5 Ways To Get Out Of The Same
Meal Plan Rut
Do you ever feel like your cooking the same things for dinner? I am sure breakfast and lunch may look the same as well! I know personally that if I don’t switch it up some, it becomes boring and dull. Then we find ourselves going through the fast food window a couple of times out the week. Which can add up very quickly! Let me share with you 5 ways to get out of the same meal plan rut and liven up your weekly meals for you and your family
1.Cookbooks
My favorite way to get out of the same meal plan rut each week is to simply pull out the cookbooks. I enjoy looking at all the beautiful pictures of recipes in them. It always inspires me to try something new.
The physical cookbooks may be a little old school because so many recipes are online now. To me, it is something about a physical copy and a cute cookbook stand that just make you feel like your about to do some serious cooking in the kitchen.
Different places that cookbooks can be found without spending a lot of money are:
- The library (found some great ones!)
- Dollar Tree (for $1.00 is amazing and best finds ever)
- Thrift stores
- Yard sales
- Local discount stores
- Family & friends (that simply do not want them anymore and that’s FREE)
I usually find 2-3 recipes to try out during that month so I will not shock the family from their regular favorites or overwork myself. I found for me newer recipes always tend to take a little longer the first couple of attempts. Once you get the swing of things, it is a breeze.
2. Pinterest
My next favorite is Pinterest! My goodness, all the possibilities! Never go on Pinterest when you are hungry. You’re just setting yourself up when you do! Pinterest is so helpful when looking for new, healthy, authentic, crockpot, freezer, party or special occasion type of meals. You name it, they got it!
I really like to create different boards for different food ideas/types. For example, when I purchased a new bread machine I created a board for that and crockpot meals. It is best to separate your food boards because they can get so large and it becomes difficult to find what you may be looking for.
I have a sour cream pound cake I have made many of times and it always takes me a couple of minutes to track it down on Pinterest. So, I learned the difficult way to categorize my food boards.
3. Cooking Shows
Cooking shows are great at getting you up and ready to try something new, especially how easy and effortless the professional chefs make it seem like.
Seeing the cooking in action certainly motivates me to try their recipes for myself and get out of the same meal plan rut. Leaving my mouth watering, wishing I could taste and smell the food through the television.
YouTube is full of wonderful meal planning ideas from breakfast to lunch packing and dinner ideas. Whatever your dietary needs maybe it is on YouTube. Some great channels that have wonder lunch packing ideas are: Help Mommy Remote, Grady’s Mom, and Helen H to just name a few.
YouTube also has great channels that remind you of a cooking shows. Just a few of my favorites are Divas Can Cook, CookingwithCarolyn and iHeartRecipes the list is endless.
4. Online
Online is a great go-to option! Everything is online these days and there are a ton of meal recipe ideas online, but I found sites that I enjoy such as Kraftrecipes.com and Pillsbury.com has quick weekly meals for the family. FoodNetwork.com and Allrecipes.com are some of the family favorites that I make over and over again.
When I find one that is worth printing out I place the page in a sheet protector, then place it in a binder. This system keeps them all together in a certain place so that I can find them faster. Reaching for our favorites in a binder makes holiday cooking a little simpler. This is why I love the physical copy of a recipe, it is such a pain sometimes to keep wiping your hands off before touching your electronic device. Maybe I am the only one! For me at holiday baking time comes around and you have to keep unlocking or waking the laptop up from sleep mode can get bothersome after a while.
5. Ask My Family
In addition, I love to just simply ask my family what they would like to have for dinner. Most of the time they say the same old, same old! That is when I must mention something we had not had in a while. This takes the guesswork out of the meal planning rut and it is their favs!
Majority of the time they are quick meals that are fast to put together and do not cost a lot of money. That is certainly a plus, in my book!
Make a go-to list of your family favorites for quick reference. Keep it in your planner, command center, bulletin board, recipe book/planner so you will not forget where you placed it. When you are stumped on what to make for dinner or meal plan that week you can look back on those recipes and make a quickie meal plan.
It is so easy to get out of the same meal plan rut just as it is to keep eating the same meal over and over again. With a little planning, some inspiration and creativity will get those meals planning ideas flowing. Your family will get excited to see what is next on the menu and keep them guessing for more. You will certainly be on track with the help of these 5 ways of getting out of the same meal plan rut.