The Ultimate Meal Planning

Back to the nasty chore of meal planning.  So, now that you are thinking of meal planning early in the morning, you have your meat all fried and ready to go (and don't forget to cook your chicken overnight in the crock pot - see this post) you just need to know WHAT to make for dinner!

As I said before, I have scoured through cookbooks, written down ideas. Nothing. Simply nothing!!!

Since I am VERY visual I needed to come up with an idea. No clue where it came from but this is what worked for me!

I got a white board like this

Then I got magnets like this

And some paint samples.  And for the record, I called Lowes. They are ok with people coming in to get paint sample. Whew. Any guilt is gone! 😀

Next take your paint samples and cut them into 1 3/4 inch by 1 3/4 inch squares.

Write down any meals you usually make or any deal ideas you might have the in the future. Maybe something you want to try and make. Think about your old "stand-bys" (ie. grilled cheese, or my mom's stand-by bacon and cheese sandwiches ~ recipe coming at a later date!)

Don't forget my kid's favorite ~ sarcasm intended! COTF.  Yes, you must include COTF. Which simply means:
Clean Out The Frig 

My kids are not fans. Unless there is something really good in the frig! (I recently saw someone call this "smorgasbord". I like that much better!!)

Once you have all your meal ideas on the little paint sample squares, attach the magnets to the back. They will look like this:

Remember to make a few extra. This way if you think of more ideas or someone shares a great recipe, you can add it easily. 

Finally take all of your squares (no matter how many or how few) and put them on your board. It might look something like this:

I usually pace my magnets squares towards the bottom. Then, if I am super organized, I pull seven up for the week. However, most times I just keep them there for reference of ideas of what meals to make. There have been times too when I asked the kids to pull them up.  They almost always pull up "Eat Out"!  I've asked my husband to pull some up at times too, but he's usually so gracious he doesn't care what's for supper.  

Finally, I really think I should add a square that says either "I don't care" or "I don't know" because often when I ask what they want for dinner that is their response.  😩