Meal Planning 101: Matching it up with the Calendar

So you've seen why meal planning is important and you've come up with your themes and meal options, now what?  Why not throw the plans into a rotation and run with it?  You can absolutely do that.  And there are many times in our lives where I do exactly that.  But before you throw a plan into the week, it's important to look at your weekly schedule and see what's coming your way.

Matching it up with the Calendar

We all have routines in our week.  In our house, everything seems to fall on Mondays: two gymnastics classes, volunteering at the school, Discipleship Group.  Mondays have to work like a well-oiled machine or Mama falls into a panic.

But beyond our weekly routines, there are also the occasional gliches.  Soccer practice in the fall, a friend that needs help moving, a special date night.  That's why it's important to look at your weekly schedule before setting that meal plan into motion.

Take this week for example at our house.  Monday is my crazy day so it's always a quick and easy meal night.  Tuesdays and Thursdays are crockpot night as I'm coming home from the gym, but this week I have a girls night out.  So I know I have to plan ahead for Daddy to make the meal on Thursday.  We're going to a friend's house on Friday so I'm planning extra special sides and dessert for that night, rather than our traditional pizza night.  And the rest of the week looks similarly out of place.

Matching your meal plan with your calendar further prevents those nights of drive-thru on the way to an evening activity.  Don't drive yourself crazy with a new recipe on the same night you're leaving the kids with a sitter to catch a movie with your husband.  You'll just find yourself frustrated with time constraints.  Make your plan work for you and your life, even if it means switching things up a bit now and then.

How are you making meal planning work into your life?

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