If you are tired of thinking about what to cook everyday, preparing weekly dinner menus will definitely help you.
"What's for dinner?" is a question we have all heard and used practically everyday in our life. And the reaction to the reply will almost always be, "Not again!" or "I'm not really hungry.". People who cook regularly will agree that deciding what to cook everyday is much harder than the actual cooking.
In today's fast-paced life, where hamburgers, sodas, and high carbohydrate foods have replaced fruits, vegetables, and milk, it is very important to have a balanced diet.
However, eating a balanced diet does not mean it has to be repetitive and boring. It is possible to have a variety of meals that are easy to make and healthy at the same time. The easiest way to achieve this is to plan weekly dinner menus.
Weekly dinner menu is a simple concept. Basically, you have to plan your dinner ideas ahead of time. For healthy dinner ideas, you also need to plan your grocery shopping ahead. This makes it easier to shop for your groceries at one time, without running to the store everyday.
Besides that, you can spend a little time every week to think of the week's menu, and then not worry about it. It also gives you a chance to make a balanced weekly meal menu. If you have a high carbohydrate meal on Monday, the next day you can balance it out by having a light soup and salad. The key is to have a variety that provides all the right nutrients.
Preparing weekly food menus also helps to cut down on your grocery bill by a significant amount. The reason being that if you go to the grocery store everyday or every couple of days, you are bound to pick up unnecessary items. In addition, planning ahead helps to make use of the grocery sales.
Another way to save money is by using the price book system. A price book system is a concept developed by companies to keep track of their product price. You can either find a price book online or make your own. Now you can decide which item is on sale. You could also save money by using grocery coupons.
For a variety in the weekly meal menus, it's not necessary to make dishes that are complex. It is possible to make simpler weekly dinner recipes even by using leftover meals in the fridge. For example, use the leftover grilled chicken for chicken enchiladas the next day.
You just need a little creativity. While deciding on recipes, select the ones that have the ingredients that your family likes. There is no sense in making something you know they will not like.
You needn't follow the weekly menu strictly. If you planned a particular dish and you aren't in a mood to cook, you can always be flexible and switch the meals around to suit yourself. That's the beauty of this meal plan. You can include all your family members while planning to come up with suggestions which will definitely be a hit at the dining table.
Weekly Dinner Ideas
Monday
Chicken Enchiladas, refried beans, and mexican salad
Tuna casserole
Mexican chicken with white rice and tortilla chips
Tuesday
Mushroom pizza, with pineapple and yogurt salad
Bacon and cheese quiche with home fried potatoes
Baked pesto chicken with pasta and garlic bread
Wednesday
Grilled fish with zucchini, tomatoes, and chinese cabbage salad
Vegetarian lasagna with italian bread
Roast chicken with mashed potatoes
Thursday
Red Thai chicken curry and rice with salad
Baked ziti with tossed salad
Spicy shrimp with broccoli and rice
Friday
Egg noodles and vegetable soup
Cheese burgers and potato salad
Baked ravioli
Saturday
Lemon couscous with garlic lima beans
Chicken cheese quesadillas
Fish sticks and noodles
Sunday
Chilly tacos
Chicken noodle casserole
Tequila shrimp with steamed green beans
This is one example of a weekly dinner menu. You can also have theme nights to make it interesting and to let your family members know what to expect.
Mexican Monday
Tofu Tuesday
Soup and Salad Wednesday
Thai Thursday
Fish Friday
Stir-fry Saturday
Chinese Sunday
Now that you have an idea about weekly dinner menus, it will be easy to come up with one that suits your taste. There are also various services available where they specialize in making menus and recipes for you. This will help you save time and money, and you will see happy faces all around the table.