• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Peanut Blossom
  • Start Here
  • Recipes
  • Book Club
  • Cookbooks
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
menu icon
go to homepage
  • ABOUT
  • RECIPES
  • HOLIDAYS
  • BOOK CLUB
  • COOKBOOKS
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • ABOUT
    • RECIPES
    • HOLIDAYS
    • BOOK CLUB
    • COOKBOOKS
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
  • ×

    Home » Blog » Family Dinner Tips

    Simple Meal Planning in Minutes

    Published: Oct 20, 2013 · Modified: Jan 5, 2023 by Tiffany Dahle · This post may contain affiliate links.

    49.8K shares
    • Share
    • Email Friend!
    A meal planning pad with a pen sits next to a stack of colorful cookbooks.

    This brilliant meal planning trick takes just minutes and will help you save both time and money by streamlining your weeknight dinners.

    A stack of colorful cookbooks sits next to a pad of paper with a pen.

    I have a confession to make. I hate meal planning.

    You'd think a food blogger would enjoy picking out recipes to cook for her family, but it is possibly one of my least favorite chores of the week.

    I enjoy the cooking, I hate the choosing.

    Can you relate? Between managing your family's dietary restrictions and picky eating habits, sometimes setting a meal plan can make you lose the will to cook.

    Does this sound like you?

    • You feel resentful about the time wasted meal planning during the weekend when you'd rather be relaxing.
    • Hunting recipes feels like a chore.
    • The recipes you do find never fit your family's preferences.
    • You feel like you rely on take out or drive-thru too much.
    • You put off deciding what to make until right before you're in the kitchen to cook.
    • You know your family would eat better if you cooked more at home but it all just feels too much.

    Friend, I've been there. Especially when my girls were small and especially picky eaters.

    Jump to:
    • The 5-Minute Meal Plan Fix
    • Why This Works
    • The Best Nightly Meal Plan Themes
    • Soup & Sandwich Night
    • Taco Tuesday
    • Appliance Night: Crockpot, Instant Pot, Air Fryer
    • Pasta Night
    • Chicken Night
    • Meatless Night
    • Pizza Night
    • Date Night OR Family Snack Night
    • Casserole Night
    • International Night
    • Salad for Dinner
    • Grill Night
    • Breakfast for Dinner
    • Cookbook Night
    • Picnic Night
    • Ask Yourself These Questions First
    • Want Some Help?
    • 💬 Comments

    The 5-Minute Meal Plan Fix

    The solution to all your meal planning struggles is so ridiculously easy you're not going to believe me when I share it with you.

    And all it takes is this simple trick:

    Assign a theme to each day of the week.

    Why This Works

    I warned you. It sounds too easy.

    But this is why this meal plan strategy works:

    • 15 minutes: Once you have your weekly themes set, meal planning is just a matter of plugging in this week's picks on the appropriate day and writing your grocery list. You could do it once a week as part of your morning basket time.
    • Less decision fatigue: Want something different than what you ate last week? You've narrowed down your choices for each night which makes your decision go faster. Instead of beef tacos for Taco Night, maybe make chicken fajitas this week.
    • One trip to the grocery store: You've planned the week out, then do your shopping. You'll have everything you should need for a whole week!
    • No more mental agony: I keep my menu printed on the fridge. Keep yours visible and you'll never have to guess what's for dinner again. Better yet -- your family won't have to ask, either!
    • Easy prep ahead: If you're at home like me, seeing that printed reminder of what's for dinner on the fridge, you'll know exactly what prep work to do during small pockets of time throughout the day. Prep a veggie here, mix a marinade there, pull the pizza dough from the freezer for tomorrow.

    The Best Nightly Meal Plan Themes

    I'm going to share with you the meal plan categories that work best for our family.

    You can copy this completely or tweak it with your own clever themes. Be sure to check out some alternative suggestions at the bottom of the post!

    A meal planning pad with a pen sits next to a stack of colorful cookbooks.

    Soup & Sandwich Night

    Pair any soup with any sandwich. Add some fruit or chips if you feel the need to round it out.

    You can choose:

    • a store bought soup
    • make a homemade soup
    • thaw a frozen soup from your freezer

    The sandwich could be as easy as a pb&j or a grilled cheese or something that requires a little more effort like a sloppy joe sandwich or baked meatball subs.

    Want more easy suggestions?

    Check out my Soup & Sandwich indexes:

    • Soup
    • Sandwiches

    Taco Tuesday

    Shhh: It doesn't *have* to be on Tuesday and it doesn't have to be tacos.

    Pick one night for a Mexican food fiesta, you'll be sure that the kids will love at least one of your dinners!

    You can find my Mexican food index on my Cinco De Mayo party page here.

    But if you asked my kids, these are the recipes they'd point you to first:

    • A platter of rolled-up turkey taquitos sits next to a bowl of sour cream and a bowl of salsa.
      Crispy Baked Turkey Taquitos
    • A blue baking dish with yellow Mexican Street Corn casserole has crumbled cheese and fresh green onions sprinkled over the top.
      5-min Mexican Street Corn Casserole
    • A cast iron skillet holds ground turkey taco skillet with melted cheese and fresh green onions sprinkled over the top.
      One-Pot Taco Skillet
    • A white baking dish is filled with baked Mexican Rice. The tomato sauce base gave the rice a yellow-orange color. Hot sauce is drizzled over the top and fresh green onions are sprinkled for garnish.
      Homemade Mexican Corn Rice Kids Love

    Appliance Night: Crockpot, Instant Pot, Air Fryer

    Choose your busiest night and plan to dig out those time-saving appliances hiding in your kitchen.

    Not only will this ensure that they earn their keep, but you've likely forgotten how much they help to get dinner on the table quickly!

    • Crockpot Recipes
    • Instant Pot Recipes
    • Air Fryer

    Pasta Night

    I don't know about you, but my family could eat pasta every night of the week and be happy.

    Having a dedicated pasta night ensures that my kids will have at least one night of the week with something "easy" and 100% acceptable on their plates.

    Pair a new pasta dish with some garlic bread, Italian bread, or some breadsticks for a total crowd pleaser.

    • Pasta
    • Bread

    Chicken Night

    America's favorite protein for a reason: it is light and healthy, budget-friendly, and totally versatile.

    Plan one meal around this protein a week.

    Add a simple side dish like:

    • a bag of frozen veggies and/or frozen potatoes
    • your favorite rice dish
    • or top a salad with your chicken
    • Chicken

    Meatless Night

    Trying to eat less meat as a family?

    You don't need to go fully vegetarian to make an impact on your health and budget.

    Choose one night a week to skip the traditional meat and plan something with fish or no meat at all.

    • Meatless Recipes

    Pizza Night

    Many people turn to pizza out of desperation or exhaustion.

    This week, give yourself to CHOOSE pizza on purpose and add this easy dinner to your rotation.

    You can plan for:

    • a frozen pizza
    • order delivery pizza
    • play with a homemade pizza recipe

    We rotate through all three of those solutions.

    When we make homemade, here are some of our very favorite homemade pizza recipes:

    • Pizza

    Date Night OR Family Snack Night

    Plan a night completely off. Go out or order in but do it on purpose.

    If you're feeling up to it, I absolutely love to plan a night for homemade appetizers and hearty snacks.

    Especially during the holiday season, we enjoy making special treats to eat while we watch a family movie.

    • Appetizers
    • Dips
    • Snack Mixes

    Casserole Night

    With extra time on Sundays, I love to do a traditional roasted meat & potatoes meal or if we're busy having fun, a casserole fresh or from the freezer.

    This oftens buys me another night in the week where we can enjoy leftovers.

    • Casseroles

    International Night

    We love to eat a wide variety of foods: Greek, Chinese, Mexican, Thai.

    I didn't want to be forced to rotate through each of those themes every week, so instead we pick one night to try a fun make-your-own takeout or new recipe.

    • A serving of Chinese noodles with ground pork has green onions sprinkled over the top.
      Spicy Peanut Butter Noodles with Pork
    • Easy Chicken Fried Rice
    • A pita is wrapped around chicken gyro meat with fresh tomatoes and slices of red onion. The sandwich sits next to some fresh lettuce.
      Easy Chicken Gyros Wrap
    • A white plate has jasmine rice and a pile of honey garlic chicken thighs sprinkled with fresh green onions.
      Honey Garlic Chicken Thighs

    Salad for Dinner

    Plan for a big bowl of salad greens and just choose a new combination of toppings. This is the perfect solution especially for the warmer months.

    Want some inspiration on dinner salads? Don't miss my salad index here:

    • Salads

    Grill Night

    It's totally ok to switch up your weekly theme nights based on the season.

    During the warmer months, plan to fire up the grill with your favorite summer recipes.

    Plan a grill night for one evening with a salad night the next evening and you can use whatever leftover meat you have for toppings on your dinner salad!

    Need fresh inspiration? Don't miss my grilling index here.

    • Grilling

    Breakfast for Dinner

    We LOVE weekend breakfast foods but we rarely make time to do it.

    Why not plan a breakfast for dinner with delicious pancakes, waffles, an egg casserole, or breakfast sandwiches??

    Sample all the weekend brunch recipes you don't want to bother with on a lazy morning.

    • Brunch

    Cookbook Night

    Choose your favorite cookbook and work your way through as many recipes in the year as you can on one dedicated night.

    Or grab a copy of The Totally Awesome Ultimate Kids' Cookbook and have your kids make dinner one night a week!

    • Cookbooks
    • The cover of The Totally Awesome Ultimate Kids' Cookbook by Tiffany Dahle
      The Totally Awesome Ultimate Kids' Cookbook

    Picnic Night

    Pack a meal to eat from a cooler in your car when driving the kids on extra-busy nights.

    Here are a few of my favorite portable meals for busy nights:

    • A plate filled with Monte Cristo crescent rolls and a little cup of strawberry jam for serving.
      Monte Cristo Sandwich Pinwheels
    • An egg salad sandwich sits on a blue plate.
      Deviled Egg Salad
    • A serving of the chicken cheese roll up sits on a plate next to fresh carrots, tomatoes, and a veggie tray with dip.
      Bacon Ranch Cheesy Chicken Roll-ups

    Ask Yourself These Questions First

    1. What are my family's very favorite meals?
    If I had all the time in the world and the ingredients were handed to me on a platter, what would we enjoy eating? Make a list! Ask your husband and kids to chime in.

    2. Now look at that list, do you see any patterns?
    Are they all chicken? Then it isn't exactly helpful to have a "Chicken Night" because it doesn't narrow your options. You want to consider themes that help you make your weekly decision more easily. It should be broad enough to give you options but narrow enough to shorten that list.

    3. What do you need help remembering?
    I needed help remembering particular recipe sources and gear. Maybe you need help to remember to eat a new protein? Or to try a new recipe? Use one night of your themes to help be your Post-It note reminder to work towards your goals.

    5. Look at your schedule, which night is your busiest?
    Do you have more than one? Consider time-saving meal themes. For me that was the crockpot but sandwiches, simple pastas, even breakfast for dinner are all themes that would work with a constricted time schedule. Or heck, give yourself a "Drive Thru" night but be intentional about it. It's amazing the guilt it relieves.

    6. Which day of the week is best for you to grocery shop?
    Plan your weekly rotation starting either that day or the next. I meal plan on Sunday, shop on Monday morning, the week starts Monday evening.

    Want Some Help?

    Easy Meal Planning | Peanut Blossom

    Feeling overwhelmed? Sometimes even easy fixes can feel like too much.

    That's where I come in.

    Join my FREE email newsletter and I'll send you a printable meal plan sheet and walk you through the tips and tricks for making this system work quickly for you and your family.

      Built with ConvertKit

      More Family Dinner Tips

      • Hands reaching in to take slices of pizza on a family table.
        53 Family Dinner Questions that Make ANY Meal Special
      • An orange pot on the stovetop is cooking a family dinner.
        How Family Dinner Will Save the World
      • A photo collages shows several easy dinner ideas kids could make.
        Easy Dinner Ideas for Yo-Yo Nights {You're On Your Own!}
      • A metal can holds eating untensils on a table next to a plant.
        5 Family Dinner Habits to STOP Right Now {What to Do Instead}

      Reader Interactions

      Comments

        Share Your Thoughts Cancel reply

        Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

        Recipe Rating




      1. Leasa

        August 06, 2016 at 8:34 am

        Thank you for a realistic, real-life approach to family blogging! It's so encouraging to see some sweet imperfections and getting ideas for how to manage them, instead of the spotless, glossy beauty of "amazing meals and photos of my kids enjoying every one of them!" THANK YOU! Can't wait to start implementing!

        Reply
      2. Nicole

        July 14, 2016 at 11:39 pm

        This has been so helpful! I too, had been a skeptic of themed nights for our family menu, but after reading your detailed explanation, it makes so much sense. I am excited to try it! Thanks for the tips.

        Reply
      « Older Comments

      Trackbacks

      1. Delicious (and Quick!) Cheesy Ranch-Chicken Biscuit Casserole says:
        September 24, 2016 at 12:34 pm

        […] back in session, and I’m already struggling with finding time to make dinner. Even with smart meal planning to know what to serve, I still find myself grappling to get dinner done and on the table, as […]

        Reply

      Primary Sidebar

      Hi, I'm Tiffany!
      I believe a great family recipe is one that makes everyone at the table happy, not just the kids. I'm the author of two bestselling cookbooks for kids that are chock full of recipes everyone in your family will love. I'm also the hostess of the best online book club for moms.

      More about me →

      What's Trending Now

      • A photo collage shows the variety of recipes that can be made in a bread maker.
        50 Best Bread Machine Recipes
      • A blue baking dish filled with mac and cheese with bread crumb topping. A serving spoon has removed a portion to show the creamy elbow noodles.
        Make Ahead Mac and Cheese
      • An airfryer basket has 7 seasoned chicken tenderloins golden brown and cooked.
        Healthy Chicken Tenderloins in the Air Fryer
      • Two salmon filets are surrounded by fresh green beans in an air fryer basket.
        How to Cook Salmon in Air Fryer

      Popular

      • A freezer-friendly metal pan holds an 8x8-inch apple crisp with crumble topping.
        Freezer Friendly Apple Crisp
      • A stack of the best books for book club in 2023
        Best Book Club Picks 2023
      • A taco salad made with mini frozen tacos.
        10-minute Trader Joe's Meals
      • A young kid's hand is holding a homemade pizza lunchable.
        30 School Lunch Ideas for Kids
      • A collage of easy dinners for busy nights.
        30 Quick Dinners for Busy Nights
      • A photo collages shows several easy dinner ideas kids could make.
        Easy Dinner Ideas for Yo-Yo Nights {You're On Your Own!}
      • A meal train dinner kit featuring supplies for tacos sits in an aluminum tray for delivery.
        30 Clever Meal Train Ideas with Recipes
      • Harry Potter themed snacks are in a platter with a witch hat sitting next to an open copy of a Harry Potter book.
        21 Harry Potter Snacks for Movie Night

      Footer

      As Seen On

      The Taste of Home Logo
      The Pioneer Woman Logo
      The Country Living Logo
      The Buzzfeed logo
      The Good Housekeeping Logo

      About

      As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

      Contact
      Privacy Policy
      Disclaimer

      Favorites

      Bread Recipes
      Soup Recipes
      Quick Dinner Recipes
      Harry Potter Fan Club
      Reading with Kids

      Holidays

      Easter Recipes
      4th of July Recipes
      Catholic Celebrations
      Thanksgiving Recipes
      Christmas Recipes

      Recipes

      Appetizers
      Dinners
      Salads
      Side Dishes
      Desserts
      Brunch
      Homemade Pantry

      ↑ back to top

      Copyright © 2023