In a Dinner Rut? – Biggest Meal Planning Struggle
The Dreaded Dinner Rut is another meal planning struggle that many moms deal with on a regular basis. When I asked my followers about this subject Jen said, “not cooking the same thing all the time” and Abbey mentioned, “standard go-to’s being overused.” So here are a few tips to help with this struggle.
Track What You are Eating
As they say, “What get’s measured, gets managed!” So here’s a tip – Print out a monthly calendar and place it on the fridge or use your monthly planner. Write down what you have for dinner each night. You will start to see trends and then areas where you can switch it up. At the end of the month, you can place this calendar in your recipe binder and it can act as a pre-made meal plan for the future. Looking for dinner ideas? Look over the past few months for meals you had forgotten were a family favorite and plan it into your next meal plan.
Ask Family & Friends
Needing inspiration? Ask your family members what 3 meals they would like to have this month. Then you can put them on the menu plan, grab the ingredients needed the next time you are at the grocery store, and even enlist their help in the kitchen the night you are going to make it.
Also, ask your fellow moms what they have been making lately for dinner. You may find some new favorites from your friend’s kitchen.
Try Different Ingredients
If you are having chicken multiple times a week look at some different cuts of beef, pork, ore even some seafood to mix things up a bit. Also try some different vegetables to try as side dishes can also change things up. This is one reason buying from places like Farmhouse Direct, Bountiful Baskets, and even the organic vegetable/fruit boxes for Azure Standard can be so popular as you never know what exactly will be in the boxes and it forces you do expand your cooking selection!
Look at the grocery store ads for the week to see what’s on sale and then head on over to Pinterest to find some recipes ideas for those ingredients.
Theme Nights
Theme nights are a great way to get out of the dinner rut. You can think of different ethnic foods such as Italian Mondays, Mexican Tuesday, Asian Wednesday or different cooking methods of cooking like using your Instant Pot one night, the slower cooker another night, grilling on a weekend night (if the weather is nice), from the Freezer Night, Sheet Pan Dinner Night, and One-Skillet-Meal Night. Just remember to switch up your types of protien so your family isn’t eating chicken or beef 3 nights in a row.
Check Out a Meal Plan
If you find yourself in a dinner rut and having a hard time getting out, it might be a good idea to try a meal plan. This way your meals for the week and shopping list are already done for you including new recipes. I have a four week meal plan already done for you with weekly meal plans, shopping lists, and 28 recipes!
