So, you have a pretty good grasp on meal planning but now you need to be organized so you don’t get overwhelmed. One great way to do this is with a meal planning binder.
This meal planning binder is super simple to use without a bunch of extra tabs and pages to keep up with. You have everything you need right here to start meal planning and keep it up.
With this binder you will save so much time when meal planning. That is its true purpose.
Not only time but you will also save brain power. Sometimes it takes so much thinking to meal plan that is one of the things that causes some to stop.
This binder puts an end to the thinking. As you as you complete the pages then you will have everything you need to know what to fix and what you need to fix it.
It will all be written out in the pages in front of you without you having to think about anything.
Cover Page
This binder is called the Kitchen Essentials Simple Meal Planning Binder.
Mistakes = Perfection Artwork
I am a firm believer that mistakes are just part of life. We are all human and we will all make mistakes. Sometimes those mistakes are because we don’t know any better and other times it will be because we simply were not paying attention.
But either way when a mistake is made it helps us to reinforce the correct path. It helps our mind to remember the repercussion. So, as long as we learn from your mistake then it just puts us one step closer to perfection. Will we ever reach perfection on our journey? Who knows, but without mistakes how would you even know you reached perfection?
So, this artwork describe this best:
A mistake is only a mistake if nothing is learned. Otherwise, it is a journey to perfection.
Put it right in the front of your binder so that you can be reminded that you will make mistakes on this journey. There will always be obstacles to overcome. But all this is just part of that journey to perfect your meal planning and start getting those things you deserve.
Main Meal Ideas & Side Ideas
This sheet is where you will list all your meal ideas so that when it is time to write out your meal plan you will have a list to look at so you don’t have to think about what meals you will fix.
On this page you also have a place to enter how much time the meal will take to prepare. This will be good to know for those days you are limited on time and looking for quick meals to fix.
There is also a place for you to enter your cooking method. Say you know you will be home late one night so you need to put something in the slow cooker that day. This will help you see at a glance which meals can be fixed in a slow cooker without having to try to remember.
Finally, there is a place to enter your Recipe Ingredient Page Number. This comes in handy when it is time to write out your grocery list. As you will see just a little further down there are pages for you to write out your ingredients for each meal. On those pages you will write a page number. Using these page numbers is how you will quickly reference your ingredients without having to search through all your recipes.
Backup Meals
This page is where you will write out all the backup meals that you can choose from to keep on hand. These are meals that will take no longer than 15 minutes to throw together. They are considered super convenient meals.
Don’t pass these meals up. They will be a life saver for you on those days with something unexpected comes up or you just don’t feel like adulting that day.
Recipe Ingredients & Recipe Cards
There are two types of Recipe Ingredients pages and then there is a Recipe Card page.
Real quick before we go over these pages there is one thing I want to mention. Many times I get recipes straight from the internet and will print them from there. THIS IS THE BEST WAY TO DO THIS. There is no reason to make more work for yourself so just print out the recipe and write the page number in the upper right hand corner.
Now for the Recipe Ingredients Pages. One is for meals that don’t take very many ingredients and the other is for those that do. On these pages you will just write in your recipe name, location (if needed), and list out the ingredients.
On the Recipe Card page you will write it out just like a recipe. This page does not include a page number area so just write your page number in the upper right hand corner.
Now, let’s talk about how these pages, along with recipes you print or tear out from magazines and the Main Meal Ideas work together.
This is the part that you can organize as you wish. In my binder I just add the recipes to the binder in the order that I find them and number them consecutively. They are not categorized by types of food, they are not alphabetized or any of that stuff. As I add them to my binder I also add them to my Main Meal Ideas list with the recipe page number I put on actual recipe.
This helps so much in writing out the grocery list. All I have to do is go to the Main Meal Ideas or the Side Ideas to find the page where all the ingredients are listed. Then write these ingredients on my grocery list. This way I know I am not forgetting any of the ingredients that I need.
Food Inventory
I use this sheet in two ways. When I first started meal planning this sheet was used to keep a list of the foods I had available to make meals out of. I would also use this sheet to keep a list of my staples that I want to keep on hand.
Once your food supply gets low and you keep it low then this list is great for keeping your staples listed out so that when it is time to write out your grocery list you can use this list.
A tip on this is to group your staples how you keep your food stored. For instance, in the Pantry column use the top part of the column for items in your pantry, use the middle section for items outside your pantry but not in the fridge or freezer, then use the bottom section for items that you store in the pantry until it is opened and then put in the fridge.
Calendars
Calendars are included for you to keep your activities handy in your binder.
Meal Plan
The meal plan page included has only one block for each day. This is meant for you to only plan your dinner, but as you get to the place where you can plan more meals during the day there is still space for that too.
Over to the right of each meal block is a section for you to write in notes. This is a great place to write reminders to put frozen food in the fridge to thaw or write in things that are coming up.
Shopping List
Included are two different shopping list. One is the straight Shopping List. You could use this to write out your rough draft shopping list but I usually just use notebook paper for that. This is the very first list you write where you list out all the ingredients you need for the week. On this list you want to include staples from your Pantry, Fridge, and Freezer Inventory page. You also want to include other essentials from your Home Inventory Page (a little further down).
Once the rough list is written out then you can start grouping your items so your shopping will be a lot easier. You can use the Shopping List page if you prefer to write out your list as your store is laid out or you can use the Shopping List by Dept if you prefer to shop this way or if you are not sure how the store is laid out.
If you are an online shopper then you really don’t even have to rewrite your shopping list. You can just use the rough list and mark off your items as you add them to your virtual cart.
Home Inventory Stockpile
These pages are great for keeping a list of your essentials you want to make sure you don’t forget. There are two different pages for this list. One is setup so you can simply list out your essentials and the other is designed for keeping your items in groups.
For instance, I have a small area where I keep an inventory stockpile of essentials. Having this makes it so that I never run out of any of my essentials and it makes it so much easier to know what I need to replenish for my essentials.
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