How Busy Moms Can Simplify Meal Planning and Get Dinner on the Table Every Night

You know it – failing to plan is planning to fail. Planning meals in advance changes my chances of getting a healthy dinner on the table by like 43000%.

THE biggest game changer for me in getting dinner on the table every night: a meal board.

Note that it’s not just a note in my phone or a scrap of paper in a drawer. It’s a permanent fixture of the kitchen décor, where we can all see it. This is important. That’s the only way you’re going to consistently use it, and train your family to plan around it, as well.

Here’s how this works:

--Sunday night I get out my meal board and my family calendar. I write across the top portion of each day factors that impact dinner that night. Nick’s out of town, a sports game we want to watch, family/friends coming over, someone’s birthday, working late, lady’s night out, etc. etc. etc.  

-- Then I write in a meal for each day. We keep it SO simple in our house! #1, I don’t like cooking. #2, we’re eating to live, not living to eat. We usually have a protein and a veggie. We have leftovers at least once/week (more when Nick’s gone), and we order pizza (or Papa Murphy’s/frozen lasagna/etc) once/week.  (Examples: Chicken and veggies (steamable in microwave, usually). Burgers and salad. Meatloaf and veggies. Cheeseburger macaroni and veggies. Tacos with salad.)

--Next, we build our grocery list around the planned meals. I literally check each ingredient, and if we don’t have it, it goes on the list. Then I check all normal household items (applesauce, baby food, milk, etc), complete the list, and do a grocery order. We have groceries delivered once/week.

Some tips to make this a success:

-Kids don’t like the dinner? Repeat after me, “Ok, you don’t have it eat it. But you cannot have anything else.” The thought of going hungry changes things quite a bit! There are a few limited exceptions to this rule (ex: he’s tried meatloaf a handful of times and gags pretty hard every time…I don’t force that one anymore), but in general, he eats what we eat, or he can go hungry. You’re not a chef (unless you want to be) and your kitchen is not a restaurant.

-Repeat the same meals! Remember the part about your kitchen not being a restaurant? Make what’s easy, nutritional and speedy. Save the fancy meals for special occasions (unless you truly love cooking, that’s a different story).

-Thaw ahead of time! I get out most of the meat we need on Sunday, or at the very least, the day before. If it’s still frozen come cooking time…not gunna lie, those nights usually turn into chicken nuggets or Uber Eats. Set yourself up to succeed! If the meat is frozen or you’re missing ingredients, you’re planning to fail.

-Keep some easy staples on hand. We keep tuna, black beans, hamburger helper, frozen steamable veggies, and a handful of others always around. In a pinch, you can usually whip something up.

-Two words: Instant Pot.

-Frozen crockpot/pressure cooker meals. Find a class (Google: Citrus Pear) and prep a bunch of meals at once (make a lady’s night out of it). Right now we’re LOVING this, and utilizing it once/week fresh, and once or twice/week for leftovers.

-When lady’s night does come around, or I’m working late, sometimes I just write: TBD. As in, To Be Determined…by YOU, because you’re cooking. It’s ok to have other people in your home participate in cooking dinner, it’s not your sole responsibility. Just because your husband grew up in a home where men never cooked doesn’t mean he can’t cook at your house!

What are your obstacles to getting dinner on the table at night? Would you like some of the recipes I use for quick meals? How else can I help make dinner time quicker, easier and more consistent in your home?