Menu planning for your family?

Question

All mothers out there, what is the best way to deal with dinners??? I hate going out to eat because I have been to busy all day to think about dinner. Do you go grocery shopping all the time, plan meals, have the same few recipes you use all the time?? I was never really prepared for motherhood as far as mealtimes go...I have 3 children, 17yrs, 11yrs, and 10 - whew. I always feel like we are just winging it as far as dinner is concerned. Thank you in advance for all your tips and tricks......We own our own business, so I do have a somewhat flexible schedule, but I think I am a workaholic...haha.....

Answer 1

I get paid every 2 weeks so I grocery shop once every 2 weeks except for milk and fresh fruit and veggies. I plan meals and not what I will have on what day just what 2 weeks worth of meals I will be cooking then I ask what would you like for dinner tonight and give a choice of 2 or 3 from my list that I feel like cooking. It works out well for us

Answer 2

When I go grocery shopping, I try to at least buy 6-7 meals. I may or may not order pizza in between those meals or we go out to eat one day out of the week. I use similar recipes every other week. I'm always watching the food network and always exchanging recipes with my co-workers. There are several people at work who are "foodies" just like me. I also get together with a bunch of women once a year and I teach them all how to make tamales. We have food, drinks and lots of fun. We usually do it right before the holidays so we can take the tamales to our holiday dinners. Planning your meals ahead is the key. Just jot down some of your favorite dishes on your list and then get everything you need to prepare them. I love cooking!

Answer 3

I grocery shop once a week. I sit down and figure out a tentative menu for the week. (With kids it's hard to set anything in stone!) Then I make a shopping list out according to what's on my menu. I always get something extra like frozen pizza or something for those nights when I might be too wore out to cook. I do these shopping lists on my computer and print it out with the menu and place them in page protectors. If you do this for a little while you can make a notebook with all shopping lists and menus and use them over and over. You can get a dry erase marker to mark off things you might not need or change an item on the menu and just wipe it off the page protector the next time you use it. This is alot of trouble to begin with, but later it makes life so easy. Just grab your page out of your notebook and head to the store. Simple as pie!