My Perfect Meal Plan System

A Writer’s Journey

I’ve been a stay-at-home person for almost a year now, and one thing I’ve gotten really good at is meal planning. I’ve developed a system that works so well for me that (even though this has nothing to do with writing or history), I’m going to post a series about it for the next month. It’ll end right before I leave for the HNS Conference, so I’ll get right back to topics on writing and history as soon as this series is over.
Here’s a quick summary of how it works:
Whenever I had to make a grocery list, I got overwhelmed trying to decide what meals to make. Nothing in my recipe book ever sounded good. It seemed like I made the same stuff over and over, and I often forgot about meals I really liked. Meal planning was stressful!
Then a friend told me about the Three Week Rotation system where you make the same thing every three weeks. You don’t have to stress about what to buy or what to make because you just go down the list. You don’t get into a funk of making the same thing all the time because you only eat a certain food once in the rotation.
Problem: I get sick of foods easily. There was no way I would enjoy repeating the same foods that often. Besides, I had more meals I liked than would fit in a three week rotation.
Solution: I grouped all the foods I make according to their type. For instance, I have a Casserole Day. On that day, I can choose between four different casseroles depending on the mood I’m in. That way I’m still going through a rotation, but there’s a lot of variety, and one month might be very different from the next.
I’ve been much happier and relaxed since I started the rotation, and my husband says he’s never had so much good food!
How to Get Started on the MEAL ROTATION SYSTEM:

1. Write down every meal you make on a regular basis. Don’t include special meals that you only make for guests or holidays. Include restaurants if you go there a lot (if your family eats pizza once a week, write that down). Include simple meals you eat too, even if it’s peanut butter and jelly sandwiches or canned soup.
2. Keep adding to the list as time goes by. Odds are you won’t remember all the meals you make off the top of your head, so if you cook something for dinner that isn’t on the list, write it down.
3. Organize the foods into groups. Perhaps you have several pasta recipes and would like a Pasta Day, for instance. If you wouldn’t want to eat two meals right next to each other because they’re too similar, they probably belong in the same group. 
4. Put all the recipes in one easy-to-find place (a Pinterest board, a Word document, or printed in a binder).
5. Next time you go grocery shopping, buy at least five meals at the top of the list. Post the names of the meals on your refrigerator so you remember what you bought. Once you’ve made and eaten them all, buy the next five.
6. Keep changing and adding to the list until it best fits your family.

On A Writers Journey, aspiring novelist Teralyn Rose Pilgrim talks about the excitements and disappointments that go along with her budding career. Currently agents are looking at her historical fiction about Rome’s Vestal Virgins.
teralynpilgrimm.blogspot.com