By Request: A painless meal planning system in 3 easy steps {1}

Eight months in to this blog, and a pattern of Frequently Asked Questions has emerged. They range from inquiries about vaccines to recipes to how to homeschool multiple ages and stages at the same time. Some of it, frankly, is so specific to our family that to even write it up would do you a disservice. I am firmly of the belief that God calls and equips each family according to His will and plan. Reading blogs and gleaning insight, encouragement, and practical skills is a great tool. But since no one family is the same, and since what works for me won’t necessarily work for you, well … I’m reluctant to throw out there the things that someone might take for Gospel Truth when really, they’re just The Way it Works for Us.

Today’s By Request topic is one of those areas: meal planning. Folks, everyone has their own method– even if their method is looking at the clock, seeing that it’s 4 p.m., and pulling out the frozen chicken breasts, again. If your way of handling meals is working for you, then please, stick with it. But if it isn’t, or if you’re looking to try something new, I offer up my way of getting the necessary task done.

The thing about homeschooling is that, ideally, you do it at home. Which means that you (and your children) are dirtying the floors, adding to the laundry, using dishes, and generally cluttering your house all day. Pretty much every day.

Ladies, if you look around your home and expect it to live up to the standard your own mother had while you were school age, you will go crazy. You are not a “stay at home mom” of the same species, nor are you a “working mom” whose home is empty for the bulk of each 24 rotation of the globe.

 

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Sure, there are seasons where the homeschooling mom feels all Holly Hobbie and keeping things tidy is just Happy! Happy! Joy! Joy!

Had I not experienced these odd, cozy stirrings myself, I’d swear they didn’t exist. But they do. There really are times when nothing satisfies the soul quite as much as a stack of freshly laundered cloth diapers and the scent of some lemon oil on the floors.

Of course, the rest of the time, we’re all just trying to keep our heads above water. By necessity, school comes first. There will always be dirty dishes … but the times when your 7 year-old longs to feel your arm around his shoulder while you re-read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe … sacred stuff, that.

To that end, I try to be fairly organized in my housekeeping duties. This frees me up for my first love: educating my kids. I have a schedule for doing household tasks, the kids have a chore routine and, all things being equal, we keep the place in decent shape. I subscribe fully (and enthusiastically) to the “many hands make light work” concept, so any given day might find John Mark corralling all of the little one’s board books back into the proper basket, Mathaus dragging the trash to the curb, Birdie and Simon taking turns helping me load the clothes dryer, and Mary Hannah browning ground turkey at the stove.

Now, even with all of this “all for one, one for all,” planned-out, full-court press, no one has ever walked into my house and declared, “You homeschool? Why–this place is so spotless, I never would have known! How do you do it?”

You’re shocked, I know.

You know what gets people’s attention? No joke–it’s my meal plan.

Of all things, people really dig my meal plan. Whether they’ve heard me mention it or have spotted a two week-menu on my fridge, people ask a lot of questions about my meal plan.  So here it goes. My big secret to meal planning, shared for those who want to embark on the journey to organized meal planning. Ready?

Master list.

Yep–that’s it.

I started with a master list of meals that my family loves, loves, loves. Once upon a time, when Jack was a baby, I literally pulled out a sheet of notebook paper and a pencil, and started jotting down meals as they came to mind. Just entrees, mainly. A nice, long numbered list that I added to over the course of several days. Whenever I had an idea spring into my mind, I’d jot it down. When I had the chance to flip through some of my favorite cookbooks, I’d write down our favorites from them, too.

Then, I culled the list. There were a couple that, for one reason or the other, just didn’t stay on the main list. A couple were so heavily “dairy-ed” that they had to be removed for the sake of our dairy-free eaters. A few others were just too pricey when adjusted to serve a crowd rather than a small-ish family. (We have a strict grocery budget.) And others were just not universally loved enough to crop up in a regular rotation. (They went onto a separate list that I’ll mention in another post.)

In the end, my Master List had 46 meals. I’ll share my original list (with a few recipe links) here to give you an idea of what I’m talking about in case you’re ready to start compiling your own:

Heather’s Master Meal List

  1. Bean Pilaf
  2. Lasagna
  3. Three Bean Stew
  4. Turkey Meatloaf
  5. Corn Flake Chicken
  6. Chicken and Noodles
  7. Beef Stew
  8. Chicken and Dumplings
  9. Pot Roast
  10. Taco Soup
  11. Swedish Meatballs
  12. Spaghetti
  13. Black Bean Tortilla Stack-ups
  14. Arroz con Pollo
  15. Fried Rice
  16. Stir Fry
  17. Orzo and Chick Peas
  18. Pasta Primavera
  19. Chicken & stuffing casserole
  20. Homemade Pizza
  21. Black Beans and rice
  22. Lentil Soup
  23. Tacos
  24. Black Bean Burritos
  25. Kidney Bean & Macaroni Casserole
  26. Chili over Spaghetti
  27. White Chicken Chili
  28. Mostacelli
  29. Roast Chicken
  30. Chicken-fried chicken
  31. Chili-Spaghetti Casserole
  32. Grilled Salmon
  33. Salmon patties
  34. Mexican Veggie Pasta Bake
  35. Chicken Tortilla Soup
  36. Open-Faced Turkey Sandwiches
  37. daal bhat
  38. Vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie
  39. Quesadillas
  40. Turkey Stroganoff
  41. Tuna Casserole
  42. chicken curry
  43. Broccoli & baked potatoes with cheese
  44. Chili Dogs
  45. Boca burgers
  46. Sloppy Joes

Your homework–should you choose to accept it? Make your own master list. And meet me back here in a few days, when I tell you what in the world to do with it.

2 thoughts on “By Request: A painless meal planning system in 3 easy steps {1}

  1. Master list made! Can’t wait to hear what I’m supposed to do with it.

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