the beginners guide to meal planning PLUS 7 simple [& delicious] dinners recipes

What’s the secret to getting more REAL FOOD into your family, and less junk from packets?

Meal planning.

Yes, it’s that simple.

With these [free] meal planning printables and a few tips and tricks – let me show you how I plan a week of meals in less than 5 mins.

First, print out your ‘my lovely little meal planner’, ‘my lovely little shopping list’ and ‘my lovely little go-to recipes’.

Now, grab a cute pen and jot down 7 simple dinner recipes to cook on your meal planner.

Here are 7 simple dinner recipes to get you started…

 stealth spaghetti

 4 ingredient chicken stir fry

 pesto chicken tray bake

 lamb tray bake with mediterranean vegetables and pea pistou

 pasta with broccoli pesto

 oodles of noodles

 home made pizza

Next, take a quick look at your fridge and pantry to see what ingredients you have.  Jot down the missing items on your shopping list and head to the market.

Get cooking!  Day by day, follow the plan nestled on your fridge to create a simple dinner for your family.

NOW, FOR YOUR SECRET WEAPON to future meal planning success.  After dinner, ask yourself ‘did my family love this recipe?’.  If it’s a YES, jot the recipe name onto your ‘my lovely little go-to recipes’ list.  As you build a repertoire of family favourites, planning next week’s meals become simpler and faster [less than 5 mins]. Instead of scrolling through endless recipes, you now have your own personal ‘go-to’ list of recipes to plan from!  HOORAY!

Meal planning really is worth its weight in gold.  It gives you a clear plan of what to cook each day.  Gets more home made goodness onto the table and into hungry tummies.  PLUS it saves your time, money and sanity.

BUT its goodness doesn’t stop there!

Here are your BONUS meal planning tips and tricks to make feeding your family even easier…

‘cook once, eat twice’ – when your schedule is busy, cook [double the recipe] once, to eat [and enjoy] over two nights.  This ravioli with pumpkin, pesto & pistachio is a #lifesaver

choose recipes that will bless you with leftovers – a roast chicken or a big plate of spaghetti bolognese are recipes that just keep on giving.

make your freezer your best friend – freeze leftover chicken stir fry for another night.  Make ahead and freeze pumpkin soup for an easy dinner or batch cook stealth pasta sauce.

sunday prep day – spend an hour each sunday in the kitchen prepping for the week ahead.  Wash, clean and chop vegetables, blitz together a kale pesto for a super quick mid-week meal, or bake some savoury muffins ready for lunch boxes.

cook recipes with similar ingredients – choose a theme [like italian week] to make the best use of similar ingredients, reduce waste and simplify the weeks shopping list.

give each night of the week a theme – meatless monday, taco tuesday, slow cooker sunday…etc.  This takes the guess work out of choosing recipes for the week.  PLUS who doesn’t get excited for taco tuesday?

And finally, leave room for takeout – I’m a HUGE fan of home cooking, but a friday night of wood fired pizza delivered right to your front door is FUN and well deserved. #keepingitreal

There you have it, lovely.  You now have 7 days of dinners planned.  A fridge full of real food.  A growing list of ‘go-to’ recipes your family loves.  PLUS all of the tips and tricks YOU NEED to make meal planning simple.

Thanks for cooking along with us and remember to tag #mylovelylittlelunchbox when posting your creations.