Hello everyone! I've missed the bloggy world! My life seems like non-stop chaos these days. Working full time again has kept me on the road and constantly sleep deprived.
Because I'm in constant go/panic mode, meal planning has kind of fallen by the wayside again. It's one of those things I know I should do, but it seems like inspiration strikes at the oddest times. When I actually sit down to make the list out, I never come up with any ideas. To combat this, I've created a master go-to meal list of my family's favorites. I keep it in a note on my computer and on my phone. Why on my phone? I'll explain more in a minute.
Like I've told you before, I work night shift. When I am home, I'm either sleeping trying to get ready for a shift or sleeping trying to recover from a shift. My "awake time" is in the middle of the night when I am on my break. I don't want to think about what I am going to make for dinner by standing in front of the fridge in between shifts. Therefore, having a plan is the only thing between my kids and eating frozen pizzas 5 nights a week.
To make my planning easier and to keep up with my weird hours, I've started keeping my menu on calendar. I use the calendar that comes on my phone and my Mac, though using Outlook or Google Calendar will work just as well. To do this, I created a new calendar in my main calendar called "Menu plan"
Then, I add an "event" and apply it to that particular calendar. It shows up in my monthly and weekly print outs.
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| Monthly view |
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| Weekly view |
Because I am using iCloud Calendar, it automatically "Syncs" with my phone when ever I add a new item. It also works the other way around, I can add the plan from my phone on my lunch break at work and my home calendar is updated. Cool. No more writing the menu on the back of an envelope and losing it between work and the car.
And the best part? When I go shopping, my meal plan is there with me. I just switch my view to "List" and there it is in all it's glory to make sure I pick up the right things from the store on my way home.
If I'm feeling a little more organized or have more time, I can print out a "Day" view instead and have spots to write down all my ingredients to make sure I have everything I need.
This is saving my time, sanity and dinner! It works for me.
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