How to Prepare Dinner for the Week
Assess your personal situation., Read advertisements from the local paper to see what's on sale at your local grocery store., Plan your dinners for each night at the beginning of the week, choosing entrees that will fit in the criteria you defined...
Step-by-Step Guide
-
Step 1: Assess your personal situation.
Before you begin you must understand what will or won't work for you.
Answering these questions first will help set the stage for planning weekly dinners ahead of time.
When is the best time of the week for you to do the grocery shopping? Do you have enough refrigerator/freezer space to hold a week's worth of food? Do you have a specific time of day that works best for everyone to eat? How much time can you dedicate each evening to cooking? Do you have a food budget you need to stick to? -
Step 2: Read advertisements from the local paper to see what's on sale at your local grocery store.
Knowing what's on sale can help you plan the dinners and save you money. , You can research recipe ideas on the Internet, or in cookbooks.
Pay attention to total cooking times, which many recipes list at the top, as this information will help determine if you will have time to cook the meal. , This is the master list you will use to shop for groceries.
Consider organizing your list to follow the set up of your local grocery store, which may save additional time when shopping. , Write down any staple items on your list that need to be replenished, such as milk, eggs, or butter. , If you make a ham one night, look for recipes that call for ham in different ways for the next couple of nights.
This option will take a lot of pressure off you by cutting cooking times significantly while still offering variety of food choices. , Optimally, you should only shop once a week.
If possible, shop early in the morning on the day you go, which generally is a less busy shopping time. , Whether it's chopping vegetables or setting the table, anything you don't have to do can cut down on prep time.
If you have children, this is a terrific opportunity to take the mystery out of cooking and help them develop cooking skills they will need as adults. , Save each week's menu plan in a file, and use them again in the future.
Having a ready-made plan can be very handy in the future.
Once you build a big enough file, you may only have to repeat dinners rarely if you so desire. -
Step 3: Plan your dinners for each night at the beginning of the week
-
Step 4: choosing entrees that will fit in the criteria you defined above.
-
Step 5: Write down all the ingredients you will need for each dinner on a central list.
-
Step 6: Take an inventory of your pantry
-
Step 7: refrigerator
-
Step 8: and freezer before you go.
-
Step 9: Use leftovers whenever possible in your menu planning.
-
Step 10: Visit your local grocery store to purchase the items on your list.
-
Step 11: Ask family members to help in meal preparation
-
Step 12: including cleaning up before and after.
-
Step 13: Recycle your menu plans.
Detailed Guide
Before you begin you must understand what will or won't work for you.
Answering these questions first will help set the stage for planning weekly dinners ahead of time.
When is the best time of the week for you to do the grocery shopping? Do you have enough refrigerator/freezer space to hold a week's worth of food? Do you have a specific time of day that works best for everyone to eat? How much time can you dedicate each evening to cooking? Do you have a food budget you need to stick to?
Knowing what's on sale can help you plan the dinners and save you money. , You can research recipe ideas on the Internet, or in cookbooks.
Pay attention to total cooking times, which many recipes list at the top, as this information will help determine if you will have time to cook the meal. , This is the master list you will use to shop for groceries.
Consider organizing your list to follow the set up of your local grocery store, which may save additional time when shopping. , Write down any staple items on your list that need to be replenished, such as milk, eggs, or butter. , If you make a ham one night, look for recipes that call for ham in different ways for the next couple of nights.
This option will take a lot of pressure off you by cutting cooking times significantly while still offering variety of food choices. , Optimally, you should only shop once a week.
If possible, shop early in the morning on the day you go, which generally is a less busy shopping time. , Whether it's chopping vegetables or setting the table, anything you don't have to do can cut down on prep time.
If you have children, this is a terrific opportunity to take the mystery out of cooking and help them develop cooking skills they will need as adults. , Save each week's menu plan in a file, and use them again in the future.
Having a ready-made plan can be very handy in the future.
Once you build a big enough file, you may only have to repeat dinners rarely if you so desire.
About the Author
Brittany Anderson
Creates helpful guides on crafts to inspire and educate readers.
Rate This Guide
How helpful was this guide? Click to rate: