How I Simplified Meal Planning

Earlier this year I did Productivity Bootcamp with Jordan Page and one of the big things she talks about right at the beginning of the course is figuring out your different pain points throughout the day.

My biggest pain point?

Meal planning.

Every week when I sit down to make a meal plan, I feel stuck. It takes forever. I feel like I made all the same things last week, and I never know what to make or when/if I should try a new meal.

Then, a few weeks ago I read this post from Everyday Reading about how she started a meal plan rotation. She plans enough meals for two weeks then rotates them for the next 6-8 weeks.

I decided to give this a try too, to see if it helped me with my meal planning woes.

We’re only a week into it, so I haven’t actually done a rotation yet, but I know exactly what I’ll be making for the next month or so already and that makes me feel so calm!

How the rotating meal plan works

Last Friday night I sat down and made up a list of 15 meals. I have 3 weeks worth of food for this rotation (assuming I make pizza on Friday nights and then we have take-out on Saturdays. I’ll make all of week 1’s meals this week, then week 2, followed by 3 and then I’ll start over.

I decided to do 3 weeks worth of meals, because I know that when we eat something too close together, we all aren’t that interested in eating it. I feel like 3 weeks is a great amount of time! I also mix up our pizza toppings so that having pizza each week is still fun!

My meals for this fall

Here is my list of meals that I’ll be rotating the next 6-9 weeks (depending on how it goes!) I’m only trying a few new recipes, that we can rotate out if we don’t end up enjoying them! And I’ve already got a list going of recipes I’d like to try next time around!

• Spaghetti & meatballs OR sweet and sour meatballs with a side salad

• Chicken Cordon Bleu Rolls (my own recipe) + fruit we have

• Creamy Chicken Taquitos (one of our faves!) with Spanish rice

• Easy Marinated Pork chops with roasted veggies

• Easy Au Jus Sandwiches with chips and fruit

• Chicken Corn Chowder with Zucchini Muffins (got this meal from Janssen)

• Pesto Chicken Sandwiches with chips and fruit

• Caesar Pasta with a side salad

• Crepes

• Brats with salad and baked fries

• Steak and potatoes

• Quesadillas with Hatch Chili Pork (which we get from our local dairy delivery service) similar flavor profile in this recipe

• Loaded Chicken Salad Sandwich with fruit salad

• Chicken Stroganoff with mashed potatoes

• Homemade hamburgers and baked fries!

Have you ever tried a meal rotation plan? Did it work for you? Also, do you have any favorite fall recipes that I have to try next time?!

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