My 30 Meal Plan

I got the 30 Meal Plan idea from a blog I follow regularly. It is a great idea!


The first step is to gather 30 recipes that the entire family likes. The reason for 30 is so ideally, you can have a different meal every day of the month. We actually have more than 30 recipes. Some are seasonal like for instance, we had vegetable soup the other night. This recipe probably won't be picked in the summer. We will also probably have steaks or burgers more in the summertime than in the fall or winter.


After you have a selection of recipes (you can add more at any time), put all of them on recipe cards. I created a template and color-coded them. I have one color for beef recipes, a different color for chicken recipes, one for pasta recipes, and another color for recipes that don't fit in any of those categories. This way we don't accidentally end up with a week of all chicken. It seems to work well for us (then again, we are WAY more planned and organized than the average bear!). I laminated all of the cards and punched a hole in the corner. They hang on a bulletin board in our kitchen.


In the blog I got the idea from, she suggested making a table with all of the ingredients that are used. We didn't do this step. It is a great way for others to organize their shopping trips, but we already have a grocery list that is broken down in categories that match up with the aisles in the grocery store (I told you...). Each week before we go to the store, we pick out our meals and write the ingredients on our shopping list.


I made a cute little recipe card holder that is attached to our fridge with a magnet. This box holds all of the recipes for the week. Once I've made one of the meals, I put the card back on the bulletin board, in the back of the stack. Here is my card holder:




Like I said, this plan works well for us because we both work well with a plan. If you are the type of person that just goes with the flow and has a hard time sticking to a plan, this is not for you; don't waste your time! If you DO decide to go for it, have fun! Here is what we are having tonight:

Honey-Mustard Chicken
Ingredients:
1/3 c. Dijon Mustard
1/3 c. honey
1 T. dried dill
1 t. grated orange peel
2 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Combine mustard and honey in small bowl. Stir in dill and orange peel.
3. Line baking sheet with foil. Place chicken on pan. Brush sauce on top of chicken; coat well. Turn chicken over and brush with remaining sauce.
4. Bake about 30 minutes, until juices run clear.