Sunday, January 22, 2012

Day 4: Meal Planning



"She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness."  Proverbs 31:27


Meal planning is one of my favorite things to do in watching over my household. We have to feed our families, so it only makes sense that it is part of the "affairs of our household."
I do understand that some of you do not find meal planning to be a fun task.
You may be thinking:
"What am I supposed to make?"
"Is this healthy for my family?"
"I'm not good at cooking, so I don't know how to make anything good."
In today's age, we have so many conveniences in cooking that our Mothers and Grandmothers didn't have. So many easy recipes and pre-made, healthy foods are available.
I'd like to share what God has laid on my heart regarding meal planning. I got so discouraged years ago when my kids were toddlers about what to feed them besides macaroni and cheese and chicken nuggets. My husband and I did not want to eat that everyday, but the kids were not about to eat asparagus at 4 years old! So, I prayed about it. God really does care about every aspect of our lives. Just ask, and He will provide the solution to any problem. What an awesome God we serve!

This is what works for me.

1. Decide how many days for which you are going to plan meals. I wouldn't recommend doing a daily meal plan. I would recommend a weekly or bi-monthly meal plan. This way, you can make efficient trips to the grocery store and you always have fresh food on hand.


2. Take inventory of your fridge, freezer, and pantry. This will help with shopping, too!


3. Sit down and decide what meals you would like to make on each day. Do a "3 meal day" or just do a supper meal plan. Like I said, whatever works best for your family. Try to plan meals that use what food you still have on hand.  Also, pick things that you like.  Pick something for everyone.  Maybe do a day for each member of the family.  It will be a fun family activity and everyone will look forward to "their" day.


4. I like to use a calendar to write the meal plan out and put it on the fridge. It's easy to see and everyone in the family knows whats coming up. Plus, you don't have to try to remember what you planned for that day with all 400 other things going on inside your brain.


5. Go grocery shopping. Keep in mind the food inventory. Don't buy what you already have on hand. Don't forget staples like flour, sugar, milk, etc.


6.Stick to the plan! However, if something unexpected happens in the middle of the week and you need something quick to fix for supper, do not hesitate to swap out that meal for something else you had planned. This happens at our house a lot. I'm sure none of you know at all what I am referring to! :)


God wants us to be prepared, and according to Proverbs 31:27, He wants us ladies to watch  over the affairs of our household.  Eating is a major affair in our homes, I would think.  Let's watch over that, too!
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Check out these other blogs as well about 10 Days of Proverbs 31.  Good times!  Great information. Blessings all around.


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13 Bloggers, 13 topics, one Great God.
A series on the different aspects of Proverbs 31. Here is a list of the bloggers and their topics.











Hope you all enjoy!! Feel free to explore the blogs. We have some very talented women participating.

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