zaps it in the microwave and voila dinner. This is how we cute down on the waste.
It makes life so much easier because i never have to guess what i have in the cupboard or hum or haw about what to make . I already know. I just take meat out in the morning and thaw it. When it come time to make dinner I cook it and I have already siked myself up for making this dinner ( have I mentioned that I hate cooking !)

Now you may be thinking ok but I am no chef and coming up with 30-31 meals that are all different is impossible. I use pintrest. I try to incoporate two to three new meals per month. It allows me to try something new and to see if we can find some new favorites. Otherwise it feels like your stuck in a rut eating the same foods all the time. W have tried multiple recipies off of pintrest. Some were a big hit while others were a huge flop.
So in oreder to help you get started i am going to give you my meal plan for this month. I would give you the shopping list as well but Z tore it up in the van on the way home.

Day 1: steak rounds, potatoes wedgies and corn
Day2: BBQ chicken wings with rice and beans
Day 3: shepards pie
Day 4: fish and chips
Day5: pork roast in crock pot with potatoes and veg mix
Day 6: potaote sausage soup
Day7: spagehetti
Day8: sausages, broccloiand cauliflower and lipton side kicks
Day9: homade mac’n’cheese
Day 10: homade pizza
Day11: cream of broccloi casserole with chicken.
Day12: stew in crockpot
Day 13: lasagna
Day14:hotdog wraps and sidekicks
Day15: tacos
Day16: chicken drumsticks with rica-a-roni
Day17:meatloaf, mashed potatoes and mixed veg
Day18: meatpies and potatoe wedgies
Day19: chicken pot pie
Day20: pea soup
Day21: raviloi
Day22: lemonfried shrimp on rice with corn
Day23: crock pot beef roast with potatoes and mixed veg
Day24: chicken fingers and french fries
Day25: veggie soup and bus
Day 26:pork chops mashed potatoes and mixed veggies
Day27: beef stir fry with pasat
Day 28: berencole and wause ( mashed potatoes mixed with kale and sausage)
Day 29: nasi ( indian rish dish )
Day 30 : chicken cream cheese pasta
Day 31: roasted potatoes , veggies and pork ribs

There is the list and now i dont have to worry about what I am making for dinner for the next month 🙂
Hope you enjoyed
Ttfn
E