This post and meal planning printable is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of PEOPLE®, Real Simple®, and Southern Living®. The opinions and text are all mine.
Take the hassle out of planning your meals and shopping list by making the process enjoyable. With your favorite foodie magazine and this free weekly meal planning printable, you’ll be prepared and ready to take on dinner for the fam!
Having great family dinners all week long can sound intimidating. And without a solid plan in place, good intentions can be swept aside. It happens to the best of us. However, I’ve found a system for myself that is both enjoyable and reliable in order to help ensure that I get fabulous meals that we all enjoy on the table most evenings.
It all starts with inspiration. Unless you are totally comfortable going rogue in the kitchen, great meals start with great recipes. I get a lot of ideas from Pinterest and fellow bloggers. Especially, if I’m looking for ideas with an ingredient I’m not as familiar with. Like anything desserts. 😉
But, a lot of my every-day dinner meals in my repertoire are straight outta my favorite magazines. I subscribe to a lot of food periodicals; it’s a habit of the (food-blogging) job. And I’m always throwing a magazine in the cart like Real Simple, PEOPLE, or Southern Living as a last minute impulse buy when shopping at Kroger.
Weekly Meal Planning Process
Whenever I find myself five minutes, I steal away and get a little bit of “me time” with my favorite topics. I’ve been a die-hard Southern Living reader for years. I love the local travel ideas and artisan finds… but most especially the recipes.
It makes what could be a chore into relaxing time for myself. Sure, sometimes I’m at the pool lounging with a drink in my hands while I’m reading an entire article (hah!), but usually it’s just grabbing a cup of coffee and skimming Southern Living for a few minutes before the day gets started.
As I’m reading, I dog-ear the must-make recipes and at the end… I tear out my picks. All recipes go into my folder of “keepers.”
Then, when it’s time to plan my meals and shopping trip for the week, all I have to do is pull out the folder and get to picking out the seasonal picks and what works best for the time I have to cook during the week.
Weekly Meal Planning Printable
Once I have my top recipes pulled out, I simply input them into my printable and prepare my shopping list all in one place.
After a few months, if I realize I’m not picking out a recipe from the folder, it gets pulled and trashed. That way, my folder doesn’t get too overwhelming.
Some of my top picks from past Southern Living magazines include Shrimp Boil Pasta (May ’17), Oven Fried Chicken (March ’17) and Two Ingredient Marinades (May ’17). Yummmm….
I found some winners in the most recent August issue too, but I’m not going to spoil it for you. (Pssst – turn to page 150 to find out what I’m making for Labor Day!!)
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Need to flesh out your meal plan? Check out this Easy Sausage Sheet Pan Dinner or Chorizo Shakshuka!
Pin me!
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