You won't find me preaching some elaborate budgeting plan to you, ever. Honestly, I wouldn't devote the time to keeping up with a highly detailed budget or keeping track of which envelope should have this cash or that, so I won't preach those methods to you, either. BUT, what I will preach is the importance of a meal plan. Now, just wait a second before you roll your eyes at me, it may be easier than you think. I can just about guarantee it will be more beneficial than you think, IF you stick to it. There's the trick: stick to it. Lucky for you, I've made it more simple. First, get a pen and a piece of paper if you're old fashioned, or open your note taking app on your phone. Yes, now, do it right now. What are you waiting for? Ok, now write or type all of the meals you can think of that you KNOW how to make without recipe searching. If you're anything like me, this list may be super long as I rarely follow specific recipes anyway. That's ok. If you have a short list, that's ok, too. Just make a quick list of meals that your family enjoys regularly. Make sure to keep your list handy, so that you can refer back to it often. Maybe put this on the fridge. Keep it in your planner or journal, or maybe your purse. I don't know, just find somewhere easily accessible. Great, proceed on! Next, I created a pretty meal plan that you just print off and hang in your kitchen. I put mine inside a Dollar Tree 8x10 picture frame and have it hanging on the wall beside our giant calendar. Then I write on it with dry erase markers and simply erase it each week. Some people take an 8x10 frame, attach magnets to the back, and then display their meal plans on the fridge. It's totally up to you and what works best for you. Once you've printed your meal plan, grab your list of trusty meals, and head to your kitchen/pantry. Now, using your list and the food already IN your house, plan a list of meals for the week. There's the catch, using what's already in your house. I also created this handy grocery list for all of you traditional folks. It even has a section where you can write the ingredients you already have in your home. That way, if you take this list to the store, you won't have to try and remember what you have on hand already! BONUS TIP: I don't use a paper grocery list anymore! Why? Because, I kept forgetting the dang thing at home, leaving my stranded at the store with no game plan! Now, I put my ENTIRE list in my phone's note taking app. I include the meals we're having that week, what ingredients I have on hand, and each main section of the grocery store. I even have handy checklist bullets beside each item so that I can check things off as I put them in my cart. Don't fool yourselves though, grocery shopping is by far the most organized part of my life! Obviously you likely won't have every ingredient on hand to make every meal idea racing around your brain. That's ok. But so often, people think meal planning involves buying all or most of the ingredients for every meal. It doesn't have to be that way. I promise you can find ingredients to throw together a meal (or two or three or maybe even four) if you simply think outside the box. Get creative! You won't regret it and neither will your bank account. Now hurry, click HERE to download your FREE goodies! Enjoy! Alisha Don't forget to head on over to my socials and say hey! I can't wait to hear from you!
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