How to Start Meal Planning With Kids

One of the hardest parts of being an adult it’s deciding what you’re going to cook every day.

And it gets even harder when you add kids to the equation.

I remember a very busy day keeping up with young kids,

Then that 5 O’clock rolls by and I realize…

I don’t know what to make for dinner!

Then the last-minute scramble begins

A lot of stress happens

Whew

Dinner is achieved!

But not easily

Thankfully, this is not my life anymore

With meal planning dinner is:

Less stressful
More budget-friendly
Faster
Less wasteful
And I don’t need to answer the question “ what’s for dinner?” all the time

This is how I started meal planning with kids.

meal planning with kids can be simple! — Take the time to write out what you are going to make and what ingredients you need

1. Choose Meals Before You Hit The Store

Choosing your meals for the week is where most of the time happens.

Don’t worry, it gets easier as you practice

Figuring out how many meals a day you’ll be making.

And adding each to the calendar for the week

For example, I cook three times a day

I cook a quick, simple, but yummy breakfast

Lunch is usually either a cold recipe or something I can make in the air fryer or waffle maker.

And then dinner is my fanciest meal out of the three

The better you plan now, the easier it will be for the rest of the week

Saving money with food bill is a win win! Less food waste and less money spent/ — Shop the pantry first to see what you really need to buy

2. Shop Your Pantry First Before Adding Ingredients To The List

Once you know the meals that you want to make for the week, and the ingredients you need to make them.

Shop your pantry first

You can even do this before making your meal plan so that you can use the things in your pantry.

Well, this does add a little time to your meal planning, it’ll be worth it so you don’t end up with 4 bottles of ketchup!

I have been there and done that!

When you’re shopping at home first, you truly know what you have and what you need to buy

I used to try to go by memory but it didn’t work too well for me

This helps reduce food waste and your food bill

And since you are meal planning with kids, get them involved!

3. Stay Flexible, But Not Too Flexible

Just like anything with kids, meal planning with kids requires some flexibility

Be willing to move the meals around the calendar if needed

So if you had a nicer dinner plan today but nothing is going right…

Maybe switch it with the easy dinner tomorrow

Stay flexible and willing to go with the flow of your family

But don’t be so flexible is that you don’t follow the meal plan

If you know that you have a hard time cooking, plan meals that are easy to set yourself up for success

If you make the decision to start meal planning with your kids,

Don’t disappoint yourself by quitting

cooking favorite meals should be part of meal planning with kids — Remember to cook the favorites!

4. Choose Meals That Your Family Enjoys

Sometimes, people try to jump into meal planning with kids and healthier eating at the same time

Healthier eating usually comes with meal planning, but one thing at a time

Big changes to routine or lifestyle can be hard to stick to

Make one little change and then another

So if you’re going to start meal planning first, choose meals that your family actually enjoys.

Don’t make meal planning mean that your family doesn’t eat their favorite foods anymore

The more you can set yourself up for success, the more likely you will have success

Meal planning with kids is hard enough…

Take one small step at a time.

5. Choose 1 or 2 New Recipes To Try a Week

There are very few things more disappointing than spending time and money on the recipe that you do not like

This could be very discouraging when you first start meal planning with kids

Also, dinners can get very boring if you just have the same thing every single week

The solution?

Choose one or two new recipes a week to try

You can either add them to the yes pile

Or decide that the family doesn’t like them

Either way, you have tried something new but once again did not try to overwhelm yourself

6. Teach “Not Every Meal Will Be Your Favorite”

Kids can be super hard to cook for.

While nothing can take that difficulty away,

Teaching kids that “ not every meal will be your favorite” can help

It is not possible to try different things and always eat your favorite food every time

So if your child tells you that they do not like when you’re eating, say that you understand and that not every meal will be their favorite

But maybe tomorrow they will have something that they like more

Some kids may accept this and others may have a harder time

But it’s a good thing for them to understand

Make meal planning with kids fun and it will be easier to stick with it! — Make meal planning with kids fun!

7. Try Day Themes For Some of The Days!

Theme days may work great for your family or they may not

Some families love Taco Tuesday

When 1 or 2 days a week have a theme,

It makes the planning process easier because you don’t need to come up with different meals for everyday

You already know that you’re going to have tacos on Tuesday

If this is something that works for your family then great!

If not, don’t stress about it

Themes of the day are only supposed to make things easier and more fun

If they are not easier and fun for your family then just move on

The easier meal planning with kids is for your family, the more likely you will stick to it.

Do what works for you!

8. Be Realistic

Anytime you make a new habit, being realistic is extremely important

Realistic looks different for every family.

I have been cooking every day for years

So what’s realistic for me would be different than what’s realistic for a family that usually gets take out 5 days a week

Pay attention to what you want to achieve, like cooking everyday

And pay attention to where you’re starting

Take it one step at a time

Maybe you start by cooking two meals a week

For me, my goal was to start making breakfast everyday

I have been making dinner every day for years so that is not anything different

But breakfast is always been kind of a free-for-all in my family

So I’m starting with a goal of making breakfast 4 times a week

Once making breakfast 4 times a week is just part of normal life,

Then I will bump it up to breakfast everyday

You will make more progress setting and achieving small goals then you will by setting big goals and giving up

9. Post The Meal Plan For The Family To See

One of the things that is often very annoying is when the whole family asks over and over again “what’s for dinner?”

Then you tell them and they don’t seem pleased

When you make a meal plan, make it visible to the whole family

If you have young kids then it doesn’t really matter but the older they get the more they understand

When you post your meal plan for the family to see, nothing is a surprise

They already know what you’re making

Getting everything done on a hard day with kids — Hard days are going to happen, but they are easier if you are ready for them

10. Plan For Those Days When Nothing Goes As Planned

This is one of my number one tips for meal planning with kids

Plan for when nothing goes as planned

Because it will happen

Some weeks and it my only happen once

And some weeks it will feel like the whole week is just off the rails

So plan for those days when everything seems to be falling apart

Have easy meals ready to be made

Even if it’s just box mac and cheese with some corn and ground beef

If you have uh oh meals ready,

Then that just makes those stressful days a little less stressful

7-Day Meal Plan For Families

To give you an example, I am going to share one of my 7-Day meal plans.

Remember just to take what you need and take inspiration but don’t feel pressured to do anything exactly how I do it

When you are meal planning with kids, each family will do something a little different.

If you reach your goals, does it really matter if you did it exactly how you “ should?”

Monday:
- Breakfast: bagels with cream cheese and bacon
- Lunch: grilled cheese and tomato soup
- Dinner: grilled chicken and zucchini pasta
Tuesday:
- Breakfast: cheesy scrambled eggs with sausage
- Lunch: peanut butter banana toast
- Dinner: carne asada fries
Wednesday:
- Breakfast: scrambled eggs toast and bacon
- Lunch: turkey pinwheels with pretzels
- Dinner: Air fried pizza
Thursday:
- Breakfast: fruit and vegetable smoothie
- Lunch: corn quesadillas
- Dinner: taco soup
Friday:
- Breakfast: cream cheese Bagels
- Lunch: mac and cheese waffle
- Dinner: wet burritos
Saturday:
- Breakfast: scrambled eggs
- Lunch: turkey pinwheels and pretzels
- Dinner: shrimp alfredo pasta
Sunday:
- Breakfast: fruit smoothies
- Lunch: peanut butter and honey toast
- Dinner: chicken burgers