Grocery Shopping and Meal Planning

 

I think everyone I know has a different method for meal planning and grocery shopping. I use an old fashion calendar. Everyone gets to choose and make at least one dinner per week, and when we run out of something or think of something we would like that is not usually on the list, it is supposed to be written in the blank spaces. It gets harder to find spaces to write as we get closer to the end of the month, but the system seems to work for us. 

This is a system that just kind of evolved over time. I used to be all over the place. I would go to the store and buy a bunch of stuff that I would know the family would eat and hope to have what I needed to make meals. This meant we had basically no variety in our meals. When I tried to add a bit a variety, but the kids would make gagging noises rather than eat it. Eventually, I made two rules about the dinners. (1) They had to eat at least one bite of everything on the table. (2) If they made disparaging noises or said it was gross, they had to eat a regular portion. This made this meals a bit more enjoyable, but the boys still complained about what they "had" to eat. Rather than fight with them, I decided to have each of the kids choose at least one meal per week. At first, the rule was if they didn't choose a meal, they couldn't complain about what was being made. Eventually, it turned into them having to choose at least one meal per week. 

In the fall of last year, I had a bit of a breakdown and ended up in therapy being told that I needed to have everyone else in the house help out with the household responsibilities. The main thing I wanted help with was making dinner. Chad now cooks two days a week, and the kids each cook one day a week. There have been times when I have cooked for them like when they are sick. 

Overall, this works for us. I have been told that it wouldn't work for other people mostly because they don't like to eat on a schedule. Eating on a schedule is what this family needed.