I'm not a fan of cute crafty things, but I love a good DIY project, especially when it has a practical purpose. This menu board is a helpful way to plan your grocery needs for the week, and to get the family involved in the process.
Although I aim to head to the grocery store once a week, it seems I'm always darting in for a last minute ingredient. It's not painful or daunting until you add up all those minutes and consider you could have done something else with your life instead of waiting in the self checkout line.
Over at The Creative Mama, Bree made this quaint little menu board. Even if it's a little crafty for some homes there are easy, modern ways to dress it up. It doesn't even have to be displayed! Just keep a folder in a drawer somewhere. But the idea is super useful.
There's many a menu or meal that I want to make, but when I'm sorting through recipes before darting off to the store I never want to dig them up for ingredients. Instead, have your family make a list of their 10 favorite meals and then write down a meal plan for each. On the back of each card list the ingredients and you'll quickly have all the information you need at your fingertips during a busy work week.
Read More: The End of Reinventing the Meal- Menu Planning and The Ultimate Menu Board from Creative Mama
Related: Seven Online Meal & Menu Planning Tools
(Image: Creative Mama)
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Neat idea. The ingredients for that lasagna, though? No thanks!
I will steal the idea of writing meals on cards. I'm training my 2nd grader to take over the menu planning (though she sometimes answers the question "What do you want for lunch?" with the word "Lunch" and suggests buckwheat pancakes too often). This makes it a game. Present cards, let her pick what we'll eat next week.
Nice idea! I've often thought of having a 3x5 card file of meals we like to eat, but adding the main ingredients needed would really help making the grocery list.
Yeah, I'm really confused by that lasagna recipe... confused and intrigued.
We had to do this in culinary school. At first i thought it was punishment but realized it made life way easier!