Yes, I {heart} Pinterest. I always have. I suppose I always will. I use Pinterest for so much. I'm one of those "copy-catters" with a twist. I get tons of inspiration from Pinterest for decorating, organizing, parenting, food, and everything else! So, it should come to you as no surprise that I use Pinterest for my meal planning. Yep! I've been using it for awhile now and I've had some pretty good outcomes as a result. I'm going to share with you how to make it work well for you and find really good recipes that are going to be a hit with your family AND plan your meals - something we organized people like to do!
Did you know that planning your meals in advance can save you both time and money? Yes, it can. Here are my tips for meal planning with Pinterest:
Did you know that planning your meals in advance can save you both time and money? Yes, it can. Here are my tips for meal planning with Pinterest:
- Have a grocery shopping day: If you are possibly able, find a day/evening of the week you do the bulk of your grocery shopping. I go once a week. I used to go every other week, but with a teenage son who eats me out of house and home I have to go every week. I go to Costco every other week, but my main grocery shopping is weekly on Wednesday mornings - which is generally the best day of the week since it's less crowded in my grocery store than most days.
- Make a day each week you meal plan: If you grocery shop weekly, then meal plan weekly. If you grocery shop every other week, meal plan every other week. Adjust it to fit your schedule. Make it a habit. If it's the night before you grocery shop or another day. But use your calendar - I use Cozi and it sends me reminders so I don't forget.
- Use your grocery store mailer when choosing dinner: When you choose what to make, find what is on sale at your grocery store that week. For us, meat is the main part of most dishes so I'll find what meat is on sale. We buy a lot of our grass fed beef at Trader Joe's or with a local coop so those don't always go on sale and our free range, organic chicken is at Costco. Other things I look for in the grocery mailer are side dishes that will be good with the main dish that are on sale.
- Have separate pinboards on Pinterest: I have an "Organized Dinner" pinboard, "Organized Side Dish" pinboard, "Organized Crock Pot", "Organized BBQ" pinboard, and "Organized Dessert" pinboard. All of these help me. I am on Pinterest a lot - probably more than most of you. So, when I see something that looks do-able, I pin it into one of my categories.
- Follow Pinterest Boards of Friends and Bloggers: If you have a friend who pins good recipes, follow them. Follow any of my board if you like what I pin. I'm careful what I select - I make sure that what I pin has a source {99% of the time, cause sometimes I hurry and don't do that}. Some of my favorite foodies to follow are:
- When looking for recipes, be careful: Be careful not to choose ones that have a hundred ingredients. Ok, so most don't have that many, but try to look for ones with ingredients you mostly keep on hand or few ingredients - like 8 or less. This usually means it's easy and you can do it for less.
- Print any Pinterest Recipes that you loved: Once you make a "family approved" recipe from Pinterest, be sure to print it up. Sometimes you find a great one and then can't find it again OR the site you find it on goes down or something {I've had it happen a few times} and you can't access the recipe! I keep them in a nice notebook - here.
Have you ever used Pinterest to help you meal plan? Do you ever plan meals or do you just wing it?
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