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Meal Plan for the Week

Planning and preparing meals for your family each day can be a daunting task, but planning ahead makes it so much more manageable.  Last week I talked about making each month run more smoothly by using a calendar and jotting down a dinner plan for each night of the month.  Then making a grocery list of all the non perishables that you can buy in one shopping trip, and then finally, separate lists, one for each week of the month for more perishable items.
Need a way to come up with a whole months worth of dinner ideas?
Sit your family members down and give each one (those old enough to decide and write), a piece of paper and a pencil, and set a timer for 10 minutes. Have each one list their favorite 7-10 dinners/suppers.  Ideally in a family of 4, each gets to choose 7 meals, but have each one write down 8-10 of their favorites This is because some of their choices will overlap with others, and you want to have enough extra ideas to eliminate the duplicates. When looking over their ideas, keep in mind any allergies that certain family members may have!
Your goal here is to come away with a list of 28 dinner meals that pretty much everyone in your family will eat and enjoy.

menu planning, Meal Plan for the Week, Joyful Homemaking

To get you started with some tasty dinner ideas, is this group of meal planners.  🙂

menu planning, Meal Plan for the Week, Joyful Homemaking

Hamburger Steak with Onions and Brown Gravy from New South Charm

menu planning, Meal Plan for the Week, Joyful Homemaking

Southwest Stuffed Peppers from Jonesin’ for Taste

menu planning, Meal Plan for the Week, Joyful Homemaking

Easy Crockpot Chicken Fajitas from Tastefully Eclectic

menu planning, Meal Plan for the Week, Joyful HomemakingSouthwestern Black Bean Salad

menu planning, Meal Plan for the Week, Joyful Homemaking

Cheddar Croque Madame Waffles from Cooking with Carlee

menu planning, Meal Plan for the Week, Joyful Homemaking

Hamburger Pasta Casserole Bake from Recipe Treasures

For dessert, how about some big delicious cookies?

menu planning, Meal Plan for the Week, Joyful Homemaking

Gluten Free Monster Cookies with M&M’s from A Day in Candiland

If you’d like some assistance with menu planning and grocery shopping, be sure to check out my free printables:
Dinner Planner and Grocery List Printable
Weekly Meal Planner
Printable Grocery List

Hope you have a great week!

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