Time-Saving Meal Planning for Busy Homesteaders In 3 Easy Steps

WHAT'S FOR DINNER?

We have ALL heard that one! and to be honest, I'm anxiously awaiting this planner to launch so I can USE THIS SIMPLE THREE STEP SYSTEM myself.

by using our Meal Plan Template and Cheat Sheets you will be able to make a list of your families favourite meals to QUICKLY pull from and fill in your WEEKLY MEAL PLAN.

GATHER THE FAMILY

1. START BRAINSTORMING. Grab your trusty pen and paper and start asking your family what their favourite meals are. Have them think of

SIMPLE 30 MINUTE MEALS

EASY 15 MINUTE MEALS

CROCKPOT MEALS

FAVOURITE SIDE DISHES

ASK THE KIDS WHAT THEIR FAVOURITE SNACKS ARE

WHAT'S THEIR FAVOURITE SUMMER DRINKS?

WHAT'S THEIR FAVOURITE HEARTY WINTER MEALS?

WHAT SUMMER SALADS DO THEY ENJOY?

Really dive in and see what you can all come up with. Once you have about 50+ ideas written down you can then transfer them to any of the three cheat sheets below. If you happen to get a copy of our Homesteading Planner then all these sheets will be in the planner. 

2. PRINT OFF OUR FREE MEAL PLAN TEMPLATE. 

We are offering 3 TEMPLATES.

You will notice that there are also blocks for the DAYS OF THE WEEK.  We had barn chores EVERY WEDNESDAY, making it quite challenging to get home, tend to our chores, feed our bellies and whip out the door to get to the barn. I knew that Wednesday's were hectic, so we needed simple quick meals. Grilled cheese was a great one or sandwiches in general. Salads, even a plate of cheese, crackers & veggies. You might have kids in riding, 4H or other after school programs, leaving limited time to sit down and eat dinner. Use those blocks to fill in your favourite meals for those busy evenings. Once again taking the guess work out of "What's for dinner?"

1. SPRING/SUMMER BBQ MEAL PLAN IDEAS CHEAT SHEET

2. FIELD DAY IDEAS CHEAT SHEET

3. FALL/WINTER SWEATER WEATHER MEAL PLAN IDEAS

These will now be your GO TO sheets when you go to fill in your weekly meal plan in step number 3.

3. YOUR NOW READY TO FILL IN  YOUR WEEKLY MEAL PLAN

This is where life gets easy. Think of this as your sourdough starter. You just keep feeding it every week. Wink Wink. All the brainstorming work has been done. You know the meals your family loves and can pick from the lists to QUICKLY COMPLETE YOUR WEEKLY MEAL PLAN.

On the lower portion of the page you will notice the following:

SHOPPING LISTS

Write down the items you need to pick up that week while out grocery shopping.  If you don't want to haul your planner out that particular day. Just take a photo of it. 

SNACK IDEAS

Keep record of all the snack ideas you would like to do that week. If you're on the go that week think of some travel friendly snacks. Will they melt or freeze if left in the car? 

MEAL PREP

Can you prep any of this weeks meals ahead of time and put them in the fridge or freezer. OR can you actually double up a recipe and store that in the freezer for an easy dinner or lunch at a later date. It's also a great place to write down some extra field meals that you can freeze for another week as well. 

PANTRY LIST

Our Homesteading Planner includes a Gardening Challenge and a Canning Challenge. One challenges you to grow the food that you want to eventually can. The other Challenges you to CAN ONE NEW ITEM EVERY WEEK. you will notice that at the bottom of the sheet.  SO, IF your doing the canning challenge you will start to accumulate shelves of canned goods. THE PANTRY LIST is just that. It's used to remind you to pull as much as you can that week from your stock pile of canned goods. Resulting in you having a constant turn over rate, and not having to worry about not using everything up.  Of course having the peace of mind that you know exactly what's in your food and that your family is consuming healthy food. 

NEW RECIPE

Another benefit our customers receive when they order our planner is the NEW RECIPE section. This was actually suggested by the two incredible ladies over at Trailblaz.her magazine, Jan and Erin... Side note if you are not following this Mother, Daughter team... well your MISSING OUT!! They are HUGE supporters of us rural women and showcase our stories in a stunning magazine.  The idea here is to challenge you to either find a new recipe or pull one from the vault and whip up some baked goods for your family.