Even after all these years eating a plant-based diet, if I sit down with a piece of blank paper, it can take me some head scratching to actually get a week’s worth of meals down on paper. However, that’s the first step that I need to do if I want to be efficient in making my grocery shopping list and saving time, on a daily basis, with meal preparation.
I’ve found that a Memory Jogger can be a great help. That’s a simple list of foods that my family will enjoy from every category I have on a menu planning template. For example, I will write down a dozen or more breakfast main dish ideas under that simple heading. Then I might make a list of fruits and breakfast accompaniments that we like. I’ll have another list of protein foods, veggies, desserts, and so on from which I can pick as I fill in my blank menu list.
Next, I use a Menu Planning Template that simply has the categories I want to pick from for each meal to be sure that I have a nutritionally balanced plan that includes variety so I’m not eating the same kind of thing every day. Like Sunday, I might have pancakes or waffles with fruit, a healthy fat, and a protein food for breakfast. But on Tuesday, I might have dry cereal with non-dairy milk, nuts or seeds, fruits and toast. By using the template, it makes it easy to change up the kinds of things I eat in my main meals. If I want to make double batches of some things and have them on different days, it’s easy to put that into the mix.
Now I can quite quickly fill in a blank Menu Planning form, referring to the categories in my template and using the Memory Jogger to help me pick specific dishes, kinds of fruits, or kinds of veggies to plan to use for each meal of the week.
Once my Menu is complete, it’s a simple matter to check my pantry and make a grocery list of supplies that I might need in order to prepare the meals planned for in my menu. Having this grocery list really cuts down on impulse buying when I’m in the grocery store, and therefore can save me a chunk of change!
If you want to kickstart this process for yourself, why don’t you just click on the link below and download yourself a copy of my FREE Meal Planning Pack that includes:
- Plant-based Memory Jogger
- Menu Planner Template
- Menu Plan – blank
- 1 week sample plant-based menu
All those tools are yours FREE in exchange for your email address right HERE.
