Hey, there busy mama!! Today I’m sharing my super simple method of meal planning for an ENTIRE MONTH (that has made my life as a mom to five active kiddos so much easier!!). Here’s how to simplify meal planning so you aren’t spending your precious time (or energy) on this task! 

If you aren’t one for meal planning, or are just getting started, you should definitely check out my article with tips for meal planning newbies - it will help you a ton! 

I personally cannot, not meal plan- it has to happen otherwise I feel all discombobulated and such. And then the kids think they are starving and we all are just not happy.

So for me and my family, meal planning brings not only a huge amount of organization to our lives but also reduces some of those evening stressors like: what should we make for dinner? Do we even have food in this house? Oh crap, I didn’t take out meat for dinner- again!!

Do you see what I mean?! Meal planning is so worth the extra time initially versus the stress of the evenings later. But to make it even simpler for myself, I’ve decided to meal plan once per month (not necessarily shop once/month though) and just get it all out of the way. 

I‘m using a "themed days of the week method" (which I also have used for general weekly planning as well!) and it works great. The biggest plus is that I really don’t have to think of a ton of new ideas day after day. Just plug in the type of meal that goes with that day of the week “theme”. 

So, for our family that schedule is as follows:

1. Sunday: Crockpot Day
2. Monday: BBQ day
3. Tuesday: Tacos (or something Mexican)
4. Wednesday: Casseroles
5. Thursday: Breakfast
6. Friday: Pizza (or some version of something pizza-ish)
7. Saturday: Out (because mama gets a break!!)

This method has seriously reduced the amount of time I am spending on meal planning! This means I have more time to do other things, like laundry, yay...... I'm totally joking! I'm spending it reading or looking at yard ideas on Pinterest - let's get serious!

If you think this meal planning method could save you time (oh, it'll save you money too!) and you'd like a meal planning sheet - just click HERE and get yourself some meal planning printables!

(I try to add things frequently so we can all be overly organized - so check back often to see when new freebies have been added!)

I hope this How to Simplify Meal Planning information has been helpful to you!!