Weekly meal planning is the gold standard. Most of what you’ve probably heard or seen online about meal planning is based on a weekly meal planning concept, and it certainly has plenty of benefits.
But have you ever thought about doing it on a monthly basis? More and more mums are starting to embrace this approach, and it’s not as difficult as you think.
While most people meal plan weekly, there are plenty of scenarios where monthly meal planning is a better choice. The right answer for you depends on your lifestyle, schedule and preferences. I will share what works for me further on in this blog post, so keep reading!
Here’s what you need to consider.
Weekly meal planning
One of the biggest advantages of weekly meal planning is that it’s quicker and easier. It can be hard enough to figure out what to eat for the next 7 days, much less 30! And since a lot of mums prefer to go to the supermarket weekly, it just makes sense to plan your meals using the same interval.
Plus, if your schedule changes a lot, a monthly meal plan just might not be feasible. And if your cooking style involves following recipe blogs and trying a bunch of new recipes, this gives you the flexibility to fit in new meals that strike your fancy without having to wait too long.
Weekly meal planning is also good for those who like to have routines. Say, for example, you have the perfect 20-minute window in your schedule for meal planning every Tuesday morning and you grocery shop Tuesday afternoons while your daughter is at a dance class near the supermarket. If you find that a predictable routine helps you get things done and stay organised, it probably makes more sense to do it weekly.
Monthly meal planning
So why do some people prefer monthly meal planning?
If you enjoy the benefits of meal planning but you always dread sitting down to do it, a monthly approach makes sense because it minimises the number of times you have to do it. For a lot of us, getting started with tasks is the hardest part, and this means you only have to find the motivation once a month instead of every week.
For mums who do a lot of bulk shopping, monthly meal planning is the best choice. Knowing what you’ll be eating each day allows you to do one big shopping trip for the whole month, with smaller weekly trips just to stock up on perishables.
How to build a monthly meal plan
How do you make a monthly meal calendar?
I recommend starting by noting the days this month when you might be hosting guests or travelling. Mark down holidays and days where you are eating at someone else’s house and need to bring something, like dessert or salad. Fill in any of your routine meals, such as eating pizza every Friday or Taco Tuesdays. Then, shop your pantry and see what you need to use up and come up with a few meals. This should help you fill up a big part of the calendar rather quickly, and then you can figure out what to make on the remaining days.
One way to get more out of your monthly meal planning is mapping out two weeks’ worth of meals and then repeating those two weekly plans for the second half of the month. If you’re not sure how to build a monthly meal plan, you can try this for a month or two until you feel more confident varying the menu.
What I do
Weekly meal planning is off the table for me – one week passes by way too fast and before I know it, I’m at it again. I’ve tried monthly meal planning but our plans tend to change after our month is meal planned, and then it’s a headache to move around meals and what not.
What works best for our family is to take the middle road – I meal plan for 2 weeks at a time. It’s less overwhelming too, our schedule is more predictable, and it feels right. We still shop once a week (only because we do not have the space to store 2 weeks worth of shopping), but at least our menu is planned.
Save time meal planning
Doors to our meal planning membership, The Dinner Plan, are open until Tuesday 25th July. If you’d love to fast track to having a meal plan, it couldn’t be a more perfect option for you. We send out meal plans every 2 weeks, so you can plan in 2 week blocks too if you prefer. When you join, you get INSTANT ACCESS to a meal plan, recipes, and a shopping list (yes!), so you can get started right away. All it costs is €12 per month – and it will save you hours. What’s more, there’s no commitment, you can cancel anytime! Get started right now and experience how easy meal planning can be! Go here to sign up >> JOIN THE DINNER PLAN
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