Monthly Menu Planning - What you need...

I love menu planning.  There...I said it.  I genuinely love to plan out dinners for a month, or even two months, at a time.  It saves me a ton of time and a ton of money.  Time?  Instead of making multiple trips to the grocery store every week I just make one.  Instead of standing in front of the refrigerator and pantry trying to decide what to cook for dinner I can get right down to business.  Money?  With fewer trips to the grocery store I have less opportunity to make impulse purchases.  By only buying what is on my shopping list I am buying only the ingredients that I need and I'm not wasting food.  Also...by planning ahead I can space out the "bigger" casseroles and make sure that there are plenty of "fresh" left-overs to take for lunch throughout the week.

So how do I keep it organized?

First, you need a big binder.  Make it pretty...it's about to become your friend!

 Next, pocket dividers.  The number is up to you.  I like having one for every month and a few extra.  You MUST get the pocket divider...you will be using the front pocket for your menu and the back pocket for your grocery lists.

 Next, calendar blanks.  I like to use blanks and just write in the numbers.  It's faster...I can print out a bunch and keep them in a spare pocket divider at the back of the binder.

























Next, a good grocery checklist.  I realize that many people may think that this is over-board but I honestly consider it the secret to my success.  I can shop for a full week of groceries in under 30 minutes WITH my kid in tow simply by using this checklist.  It takes the guess work out of shopping and makes my trips super fast.  My list is set up for the grocery store that I use most, Hy-Vee in Madison, WI.  When I started shopping there I went into the store with a notebook and wrote things down in the order that I would find them...produce, deli, meat, dairy, frozen (the perimeter) first.  Then I went through the rest of the store aisle by aisle and jotted down the regular things that I would buy.  Pop in a few extra blanks and *bam* you have a fast checklist to make shopping a cinch.  It takes some time to set up but it is worth every second.

















How about the real thing?  Download it!

http://www.box.com/s/z1urcyx053zyktlmnvx8



Almost there!  You need blank dinner pages.  You will use these to jot down the quick dinners that you don't need to follow a recipe for.  Even though you don't need a recipe these will act as place-holders and they are a handy reference for what you will need when you are filling out your grocery list.  Mine look like this...feel free to download and make adjustments as needed.

http://www.box.com/s/vgud0n6tdy506pbln9c9



Finally, you need a LOT of page protectors.  You will have a separate page for every day that you will be cooking.  I keep enough in my binder for several months.

















So...once you have all of that you are ready to plan.  Go get it!!!
How to put it together will follow in post 2...Monthly Menu Planning - How to put it together...