Meal Planning. You know you want to.

Okay, so this is something I've just started doing. I have a problem with going to the grocery store or farmers market, and being so freaking excited about all of the fresh produce that I buy way too much for my family of 3 (I know there are four of us, but really, one is on the boob, so he doesn't count), and I (we) end up wasting more than I would like to admit. My solution? Plan out your freaking meals. Easier said than done right? WRONG. It is so freaking easy people. You know you already spend half your day on Pinterest. You know you pin recipes all of the time. So take a couple of those recipes and make them you lazy bum! And give yourself a break for crying out loud. You're not a freaking Stepford wife. Only plan to make at the most 5 meals. Seriously. I know there are 7 days a week, but by only planning 5, you might actually do it. The other 2 days can be leftovers days, or pb&j's. Me? On those days I tend to make a salad. Salads are easy. Throw some lettuce on a plate and then put all the other crap you have lying around (apples, grapes, leftover chicken, leftover veggies, cottage cheese, almonds, hard boiled eggs, lunch meat... you get the idea) on top along with some oil and vinegar, and BAM! you have a salad. Easy peasy.

We do grocery shopping once a week. At which point I make a list of our everyday things. You know like, eggs, milk, bread, etc. So do that. Then when your done making that list, get on Pinterest (you know you're already logged on), find your recipes, and write down the ingredients that you don't already have on hand. Make a freaking grocery list people! On one side write what you need. On the other side write down the meals you're going to make. Now go buy your groceries! And do yourself and your wallet a favor, only buy the things on your list. That way you won't waste anything. Also since you only bought the ingredients for the meals you planned, you have no choice but to make those meals. Here's my list from this week:

(Sorry for the crappy photo. And NO I'm not making toilet paper for dinner it just got thrown on there as an after thought so I didn't forget it.)

It's so fancy. You know you're jealous.

Now slap that bad boy on your fridge so you don't forget what you're making this week.

***Make your life even easier. Make a board on Pinterest called "What's for Dinner." Search recipes from all over the web and pin them to that board. That way you don't have to go searching for your recipes when your ready to make them. They will all be in one space. You can even delete them or move them to another board at the end of the week so that you only have that weeks recipes to look at. Here's my recipe board if you're interested.

*****All of the recipes above are my own except for the pan enchiladas which you can find here. This is what I'm making tonight (if you have yet to check out Thug Kitchen, do it now. Gangster Vegan Chef? Be still my heart. You're welcome).