Wayyyy back on November 5, 2013, I wrote a long, detailed blog post about how I game plan to feed my family each month. It was actually the second time I shared my system (truly just an update to the first), and it has been my 2nd most popular post EVER.
Six years later, our life looks very different than it did back then, but that doesn’t negate how helpful the system is to families at every age and stage.
With that in mind, I decided to use the “meat and potatoes” of the post to create a landing page that is easier to find.
Our kids are now gone to college and our evenings are no longer dictated by their activities, yet our nights remain jam-packed with Coach’s practice schedule, his film sessions and meetings after practice, my volunteer work, and our community involvements.
Game planning for the month is still my best strategy to be intentional about sitting down together to enjoy dinners at home.
Below you’ll find the simplified system, and please revisit 11/05/2013 to see the nitty-gritty details of what got me through when our children were still at home and our weeks were at their craziest.
My steps to creating the calendar are just the same as they were throughout our kids’ childhoods, and they are super easy to follow for your family…
First, I decide on a “theme” or type of food for each day of the week because it is much easier to select four beef, chicken, or pasta recipes than it is to think of 30 random recipes off the top of my head.
On Sunday’s we eat a pretty large meal after church which gets me through the day. During a normal season, we have team dinner with the football family up at the university; of course, 2020 is anything but normal, so I’ll probably just grab soup and a sandwich on Sunday evenings and Coach will eat at work.
Monday’s are Coach’s radio show. Again, in year’s past, we ate at the host restaurant. This year is on campus and without a live audience so I’m planning on using up leftovers those nights.
On Tuesday’s I turn to my collection of slow cooker recipes so that I can eat when it’s ready and Coach can still enjoy a hot plate when he gets home from practice late. I tend to snag a slice of dessert to indulge in while he eats so that we are still sitting at the table, sharing our day together.
Wednesday’s are all about chicken and white meat, Thursday’s are for beef and red meat, and Friday’s are our day to splurge on carbs and pasta.
Saturday’s are game days – we are a football family, after all 😉
Just like that we’ve come full circle to Sunday, and all seven days have a planning theme to guide me.
Next, I go through the month and write in all the commitments that change from month-to-month such as holidays, birthdays, celebrations, banquets, fundraising dinners, other sporting events, and even a date night here or there during the off-season. If you’re like us, those have been put on pause for COVID-19 and quarantining. For now, that means that we eat at home a lot, but they say that’s much healthier, so there is always a silver lining!
Once those are in place, I go through my recipes to fill in a dinner idea for each night.
I use my recipe and cookbook collection, online searches/pins/saves, and menu calendars from previous months to find the ideas, and I be sure to make notes when I try new things. That way I can remember down the road if a certain recipe is a winner and goes into the rotation or “not a favorite” and goes to the recycle bin.
I’m still “old school” and read from paper books, so the completed game plan lives in my calendar and moves forward each week. I found a long time ago that keeping it close at hand is convenient, and oftentimes, I refer to it when I am out running errands or stopping by the grocery store “on the fly.”
If you don’t carry your life around written in a book that everyone in the family knows has more value than gold, you could take a photo of the menu to save on your phone.
If all else fails, stick it under a magnet on the fridge.
You’ll find what works best for you, and remember that nothing is set in stone. Feel free to borrow from Peter to feed Paul. Draw arrows and x’s and o’s to switch up the plans when adjustments are required. Just have fun with it, and enjoy eating at home with your loved ones!
Bon appétit!!
With love and hugs,
Ashli
