The Basics of Dinner Plans

The age-old question, 'What's for dinner?' can be daunting, especially if you're not a natural planner. Even if you love organizing, deciding on meals days in advance can still be overwhelming.

Here's a simple approach to get started:

1. Determine how many meals you want to prepare for the upcoming week and which days work best.

2. Make a list of favorite meals that are simple and easy to prepare.

3. Record the meals on the days you chose, whether you use a recipe app or good old-fashioned paper and pencil. (Here's a link to a free, printable list: Weekly Meal Planner)

4. Look through each recipe and make a shopping list of ingredients. (Unless you use an app that creates that list for you. Read until the end to find out my recommendation!)

5. Shop for those ingredients, and you'll be on your way to becoming a meal planning guru!

Apps are great, but there's nothing wrong with paper and pencil!

If you have trouble coming up with enough meal ideas or want to ensure a variety, here's a simple template of categories to help you get started.

• Pizza

• Sandwich or wrap

• Pasta

• Tacos, nachos, burritos

• Protein plus starch plus vegetable

• Stir fry with rice or noodles

• Soup or stew

• Rice bowl (or other grain)

• Entree salad

• Breakfast for dinner

• Eat out

• Leftovers

Finally, give yourself permission to alter the plan at any point! Make your list in pencil, or use an app that allows you to easily delete or move to another day.

I recommend the Plan To Eat app for meal planning.This app has saved me countless hours and brain cells over the past several years. Plan To Eat is simple to learn and use, even for a dinosaur like me! Use this link to get 20 percent off a subscription.

plantoeat.com/ref/365ee87af5