This giveaway is now closed! The winner is #560 Shannon!
Hi, Organizing Junkies! I’m Tyra, and I blog over at Ucreate Foods. I’m so grateful to Laura for inviting me to be here and talk a little bit about how menu planning has changed my life.
Those are my words, not Laura’s. Sounds kind of overstated, doesn’t it? I have been known to exaggerate. Not this time, though. Menu planning really has changed my life.
The idea of menu planning had never really appealed to me all that much for some reason. And I love all things organized, so I can’t really explain why. I guess I just always pictured myself up into the wee hours of the morning with a dull pencil and a sharp headache, yanking at my hair over the impossibility of trying to forecast what sorts of fare will sound good to my family three Thursdays from next.
Thank goodness my sister-in-law encouraged me to get together with her to make one of these:
It’s a menu planning board made from a 12X12 frame, both the inside and the outside of which is magnetized, allowing me to have all my possible menu choices right there within reach to play around with when I sit down to organize my month. (I gotta’ tell ya, this system is more like playing a game than doing any sort of work.) They’re pretty, too, so I hang the nice-looking board up right in my kitchen and refer to it (and am accountable to it) when making my grocery lists and addressing “what’s for dinner?” requests.
I’ve been planning monthly menus for about three months now, and I can honestly say that I do not know how I functioned without this menu planning system. It’s so simple, really, to sit down and play around with my menu items for 15 minutes (or less) once a month. I would never have believed that something this fast & simple could bring such rewarding daily results. I can vaguely remember the remorse every afternoon when I put my twins down to nap, thinking, “Okay, well, now I guess I have to start something for dinner”, when what I’d really rather be doing involved crafting, cleaning, organizing, reading or napping myself during this precious time.
Now that I have my menu board and I know what’s for dinner, I usually start putting things together during the clean-up from breakfast (if it’s a crock pot dinner or something with rising times or long simmer times) or lunch (if it isn’t). My kids are generally pretty content during these times, and it allows me to get all my chopping, measuring, kneading, marinating and sautéing accomplished, making it possible for me to – in literally minutes when it counts – bring it all together right on time. This has effectively opened up pockets of time during the day for accomplishing other important tasks. Like having a bath.
When I first imagined this project, I worried that my menu would be restricted by the number of items on my board. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Once I finally got everything organized, I find there are actually MORE things I can make because I don’t have to try to plan around things outside my control, such as meat thawing , dough rising or resting, and long slow simmer or bake times. Small investments, those being the negligible amount of planning time once a month and very small amount of daily follow-through time applied in the execution of this system, pay dividends in really helping me feel like I’ve got everything together. We are eating out of a box much less regularly, are using fresher, healthier ingredients, and are sitting down and actually enjoying our family dinners because getting it on the table is no longer a source of stress for me.
Menu planning with my magnetic menu board has taken almost 100% of the stress out of not only meal decisions but also shopping and meal preparation. We waste less food because it is purchased with a purpose and utilized before it’s forgotten. My kitchen is cleaner, because I’m able to clean as I cook, to the extreme that I usually have the mess from preparation cleaned up before we even sit down to eat. This makes post-dinner clean-up go so much more quickly, leaving me more time to play with my kids in the evening.
I could go on and on, but I won’t. I think I may be preaching to the choir here anyway. Let it suffice to say that I could never go back to my old way. I’m a true convert. And that’s why I recently did a giveaway on my blog of some custom-made magnetic menu boards. Look how cute & versatile they are:
At the time, Laura was kind enough to feature the boards and giveaway on her site, and I got so much traffic from her I felt the need to offer to make one for her as a thank you for the feature. Well, I was pretty impressed (but not entirely surprised) when she said that rather than have one herself, she’d like to offer to do a giveaway for her readers. I was more than happy to oblige.
This giveaway is for a distressed two-tone magnetic menu board custom painted with your choice of base and top coats, and including up to 50 of your family’s most often-used menu items.
You’ll type up your menu items in a list, email the list to me with your color selections for frame and paper, and will soon receive your adorable magnetic menu board with 60 menu items (I’ll add a few items labeled “leftovers”, “eating out” and some labeled “something new” for those gotta-try-it-now recipes you find on Menu Plan Monday and Ucreate Foods!) Thanks so much for your interest…I can’t wait to see how your menu board turns out!
To enter, simply leave a comment on this post prior to Thursday, January 27th at 11:00 am PST telling me what your favorite part about menu planning is. Haven’t given menu planning a try? No worries, simply tell me what’s holding you back. Winner will be selected at random from the comments received.
Good luck everyone!
I love the freedom of less frequent grocery visits!
Oh my gosh-I LOVE this. This would be so much easier than the paper one that gets food spilled all over it. Gorgeous!
For me, the best part is having control of knowing my family will have a nutritious meal, and that we will be able to eat together, regardless of how wild and crazy the rest of the day might be.
Menu planning has saved me money with fewer visits to the grocery store, and less eating out. I work a split shift so menu planning is also easy because I come home on my break and start to prepare what we are having for dinner, and that way when I get home part of dinner is already prepared. I would love to win this menu planning board!
I am just getting into menu planning and I love not worrying about “what’s for dinner?” Love this menu planning board!
WOW !! I LOVE LOVE LOVE THESE!
What a brilliant idea! I’m working on my menu for this week and it’s always a frustrating task. I love this idea!! Thanks for the chance to win!
I love so many aspects of this board! Its simple and this way everyone knows what’s for dinner!
I would love one of these boards, meal planning has has saved my life, I am mommy to 5, and I believe meal planning brings calm in the storm of life 🙂
i love menu planning! but i don’t….often….whats holding me back? a way to keep it in the forefront of my busy weeks instead of it getting lost in the shuffle.
I have tried menu planning and find that it helps me stick to my budget so much better! If i have a plan I can thaw meat, make preparations ahead of time and avoid the “oh crap, what’s for dinner” rush that so often ends in a run for fast food! I guess my biggest obstacle is my kids’ picky eating. Maybe if I involved them more we could overcome some of that.
I really enjoy cooking, but I do not like feeling stressed about throwing something together at the last minute. I’ve planned menus all sorts of ways: 1 week, 2 weeks, a month. Planning by the month really is better! I’ve kinda lost my motivation, though. Having a gorgeous Menu Board would really help. : )
I love menu planning! It keeps me organized and on budget! I love the menu board.
Wow that is a really awesome idea. I started Menu planning last year. There were times were I would slack off but since Oct we have not missed a beat. I can honestly tell you outside of not having the headache of knowing what we are having the decrease in my weekly budget for groceries is amazing! It really has helped us tremendously in this very difficult economy. Thanks for a great giveaway! Very creative
I’m a stay at home mom with two small children. I want to give menu planning a try, but feel overwhelmed by the concept of it. I always say I’ll give it a try, but end up saying to myself, “Where do I begin and how do I even get started?” I’m afraid that I’ll start planning, but won’t stick with the program. Inspiration has gotten me this far, to your webpage, perhaps using a magnetic board would help me tremendously. Hope to be the winner. 😉
I am doing my first month long menu plan this month and would ditto every comment you made above. Peace of mind through the day has been my favorite part so far. These are adorable by the way!
Such a cute idea and execution! LOVE your menu boards!!
I love menu planning because it saves me stress and money – coming in the door with a plan instead of searching the fridge/freezer/pantry is such a relief.
I’ve never done menu planning before but would like to start. The “what’s for dinner?” question everyday has become so stressful that I was commenting to my sister I don’t even like to think about meals anymore. I think this would help tremendously! I also believe it would help me to shop with a purpose and save money which I definitely need to do now!!!
wow these are gorgeous. I love knowing what is for dinner ~ and exactly what to buy at the store (which saves me money and I like that too!).
We’re only planning a week at a time right now ~ this would really allow me to get more variety I bet ~ since I can never think of anything new when I sit down Sun morning to make the list and plan.
I love that I don’t start hyperventilating around 4:00 every day. It makes life much more stressfree!!
My favorite part about menu planning is knowing that I am making healthy, homemade dinners for my family. I love knowing ahead of time what I am making so I am not stressed out, and can make sure that after a hard laborious day at work my husband has a hot meal to come home to. I truly gives me joy because I’m taking care of my family (and not to mention it gives my husband joy when he sees how much money we save by planning meals!).
Las Animas Helping Hands helps people that are in a crisis with their basic life needs of assistance with: keeping their utiltities on, food, prescriptions, gasoline to get to a doctor appointment or work, free transportation to medical appointments, free income tax preparations, budgeting, and consideration of every request to help in their crisis. I have been wanting to start some classes helping to make meals faster and more nutriously. I would love to offer one of your boards as an incentive for coming to the class….any other ideas would be welcomed. We are a 100% volunteer organization. We are the 4th poorest county in Colorado and would appreciate any assistance you can give us.
I haven’t given menu planning a try, BUT, I keep saying I NEED too. This looks like such a great tool for our family of 6! We need help in planning dinners. I would love to win one of these menu boards. Blessings, Julie
Menu planning is essential to curbing chaos in my house. There are six people in our family. I love menu planning. I don’t have to stop and think about what to fix or what sides to fix and if I have the right ingredients and what I need to shop for. With my menu planned out, I do my grocery shopping accordingly. I know exactly how much I need of everything and then I just pull it all out and cook. I LOVE to cook. I have recently started cooking healthier and from scratch for our family, so I need to give my menu an overhaul. This would be a great, motivational way to do it!
I love menu planning because it frees me from “dinner amnesia” (the-oh-crap-I-have-to-feed-these-people-again-as-if-it’s-a-surprise syndrome). I started menu planning most of a month at a time back in April to try to cut our grocery budget, and it’s worked so well!
I am in love with this idea! And the fact its magnetized is just awesome!!!
I need all the help I can get. Honestly, I’m not good at menu planning. I think my biggest hangup is finding great tasting, easy, inexpensive recipes (I’m not the best cook either).
These are great! Not only functional but they look awesome. Maybe if I were using one of these my hubby, who does most of the cooking, would stop calling me to ask what’s for dinner!
I have never tried menu planning…basically because I don’t know where to start. We are a military family of 4. I have two daughters that are extremely busy in the evenings, and a husband that comes home late often. I would love to be able to have dinner on the table and out of the way in a timely manner. It would mean so much to me to win this menu board, because it would give me the tool to start in the right direction!
My favorite part is finding new recipes. We have some food allergies & strong food dislikes, so finding new recipes that appeal to everyone is a fun challenge for me.
Great boards!
Haven’t tried menu planning because I never seem to be that organized, but I would love to give it a try.
No more dreading all day long what I will need to figure out for dinner! I grocery shop every 2 weeks, and don’t have to make any last minute trips (more like emergency trips!) to get dinner on the table each night. And not making those extra little trips several times a week saves us a lot of money.
I love to menu plan because it helps me avoid the drive-thru, and we don’t have many choices for those! My husband and I are both returning college students and we have 3 kids, one of which is also in college with us. Our lives are crazy and we are broke! Planning is the only way I survive.
LOVE LOVE menu planning. I plan monthly and then sometimes when months are a little more crazy and we don’t use everything I throw in a freezer/pantry clean out month. Those months the meals don’t always go together much as I would like but that way at least everything doesn’t go to waste.
Oh my, these are so cool. Thinking I might have to buy one if I don’t win. 🙂
Yeah, I hate menu planning and I hate cooking. So that is why I suck at menu planning. I homeschool, care for 3 kids, clean, and am a wife but the one thing I totally hate about this role is cooking and menu planning. I don’t even think I could come up with 50 recipes if I tried because my kids have sensory issues and they hate everything…sigh. Yet, I’m willing to give it a try. Not sure where I’d hang this, but it looks pretty cool.
What an awesome idea! Love it!
Saving time and money by not having to go out to eat because it is 6:00 & I have no idea what to make for supper !
My favorite part of menu planning is not having to worry about
“what’s for dinner?!” at 4pm! Also, planning means having my ingredients on hand and not having to trek my 3 kids (4 and under) out to the grocery store so frequently to get those last 2 ingredients I need to pull dinner together! I am only planning about 1 1/2 weeks in advance, that that is why the board would be so great- I would be motivated to step it up to a whole month!
I love to plan my menu each month. I have been in a funk since October and have not done it so this would be wonderful to get back on track!
I am the stay at home mom of 4 very picky kids. I have hesitated to menu plan b/c of their very picky diet. Seems I keep serving them different things they won’t eat. I would like to be able to start giving them a varied diet, but sometimes it feels like a waste of time to try to make a change when the only ones who eat the meals are my husband and I. Help!!!
Meal planning helps us to make healther choices for dinner!
oops.. meant healthier
Not a good menu planner. What’s holding me back? Um … disorganization? Yes. Disorganization, most definitely. :/
I am fairly new to menu planning, but loving it! There is a feature in my planner to plan out meals for each day. I am very happy with how it has helped with grocery shopping!
I don’t menu plan as often as I should, but I love that fact that when I do, there is absolutely no stress about worrying about what’s for dinner!
I used to love to cook and now, most of the time, it is a dreaded chore. Menu planning has helped a lot, but I have been neglecting it in my notebook (out of sight, out of mind). A super cute menu board hanging in the kitchen would be motivation to start menu planning again 🙂
Have contemplated it but always feel overwhelmed. Picky eaters and eating the same things over and over again. I do sit and look through the fliers but get stumped. 3 of us eat anything I cook and 3 of us only eat certain things. Drives me crazy to make make 2 full meals every night. With Laura’s help I have started on the organizing road and hope to keep making things easier and this would help and get the frustrations out becasue all would have a say.
I have been an off and on menu planner. I know that it’s amazing when I sit down and do it. But I have to sit down and write everything out and try to remember what my family likes to eat. Then when something doesn’t work out I have to erase stuff and rewrite/plan for a week or two. It would be so much more easy to have the magnetic board. If something went astray, then I could just shift the magnets and be done. Plus, it is way more cute than a notepad hanging on the side of my fridge! Oh, I hope I win!!! Thanks for the chance 🙂
BeeeeYOUtiful board!!
I kind of have a hit and miss approach to menu planning, mainly because it’s just me, but I would like to have a better handle on my food purchases and menus, not only for the convenience (of having what I need to make something on hand) and the cost effectiveness of it(I throw out so much food that goes bad before I use it) but also for the healthy aspect of it also.
I try to do a weekly menu plan and love having it written out and done, but I usually write it in chicken scratch on a teeny tiny piece of paper that ends up missing within 2 hours! A memo board is a perfect solution and having it for the whole month even better!
Thanks for the opportunity to win one!
I don’t use a any menu planning ideas. I usually just do the same meals but would love to start using a menu. this is a very creative way to do it. If i don’t win, would love to see a post on how to make one. Thank you.
Haven’t made the time to menu plan but have made. It a goal to thus winter!
I LOVE the idea of menu planning but have been unsuccessful in every attempt. I want to be freed of the “What’s for dinner?” conversation that takes place EVERYDAY! Menu planning will free up time spent at the grocery store and hopefully provide daily well balanced meals for my large, busy family!
I started menu planning this new year and got “sidetracked” when I was put on bedrest for my twin pregnancy. So this board will be super handy once I have two brand new kiddos added to the mix!
I usually try to plan a weekly menu, but I recently had twins and feel like I cant find time for much of anything these days. Reading how you have twins yourself and this board was a life savor gave me hope.
Helps me stick to my grocery budget & keep from over buying
I like the time factor–of having more of it. Thanks!
This beats my paper calendar method which I just hang on the fridge. Planning the menus means I know exactly what I need to get at the store and I don’t come home with items we won’t use or eat.
I like menu planning because it saves me money at the grocery store. I know EXACTLY what I need to buy!
There is something about the supper hour that makes a toddler fall apart. Menu planning means that I am ready for supper and my toddler!
The thing I love about menu planning is that it’s soothing. It’s fun to try to come up with different recipes & to know what I’m cooking and which day. It takes the stress out of my life.
My favorite thing about menu planning is getting the family involved. I’ll ask them every couple weeks “what would you like to have for supper within the next few weeks.” They like to have their favorite foods and I don’t have to pick all the menus!
Menu planning helps me have more time to spend with my little one! Not having to worry about what to make for dinner is wonderful, especially on the days I work.
I almost never make a menu plan. When I do, I love the fact that I know I won’t be making hundreds of extra trips to the grocery store to pick up things I need for tonight’s meal that I didn’t know I needed.
I have occasionally menu planned, mostly a week at a time. Never for a whole month. I would love one of these boards. What holds me back from meal planning more regularly…I think the inability to visualize the future. This would help, plus with all the magnets, it would already be all thought out for me!
I hope I win. I need this.
I try to menu plan but I don’t always stick to it. The best part for me is knowing exactly what I am making for dinner and then having all the ingredients on hand. I menu plan before the grocery so I’m set for the week and I only have to make one trip out.
I’m fairly organized (O.K….maybe a smidge OCD) but menu planning makes me tired! As one of ten children, I often recall what my mother had said about meal planning; “It’s not the preparation and clean-up that I dislike inasmuch as deciding what to make!” I think she would have loved one of these boards. I would, too!
My favorite part is all the money we save! And not having to come up with a plan for dinner at 5 pm!
I like that we eat healthier when we plan our meals. Thanks! This looks great!
I love menu planning because it limits the number of trips I have to make to the grocery store, giving me more time to spend at home with my family.
I’d love to talk to you about menu boards! I emailed from your site, but it was returned. Email me at [email protected] and we can chat! Thanks!
Menu planning prevents me from eating out or eating frozen pizza b/c I waited too long to figure out what on earth is for dinner! It also saves money and prevents me from buying too many things I don’t need at the store! Love the boards! =)
I love menu planning, I love not having to scramble around the kitchen trying to figure out what the heck am I going to create. I have been menu planning for the last 5 years and am currently using a white board that i have morphed into something similar, but the idea of magnets are just too cool!
I like having a list of the 7-10 things I can concoct from supplies on hand. Ends the endless blank staring into the pantry/fridge/freezer. 🙂
I love not having to worry about what is for supper, because I already know. I can eat better throughout the day knowing how much my supper will be out of my daily allotment of pointsplus values. It gives me peace.
I love having the opportunity to teach my daughter so many lessons just through planning our meals together. I love the idea of the menu board. I wouldn’t have to hear, “What’s for dinner?” every night! 🙂
I love menu planning it takes the stress out of “What’s for dinner?”
Your board is soooo cute!!!
I’ve planned weekly menus for some time now, but I LOVE the idea of planning monthly. The best part of menu planning is only having to think once a week about what to eat…I can only imagine what just thinking about it once a month would be like! So freeing!
These are beautiful, and organized. My heart is going pitter patter. Sure beats the Sponge Bob paper pad I’ve been using for the past year! Thanks.
We eat out so much less frequently…which saves time and money!
I like knowing what I’m having for dinner when I get home from work. No frantic looking through the cupboards & fridge! So far, I’ve only done 1 & 2 week planning and wonder if one month would be easier!
Menu planning takes a bit of the stress out of my day because I don’t have to wonder at 3pm what I’m making for dinner at 5pm. It lets me know in advance to pull something out of the freezer.
I like that I don’t have to throw out food at the end of the week, because I forgot that I bought it at the store! Much less waste in the long run!
what an ADORABLE giveaway!! 🙂
my fave part of menu planning is 4:30 every day. i get to breathe a sigh of relief and know that i have every ingredient needed to get dinner ready. no need to rack my brain, search allrecipes.com or run to the store in a panic!! menu planning has saved me SO much time and stress!!
[email protected]
I am definately more likely to actually make a real dinner if I have a plan! Rather than missing important ingredients, you are all ready to go.
I have done menu planning off and on over the years; recently taking it up again. I love that I don’t have to think about what is for dinner each day and then wonder if I have the ingredients on hand. The other bonus to menu planning for me is that I know what I am looking for when I go grocery shopping; which saves me money!
Love the magnet menu board – such a clever idea!
This is a fantastic idea! I get VERY anxious every afternoon trying to decide what to make and this might help me to actually ENJOY my afternooons 🙂 I have recently begun to try organizing meals around the specials at the grocery store in an effort to shave off a large amount off my grocery bill, and this would make that so much easier. Much better than sitting at my kitchen table staring at the circulars and wondering what the heck i can make using _______. Please pick me! I need all the help I can get!
I love meal planning. My week runs so much smoother and it makes grocery shopping a snap!
My favorite part of menu planning is how easy it makes grocery shopping. I know what I need and how much and my grocery bill is far less than when I try and shop without a plan =)
What a great idea! I love menu planning because, like you said, I can get a head start on thawing meat, letting bread rise, etc. to make cooking from scratch easier. Right now I’m working on compiling a list of tried-and-true favorite recipes because the hardest part of menu planning for me is, well, planning the menu. This board will help immensely!
My favorite part of menu planning is leafing through my cookbooks for new ideas 🙂
I love the idea of knowing I can prep ahead as much as possible. Menu planning makes dinnertime less chaotic!
I’ve been wanting to start menu planning for awhile but have had a hard time getting organized. This would be the perfect way to do it!
I love this magnetic menu planner! When I’ve tried menu planning in the past, I loved how it helped me to buy only what I really needed and throw less away. I never stuck with it for long though because I wasn’t very good at organizing it in a way that didn’t just turn into a mess. I got frustrated with my pages of scratched out ideas and arrows all over the place to show where a meal had been moved. Thanks for sharing your idea!
The best part of menu planning for me is that my husband is all about it. He loves when I plan our meals because it helps us stay home more, eat out less, and eat even better!
This looks great! I have tried to menu plan in the past and do well for a time before “falling off the wagon”! The magnetic menu board would make it much more fun and it looks great too!
I love this idea and you’re right its pretty. It was recommended to me to do menu planning for my weight loss initiative because it would be easier to shop, have things on hand, and prepare better nutritious meals for work without expense of eating out.
I have such a stumbling block to menu planning and end up going to the grocery store 5x a week! Something like this is exactly what I need!
I generally dislike meal planning, even though I realize that when I do it, it ends up saving me tons of work. I like being able to look at my calendar and see what I am making for supper – so simple.
I guess I least like choosing something to make, but once a week I dutifully pull out my calendar and make choices for the upcoming week, make my shopping list and buy ingredients for those meals. I often end up switching things within the week because I already have the ingredients, but it is far easier than trying to be creative with supper at 3pm every day 🙂
Charlotte
My favorite part about menu planning is saving our family time & money. I like to plan out our weekly menu from our pantry. I stockpile so it helps me use what we’ve already purchased. This planning helps my children know what’s for dinner, without asking me 90 times 🙂
I love your menu board, what a fantastic idea and super great giveaway (crossing my fingers, you pick me!!!)
I am not a very good menu planner, but I really want to be. I have tried different methods of planning but have not found the right or what seems to be easy for planning meals for my family. I would love to try this method of plannig. I love the fact that my family can also be involved.
Oh I am gonna NEED one of these!!! I have been trying to menu plan for at least a year- but have been pretty hit and miss thus far (exactly WHY it is such a daunting task for me is anyones guess- I’m an organizational FREAK!)… I digress- this menu board would change my life!!! (for reals!)…
I am a newby at meal planning but am really liking all of the benefits (just as you have discovered!). I am happy to have dinner started and on its way before I used to even start thinking about what to make. My husband and kids have been so happy with the change too! I love making them happy.
Thanks for the giveaway!
I have planned a few times and my life is so much easier when I do, but I don’t know why I can’t stick with it.
I’m just learning about menu planning, and thinking about giving it a try. My only problem, is that I’m a single mother of one child, and I work till 7 4 days a week so it’s hard to do this.
I love knowing just what we will be having for dinner instead of that 5 o’clock frantic rush.
I love knowing what we’re having for dinner days in advanced, and knowing that if something comes up – like an unexpected dinner guest – I know what we’re serving and don’t have to make a mad dash to the shop!
I have been doing menu planning for about a year and it is amazing! I don’t dread cooking dinner now, because I have a plan! I would enjoy this magnetic menu plan board SO much! Thanks for the opportunity!
I have “JUST” started menu planning thanks to Laura’s post a few weeks ago recommending a homeschool mom who laid it out step by step for me…I’m LOVING it…I would LOVE, LOVE, LOVE one of these…too fun!!! I’d probably bless my sister with it though cause it’s her birthday month and I’m getting her on the menu planning band wagon too!!! LOL
My favorite part of menu planning is knowing what we’re going to have each night and not spending so much time thinking about it in the moment. I also love organization so it’s fun for me to sit down once a week with my cookbooks and the weekly ads to figure out how to put it all together into tasty and healthy meals. I do a lot more experimenting now rather than just relying on the standards.
My favorite part of menu planning is that it removes the stress of frantically trying to figure out, at 4:00 P.M., what to cook for my family of seven for supper. While I don’t enjoy the actual process of menu planning, I love the result!
Love, love, LOVE the magnetic menu planning boards!! So cute and such a great idea!
My menu planning hold back is lack of recipes to choose from!
even though meal planning takes some time to do up front it saves me mr time each day than i invested at the beginning. A clear head also helps during the weekly rush. I know exactly what i’ll be doing!
Love this board!
My favorite part of menu planning is that if i plan well, the meals we have are healthy. Plus we don’t waste a lot of food when we plan ahead.
I love those!
I’ve done weekly menu planning but I’m not consistent. I’m usually good for about 2-3 weeks then I fall behind and I’m back to “what’s for dinner tonight”? I just started trying 2 weeks out but a month would be awesome!
Thanks for hosting a great giveaway. I have been menu planning for years and I can’t imagine living without it. It is easy to do and saves so much time and frustration, not to mention money. So many good things come from menu planning that it only makes sense to do it! ~~Rhonda
I love feeling organized and put together. I’m a planner by nature and I just feel so much better knowing that the meals are all planned out for the month.
I like using items from my stockpile to sae money. Love these boards ~ hope I win!!!!
WOW I love this!! My favorite part about menu planning is avoiding the 4:00 PM panic of what is for dinner!
The best part of meal planning for me is how much less stress there is around the dinner hour when I know I have a plan. I have 2 young boys so when they are hungry, they are hungry NOW. So, having a plan helps me get dinner ready at a reasonable time.
I do weekly meal planning at the same time I make out my weekly shopping list. This lets me look over my grocery store sales flyer (go Publix!) and my calendar and plan accordingly. Some meals are planned for specific days (such as something simple on youth night, just to get us out the door), but some days I just glance at my options that morning and decide what sounds good or will work best. Either way, by planning as I make out my grocery list, I ensure that I will (usually) have all the ingredients I need. Two favorite things about menu planning: having a plan, and saving money by having ingredients on hand.
Oh my goodness- I love menu planning- and this option is WAY cuter than my list on a piece of paper hanging on the fridge! we are building a new house and this would go GREAT in my brand new kitchen 🙂
I love being in control of my grocery shopping when I menu plan. I am sooo much more frugal when I have a plan!
I love menu planning because of how much time and money I save! Also, my family eats out SO much less since we have a plan. 🙂
I sort of hate menu planning. But I love it if is done. The weeks I do it I do love it. 🙂
These are adorable. I love the first one (pink/beige).
I’m lost when I don’t meal plan. We end up eating badly or getting take out because I didn’t know what was for dinner.
When I plan we shop for what we need so we spend less too, less stress as I don’t have to worry about it and I almost always leave a day free so that I can shift a dish if I need to due to unexpected events. If nothing crops up then we just fill in that day with breakfast for dinner or use up leftovers 😉
I love meal planning! That being said, I’m terrible at it. But I’m so tired of seeing it’s 4:30 already and wondering what I should cook for dinner. So it is a New Year’s goal of mine to meal plan so I would LOVE one of these!!! Right now my meal plan is on a one page 8 1/2 x 11 calendar on a white sheet of paper. This would be a wonderful upgrade for me and my family of 6! Thanks!
I’m terrified of the work of planning menus ahead, but think that a tool would make it easier
Menu planning makes home cooking SO much easier. The menu planning only takes me about 15 minutes on Sunday nights. It cuts down on so much stress before dinnertime.
This is so pretty! How generous to give one away.
I love menu planning but my system is far more basic 🙂
Cute, cute idea! I may have to “borrow” it if I don’t win. My favorite part of meal planning has to be eliminating the dreaded “It’s 5 o’clock. What can I make?” panic. My shopping list is easier because I know what I’m making, too.
I like that menu planning allows us to spend less on food because we know what to buy in bulk.
oh how I would love this! Such a clear idea!
I used to be a big menu planner, and it was wonderful. I fell off the wagon when we made some lifestyle and dietary changes and my family was eating all a bit different. We are all on the same page again and this board might be just what we need to get back on the wagon!!
Great idea! Thanks for the generosity!
Love to menu plan- major time and money saver! I feel so accomplished when it is all said and done.
My favorite part is that part that you have planned and therefore have everything you need to put your dinner together. It’s beyond frustrating when you get halfway through a recipe and find out you don’t have a key ingredient!
I love the no-brainer-ness to menu planning and enjoy (99% of the time) the thrill of digging in my pantry, fridge, and freezer to see what needs using up. Then matching those items to what’s on sale at Publix. Let’s not forget how awesomely fun it is to come home with a trunk full of Sam’s stuff and prep a bunch of meals for the freezer. I even love telling people at work about it and watching the light-bulb expression when they realize OAMC/OAWC is genius.
These look amazing! I would love to have one to help kickstart my efforts to menu plan. I try to form a plan, but I get all perfectionist and think it has to be just right, even the first time. This would force me to make a list of meals we make, and like. That would be a good first step! 🙂 When I have write it down, I plan much healthier, well-balanced meals!
This is the cutest menu planning system I have ever seen! How awesome! I would love to win this! Great idea!
I’d like to win the menu planning board for my little sister, Holly. She is an Air Force nurse who works nights. She has two children at home, and leaves for work before suppertime, returning after they leave for school. Because she is not at home for dinner, the kids often eat frozen or ready-to-eat meals. They can cook, if they just knew what to fix! Having a plan would help them eat more healthy meals.
My favorite thing about menu planning is how much time it saves me when I prepare a grocery list. Also, when I post it the kids don’t have to ask me “what for dinner?”
So much less stress when you have a plan! I only plan by the week, but this would really help me go ahead and conquer month planning which I have wanted to do, but have been a little overwhelmed by it 🙂 thanks!
I am a stay at home to 4 wonderful kids. I somewhat menu plan, but no to this extent. I usually make a “menu” of meals for the month but dont put them on a specific day. BUT I love this idea, it is so cute and cleaver. I would love to win it.!!! I love making homemade dinners.
I made menu magnets but this is a great way to use them
What a great giveaway!! I love not having to make so many trips to the grocery store!
I like knowing exactly what’s for dinner before coming home from work.
Thanks for the giveaway!
What is holding me back is i am more of a free spirit. I cook what i want when it feels good. But recently i have noticed that this method is really costly, especially since i have lost my job and need to organize my life a little better. Especially finances. So i saw this post and thought that is a great way to get me in a budget, and to know how much i spend on food and plus have it right in front of me! Great job on the magnetic boards (i love magnets) i have them all over my fridge.
I often menu plan for the week but can honestly say I’m a bit overwhelmed by the idea of menu planning for the month. I suppose that would be better for buying meat in bulk but the thought seems scary.
The most positive impact of meal planning for me has been less eating out. There’s no more panic at 4:00. These boards are lovely, hope to win 🙂
I have attempted just menu planning for a week, but somehow end up getting screwed up with some schedule change. Planning for a month would be awesome, I wouldn’t have to worry so much, could prepare my family ahead of time of what to expect (with picky eaters this might help them actually eat) plus I would love to know what I could make ahead of time (say with another meal) to make the next meal easier and less stressful. With kids, I hate boiling water or sauteeing with them hanging around my legs because they are so hungry and when will dinner be ready. And oh, to have a cleaner kitchen, that would be a dream come true.
I love only shopping one time for a week’s worth of meals and not having the dreaded “what’s for dinner” question.
My husband is the cook in the family, and he comes home at 5 and has to figure out the answer to the dreaded “what’s for dinner” question. I think we’d like to menu plan to simplify shopping and make that time after work a little more relaxing for him.
what adorable boards! I’ve been menu planning since September and I totally agree with your feelings on how much this has changed our lives… it is amazing!!!!
Would really like for menu planning to work for me and my family. It just seems so complicated….
I would love to win this! I guess you could say that I menu plan; I think about it at the end of each week as I make my grocery list for the next week. How nice it would be to have a menu board for the month!!!
I plan meals for the month but don’t plan them for specific days. I think we would waste less recipe specific ingredients if I had a day set for each meal instead of just picking what sounds good each morning. This board would be awesome!
What’s holding me back? I just don’t know where to begin. It seems like it takes me forever to try to do a plan and then it falls thru mid-week. I’m still searching for a meal planning system that works for me.
I love menu planning because it saves me time and money. Simply put.
I love that it make creating a shopping list much easier and faster. I also hate when dinner time rolls around and I don’t know what I’m making if I haven’t created a menu.
This will make it so much easier to actually menu plan as opposed to not being able to remember what I like to make and losing the little paper I wrote the plan on all over the kitchen – such a great idea!
That is so neat!!! I hope I win!
Ooops! Should read the directions before I posted 🙂 My favorite part of menu planning is to not have to come home from work and try to figure out what to make.
I love meal planning! It takes the guess work out of every meal! And my family ALWAYS knows what’s for dinner! My plan is not as fancy so this would be perfect for me! 🙂
I’ve just gotten started menu planning by the week and hope that someday I’ll be able to do it a whole month at a time… I love the time and energy it saves me at the end of the day when I get home, I don’t have to think about what we have in the pantry and what to make for dinner.
I keep thinking that menu planning is such a great idea, but I just can’t get started. It seems to exhausting to get my head wrapped around. I would LOVE to have one of these to get me started in the right direction!
I love love menu planning because 1-it saves so much money at the store and 2-I feel so prepared all the time, no rushing around to figure what I can easily put on the table before hubby gets home, but mostly because I love to create new dishes and I usally add a super easy meal to the list for the kiddos to help with too.Love it:)
Are you taking international entries? I used to make menus but I haven’t for a while. I should get back to it. My favourite part about menu making is not having to think everyday what to eat.
ohh cool!! I love this idea. I like menu planning because it takes away the “what am I going to fix for dinner?” scramble.
I just started menu planning, and the very best thing is that I know EXACTLY what to get at the grocery store, instead of shopping on my old plan (called “I like this and this and this and this.”) It makes me feel great to be on my way through the checkout knowing that I got only what I needed and that I have everything I need for a week!
Those look amazing!
My goodness! I could TOTALLY use something like this! I love the idea of organization (especially when it comes to family dinners), but lack the discipline and materials to do so. Something cute like this, so organized, and easy to use is something that could totally motivate me! =)
Plan meals ahead of time? Just the thought gives me the willies. As you can imagine, my husband is not happy. The funny/crazy part is we are in the middle of remodeling our kitchen!
Can I share my least favorite thing about meal planning instead? I don’t enjoy sorting through my recipes and cookbooks every week to figure out what we’ll be eating. It takes too long and I’ve often thought I would love if someone else just chose the meals for me. With a 1 year old and a 2 1/2 year old, there’s not a lot of time to meal plan. I would love one of your awesome boards to save me time and keep me more organized. Planning meals would be so much more fun then.
I love to be organized but with my 3 kids I feel like it’s a bigger chore than it should be, maybe something like this could jump start my want to do better with the dinner menu…and what a cute idea this is! 🙂
When actually do menu planning, it makes a world of difference. Dinner always stresses me out, mostly because I have to think about what to make. Menu planning takes that stress away making for a much better evening.
I would love to have one of those boards! Wow. I wish I was better with menu planning, I love it when I do have meals planned for the week – sometimes I just feel overwhelmed!
I love the idea of menu planning and have recently started to dabble with it because I don’t have a car and have to do my groceries once a week when I do visit the store. This has forced me to be more conscious about what I buy so that I’m not left hungry at the end of the week.
However, one of the biggest problems I’ve run into, which makes me hesitant to try new recipes is that I cook for only myself and have a difficult time with planning for how much food I really need to buy. What ends up happening is that I have a lot of leftovers that then skews my next weeks groceries. I always seem to have too much or too little which leads to frustration. Hopefully as I learn I will be able to eliminate waste in budget and food.
Your boards are adorable!! I currently menu plan but only on paper. It takes the stress out of my evenings when I get home from work.
I have to plan ahead with 5 children whom we homeschool and a husband who works 24 hr. Shifts at a time. Also, last year I was on bedrest for 7 months. Organization was the key! I would love a menu
board to help make life easier.
Menu planning should be easy, but I never can think up easy stuff to make and I get bogged down into trying to find new recipes when I need to work on some old standbys (which I don’t have many of). These boards are so cute and I would love one!
We do plan weekly menus, but this board would take it to the next level!
I love menu planning because if my kids want to know what’s for supper then they can go right to the menu calendar to find out 🙂 No more “what’s for dinner mom”!!
I love so many aspects of this board! Its simple and this way everyone knows what’s for dinner!
My favorite part of menu planning is actually having a plan. To actually sit down adn look ahead to see what everyone’s activities are and on those days when the time to create a meal are just minutes my menu plan comes to the resuce. To be able to know that I can confidently make everything on my list and know that those ingredients are on hand and I don’t have any last minute trips to the grocery store or the last minute question… What do you want for supper where everyone says they don’t care. I am not a big fan of menu planning but I am so super thankful for when I do it. I am just in a rut with recipes lately 🙂
These are so great! Wow! My favorite thing about menu planning is that it just makes life easier. I know what to buy at the store, what needs to be done ahead of time and I know what to say when my kids ask me what’s for dinner.
As a Mom of 4: 2 teenagers, 2 1/2 and a 5mth old I could not manage with out planning ahead. I also like to make what my family enjoys. It helps us stay on budget and eat healthier.
I love these menu boards!!! They take a lot of stress out and help the whole family be involved with the menu. My favorite part of menu planning is being able to try new recipes!
Thanks for the contest!
the magnetic meal planning board is so incredibly cool. i just checked out your link to figure out how to make it and i think its a little too advanced for me– i’m not that crafty. so i need to win! my favorite part of meal planning is how easy it makes my week go. dinners are no stress. it allows me to avoid multiple trips to the grocery store too. i go on one big grocery store run on the weekend and then occassionally have to pop in for additional fruits and vegetables.
Thanks to blogs like this I have been menu planning for about 4months. I can not BELIEVE how much simpler it makes my life! A magnet board like this would be the perfect addition to my kitchen =).
your SIL should sell these on etsy!!
I have been menu planning for several months now. I just saw this magnetic board idea and LOVE IT!! I would love to have one in my kitchen. It would be so much better than my paper one that I made to use.
What a ingenious idea! I want/need/must have 1 of these. Thanks for the chance.
My favorite part is that it has really helped me save money when grocery shopping! I go with a detailed list and stick to it and the food gets used. I love these boards! They are so cute!
I’m a part time meal planner, but I think it’s because my recipes are such a mess, this would totally help me streamline my thoughts. I’m a visual person, so this would be great, love that it looks cute too. When I do menu plan, I do find I cook healthier foods and spend less money at the store. Win-win in my book!
Before having my baby last April, menu planning never entered my mind because I worked right next to a Grocery store. This enabled me to decide on the fly what I wanted to make for supper that night. Hop over to the grocery store at lunch and pick up my ingredients.
In April, I had my little baby bean and was 45 minutes from the nearest store. I quickly started trying to organize a menu. 9 1/2 months later, I feel that my meal planning has evolved and is ready for when I go back to work and will have to manage family and work life.
This menu board would look gorgeous in my kitchen and would really speed up my menu planning process, which right now involves magazines, cookbooks, spreadsheets, printed calendars, a pen and a whole lot of head scratching.
I love knowing what we’re having for lunch and dinner that week. No worrying, no fretting, it’s all right there!
The best part of menu planning is being able to provide a wide variety of foods and saving money at the grocery store!
I seem to be able to menu plan for 2-3 days but that’s about it. This would be a really fun way to really plan ahead and get some input from the family!
Thanks for the opportunity to be a winner!!
That is AMAZING!! Right now I use paper and pen and it’s NOT pretty!! 🙂
Thanks for chance!! Crossing my fingers!! 🙂
COOL!!! I absolutely love the idea! Gorgeous & functional! I like not having to think about what’s for dinner every single day. I just consult my list. I would love, love, love, love, love to win this!
I don’t plan menus because I got out of the habit of doing so when it was just my husband and me at home. I just look at the ads and what coupons I have and try to get the best deals.
New to menu planning! just started on gluten free diary free diet 🙁 desperately need to menu plan and these boards are beautiful and inspiring??
I love the money that I save thanks to menu planning, between spending less on groceries and not eating out. Thank you for the giveaway!
My wife does the cooking, so I don’t plan.
I live with my parents and eat whatever they fix. I wouldn’t mind having this for them or my sister.
Menu planning saves me at dinnertime and the dreaded grocery trip. When I plan my week, the week goes so much smoother! And I make way less trips to the grocery store (and spend less money, too!).
I love not having to worry about what’s for dinner after work.
I often meal plan, but I do it only a week ahead and on paper. I love the idea of doing a month at a time, and I like the cute board to display it to the family. I also envision letting my two boys and dh do much of the planning. More buy-in, less grumbling…
Menu planning has simplified my afternoons. I used to stress about what to make each day, wait too long, and then dinner was late or I was missing ingredients. Now I have everything planned out a head of time and making dinner is easier. It has also freed up some time for me to play with my 3yo son too.
I love menu planning! I feel like it truly lowers our monthly grocery bill by a LOT. I’ve just started shopping for the entire month, instead of shopping once a week – so winning a board like this would really help me with organizing all of the stuff I buy into meals!
My SIL is the cook in my YD’s home. He is due home from Afghanistan in the next few months, and I would love for them to have this to help YD start participating more……hey it’s not her fault…her dad (my husband) did all the menu planning, grocery shopping and cooking when she was growing up. Somehow she found a guy just like her dad!
I have menu planning for years and am always looking at ways to improve. Sometimes it is such a drag but I love this idea!!! If I don’t win, I am sold!
i’ve been weekly menu planning for 2 weeks now and i can’t describe how happy i am to have sat through the initial tension of jumping in! it’s been great to not dread every single meal decision. the best perk has been the ease we’ve had at staying within our weekly budget. pre menu planning we were about $50 over p/week. now we have extra to add in special meals!
I love menu planning because I don’t have to think each day about what am I going to cook for dinner tonight. The menus are already planned …I just pull out what I need from the freezer.
Wow, this looks really cute and is something I’d love to have in my kitchen!
I would love to win this!!
The best part about menu planning for me is that it makes the rush before dinner time (with a baby) so much more manageable!
I would love to menu plan but I get hung up in the organizing. As the mother of 8 m twins and a high schooler, life is a bit busy. This would help answer the “what’s for dinner?” question and make it easier on our shopping/budget.
What’s holding me back??
Time.
No system.
Overwhelmed.
Overworked.
Overtired.
Overcaffinated.
Overstimulated.
That’s about it…
Except for two small kids and a husband.
I love not having to run to the store for that one darn ingredient that I missed on my last grocery trip.
My favorite part of menu planning is that I don’t have to scrounge around in the cupboards at the last minute looking for something to prepare. And also it saves me money b/c we don’t go out to eat nearly as much!
The best thing I love about menu planning is that it helps me stay on track in the food choices I make for myself and my family. If you have a plan, McDonald’s or Chipotle simply become non-options.
These are FABULOUS boards, btw.
i love the boards you’ve shown! thanks for the giveaway!
what i love about menu planning is the fact that i don’t have to waste the time every day thinking about what to make and checking if i have the stuff on hand. it is a time-saver and a stress-reliever. been doing it for about 3 years now on the advice of a co-worker.
I love menu planning because I’ll actually make new things! I love planning a new menu item and then making it. I usually never regret it!
Menu planning is my lifesaver. Every week I can sit down plan my week, my menu, and then the grocery list. This helps me stay in a budget and arrange things accordingly.
I am still in a mind block about menu planning. I might actually want to do it with that cool magnetic board.
The best part of menu planning is that I can actually get all (or most) of my cooking done on the weekends, and then I don’t have to worry about spending a lot of time in the kitchen after working all day. It’s fabulous, and I have found we eat out a lot less.
These are great!
I like lists. And I like to make lists. And I don’t like to have to think too hard at 5:00 when my kids are having their afternoon meltdowns, so menu planning works for me!
I’m pretty hit or miss w/ my menu planning. I dread starting it I think because I’m overwhelmed by all the possibilities of what I could cook. Totally silly, but I can’t think of why I don’t do it consistently, especially since I want to.
I’ve never done it! I think I’m afraid that we won’t be “in the mood” for what ever the meal is. And maybe I’m afraid that I won’t have time for that particular meal that particular day. But from what I’ve read it sounds like it will alleviate far more problems than it could possibly create. And let’s face it….I can use all the help I can get!
The thing holding me back right now is that my five-year-old has recently had to go to a dairy, gluten and soy-free diet. I have had to learn how to cook all over again and I’m still struggling with finding foods that she CAN eat but that also the rest of us WANT to eat. I don’t want her feeling singled out. I used to do meal planning and I loved it. I will do it again, but it’s going to be a lot harder to start this time.
I do love these menu boards, though. I can see how they would be a wonderful tool. My menus were always in my “control journal” hidden away. With these boards the whole family knows what to expect. Maybe I could get them to complain less if they aren’t surprised every night?!
I don’t really like anything about the process of menu planning- except for knowing what we’re having for dinner 🙂 I would love to have a magnet board to refer to!!!
I keep thinking about scheduling my menu but I never do. I guess I am afraid that if I plan it too far in advance I won’t want to eat it later. Silly I know. But boy would a menu plan help me out.
Wow! Great work on these menu boards.
I’m a wanna be menu planner. I write my menu plan down on a plain piece of paper and try and stick to it. Sometimes I do and sometimes I don’t. This menu planner would definitely motivate me to stick to my plan.
Thanks for the giveaway!
My mom always planned our menus and now that I do it I understand why! Not only does it save on my budget by not going and changing things often, but I use what I have more effectively. It also just simply makes me feel organized even though I still have room for improvement!
I love the idea of menu planning and am committed to doing much better in this area in 2011. I think if I have the tools to organize the menus visually that would help me immensely. This is the one are of my life that is completely disorganized…I need help!
How beautiful! Having a planned menu helps saves time and money at the grocery store..because you know what you will be cooking, so you know what you need to buy. It also helps you to be more intentional on serving healthier more balanced meals (instead of easier, convenience foods).
I started menu planning about a year ago. My husband and I are both (poor) college students. Menu planning allowed me to carefully plan healthy balanced meals with lots of variety without wasting any food. We cut our grocery bill in half! 🙂 And we feel healthier!
Right now I just plan one week at a time, but I’ve been wanting to switch to a month at a time. It sounds hard, but your system looks so easy!! I really hope that I win this, but if not, I think I will look into making something like this for myself (though probably not as pretty!).
Menu planning makes grocery shopping easier on a tight budget!
I’ve been doing weekly menu plans for awhile now but I think this would definitely inspire me to do a monthly plan!
Love love love when I have a menu planned because it frees me up from that horrific 4 o’clock “What’s for dinner?” whine. The kids can get pretty grouchy, too. ;o)
Why don’t I always do it? Some weeks feel so up-in-the-air that I freeze and can’t think of anything that will work.
Having all those choices right in front of me would be awesome, and a magnetic surface (rather than in ink) reminds me that it’s not carved in stone if we get invited out or plans change.
Such a clever, cute board!
I love not stressing on my way home from work every night about what to make for dinner!
A magnetic menu planning board would be a great way to start out the year. It would help me keep my resolution to take better care of myself (and my family). I could get out of the chicken nuggets and french fries rut I seem to be in. There never seems to be enough time after work and before ball practice to really make a nutritious meal. I think it would a HUGE help!!
I love the feeling of being organized and not starting to wonder what’s for dinner when it’s already 5:30! I don’t always plan as often as I like, but love the look of your system. 🙂
The best part about menu planning is I don’t have to make a trip to the store everyday to plan dinner for the night. Before I started planning I used to do this end up going to the store like everyday. It has got a lot better I now do you weekly planning on paper. I love your magnetic menu board planning it is amazing what a great idea. Very creative I would love to win it would be great!!!
I like coming home from work already knowing what is planned for dinner.
Love this idea, the best part is fewer trips to the store as well as not spending as much money on “spur of the moment” items. These are stylish and functional at the same time.
Love to have something hanging on the wall. I can avoid trying to find it under junk later 🙂
Finding new recipes to try and actually having the ingredients on hand! I’m planning to make something like this soon, but maybe I’ll win one instead 🙂
That is absolutely amazing! Amazing! It makes me want to menu plan. I don’t because I never know what we should eat but that is such a cute board. I love it!
I’ve tried menu planning in the past, but haven’t found a system that worked for me. Having something hanging up where my husband can see it sounds wonderful. It would help on those nights when I’m running late and he (despite the full pantry) “can’t find anything for dinner”!
I know that this will be loved and appreciated. I look forward to my kids using this to plan and cook our future meals. It will be a dream come true! (Please do not wake me up from this dream!)
This would be super for my monthly menu planning! I have 11 month old twins plus a 3 year old and a 5 year old, so organizing meals is crucial! And what a cute, fun addition to decorating a kitchen!
We have tried menu-planning…and it works…sorta! We just don’t have a consistent grocery schedule to assist the menu plan, which puts a glitch in our well-intentioned plans at times. Work in progress!
Just making the plans every week is my challenge. So often, the week begins and I don’t have a plan!
I love getting my family involved! Everyone that is old enough is allowed to choose one dish for the week. That helps me not fall into a rut. I also “plan” to try a new recipe once every two weeks or so.
Less grocery shopping is always nice.
I love that my grocery bill is less and there’s no more “what’s for dinner?” panic when I come home from work.
Meal planning keeps us from eating fast-food, which in turn, keeps us healthier 🙂
I love my menu plans when I actually make them, it helps so much. This month I didn’t make one, and just tonight we made a run to Pizza Hut because I didn’t plan ahead. I would love a cute magnetic board, it would help a lot in motivating me to plan those dinners.
I do once a week menu planning, and I think it makes me prepare healthier, more well-rounded meals, and it definitely help with organizing my grocery shopping. These boards are fantastic!
I love this board. So much easier and nicer looking than a paper copy. My family will also enjoy helping to put the game together each month. I can not wait to get one. Please enter me in your give away.
I started menu planned about a year ago but stopped when we moved. We couldn’t manage the move and getting into a new house and planning meals… it was a bit much. Now we are settled and ready to “plan” again. When we did do it I found it relaxing at dinner time because we knew what we were having… grocery shopping was easier because you knew exactly what you were having. I MUST START DOING THIS AGAIN… I love the look of this very creative, and attractive, YET completely practical 🙂
My favorite thing about Menu Planning is the fact that I don’t have to worry. I menu plan on Saturday and grocery shop on Sunday. That’s it. There are a million things to think about all week long, but what we will be eating is not one of them!
Maryluz
I wish I did more menu planning because when I do, I am so much more organized and I have much more time to do the things I want to rather than think about what I’m going to make for dinner all day.
This menu board is super cute!!!!
I love that I spend less time and money at the grocery store. As a one income family, this is a life saver!
I’m still working on becoming a better menu planner but when I do it just frees up so much time spent agonizing over what to make for dinner each day.
I LOVE this idea! So CUTE!
I’ve only done limiting menu planning – usually a few days at a time – and what I love most is being able to answer the “what’s for dinner” question without an “I dunno, what do you want?” answer.
I do not menu plan =( I think this could be what makes it happen……what a terrific idea!!!
I like not fumbling for ideas at 4p when the kids or my husband asks what’s for dinner.
I am not an organized person, although I would like to be, so your meal menu planner would be very helpful.
I love the lack of that what-in-the-world-are-we-having-for-dinner NOW feeling!
My favorite part of menu planning is knowing exactly what is for dinner. No more guessing, no more waiting until 5 o’clock to decide what’s for dinner. Makes life so much easier. Thank you!
I love menu planning. I just recently started and the number one thing I love is the relief from stress and worrying about what’s for dinner. I save so much time!
My favorite thing about menu planning is that I have a built in grocery list, but it takes so long the way I do it. I need help to stream line my process and hopefully this will help as I won’t have to rack my brain for what will sound good to eat. Maybe it will help my husband remember what we’re having for dinner too!
I SO LOVE this! Wish I was that creative!
I love menu planning because it makes my life easier. It helps our “crazy, busy” life seem a little less hectic when I know what the meal plan is!
I love your menu board!!
I try to plan, I really do but for some reason things never work out the way I plan them and then I get frustrated! I really want to be better about planning!
I LOVE THIS!! I am definitely a meal planner but my ‘plans’ for the week consist of sticky notes all over the fridge. How nice it would be to have one of these awesome menu planners. Please pick me!! 🙂
I love looking for recipes and the freedom I have during the day when I know what my meals are…esp supper. I also wish I must more disciplined that I would do this all the time. I love love love these boards. Toodles!
I have been menu-planning for 129 weeks! It is one of the best things I do… makes my days (almost) stress free! This board would complete my kitchen!
What a wonderful idea! I LOVE that you can easily rearrange the menu if necessary! I like menu planning because it makes me feel more relaxed about the coming week and saves lots of money, too!
Oooh oooh would love to have this! I love menu planning because I can always answer the kids when they ask, “What’s for dinner?” LOL! Thanks so much 🙂
What a fantastic give-away! Thanks for the chance to win!
My family (2 boys!) love meatloaf muffins, chicken sate’, Greek tacos, taco pizza, salmon with soy and ginger ….
I like to shop for the week, so this would be a great tool so I can preview what’s next in case something is on sale!
I have attempted it in the past, but currently don’t do it. The thing holding me back is just sitting down and doing it. It seems too hard right now.
Well…if I had to sum it up into one main reason…since there are many…I would have to say 7 children +supper =chaos in our house!! I find myself scattering to put something together…stressed…and overwhelmed and then beating myself up about it. With 7 children ages 16 down to 16 months and sports and jobs…it is a MUST that we be organized. So this menu board with just help with our chaotic supper time and help us enjoy each other more and be more in the moment vs scampering around frantically!! What a beautiful board they are!! Sure beats notebook paper which we have tried!!
The best part about menu planning for me is to have everything on hand when I am ready to make supper. No quick trips to the grocery store!
Love this! I plan for a week, most weeks. I keep meaning to make magnets and haven’t. This is awesome!
I love that menu planning allows me to have all of the ingredients I need to make dinner on hand so we eat out a lot less. It saves money and helps my diet!
I love the peace of mind knowing that it’s already decided. I hate thinking at 3 pm as the kids get home and homework gets started, what’s for dinner. It is so chaotic at that time. Having a plan and knowing that I already have dinner probably started before the chaos really helps.
I have been trying to menu plan…in my head. This would help me much more organized and efficient! Thanks for the chance!
I love the money that it saves!
What’s holding me back? I think it’s that I don’t want another ugly paper on my fridge. Honestly.
Wow, this looks amazing!!
We try menu plan but it doesn’t always work. Partly because my husband does most of the cooking so we plan it in my planner but then he doesn’t look in there to see what’s on the menu.
I’ve thought of getting a chalk board or something more visible.
jennifer @ beautifulcalling.ca
These are so cute! I just jot it down on my kitchen chalkboard on a weekly basis, but this would be so much more fun 🙂
I would love one of these! I usually try and jot down the next week’s menu on Sunday when I can look at the sale ads, but this would be so much easier for me.
I’m an in-betweener right now. I do make a weekly list of meals, but don’t always follow it because I decide I want something else – being pregnant will do that to you. But once we get settled again after baby (#2) arrives, I think it would help to be more precise and disciplined about meal planning.
I love menu-planning for ALL the reasons you mentioned in your post! I’ve never tried doing a monthly menu plan (usually I just do it weekly), but this would be so awesome to help me begin a monthly menu!
I don’t menu plan as well as I should, and what is holding me back? Making the list of foods…. this should be the easiest part, and the funnest. Yet somehow the idea of sitting down and coming up with a “good” list is intimidating, so instead of having lots of items to choose from each week I have the limited few that my brain can hold on to. Maybe if I create a list that I post on the fridge and add things as I think of them as a start… of course if I win that will force me to sit down and make that list! Thanks!
I love knowing exactly what I need before grocery shopping and being able to change things up if needed b/c all items are already bought!
Wow, I love this idea! I have always liked the idea of menu planning, but in a house of ADHDers/perfectionists, the thought of changing our minds of what to eat on the day and crossing an entry out on a paper menu plan was too much to contemplate! Using a magnetic board, where I could move things around as needed is a wonderful solution!
This is beautiful! I would love to have this! I currently use a dry erase board…….and it isn’t the prettiest thing in the kitchen to say the least! This would help with budgeting and decor in the kitchen all at once! How innovative!
i started menu planning as a new year’s resolution (one of MANY) and i love that it makes my nights go more smoothly. no more scrambling trying to figure out what to make or stopping thru a drive thru out of desperation. thanks for the contest! i hope we win!! 🙂
I menu plan…sort of. What’s holding me back is not having one of those beautiful boards! 😉
I do BIG COOKS every three months and fill the freezer with ready made meals for 4 days/week for 3 months (work nights). THen I just grab whatever the night before, but it’s all ready – veggies and all. Just have to add a salad & a carb if we choose.
I have two favorite things:
It saves me $$
It gives me greater variety in our meals
I’m not always good about doing it but I’m glad when I do!
I did a menu plan once, and loved the fact that it eliminated the 4:00 “oh dear…what should we have for dinner” stress. However, I haven’t found my self able to pull it off again for a few reasons…3 kids, brain fog, and fear of planning a mel and then not really looking forward to eating it after all. I love this idea, though. very cute!
That is so so so cute! I tried to menu plan but couldn’t get it to work out but it’s on my 2011 bucket list to do again!
The load that it takes off my mind. It makes me a much more cheerful person in the afternoon! (I love these! – What an amazing idea.)
I would love to be able to plan a menu well! It is one of my goals, to be so “together”, even my meals would be organized. Oh the dreams!
Quite an exciting giveaway!
These are so great! Menu planning keeps my cabinets cleaner – I used to be good at picking up something for a recipe and never getting around to making it.
Menu Planning helps me serve Jesus & my family better
by saving money, saving time & having a attitude that
makes our home more pleasant!
(and I have the perfect spot for this board is my
newly redone kitchen…. they’re SO cute!)
Your menu boards look fantastic! I plan my family’s meals weekly and I love the time when I get out my collection of recipes and look through them to pick that weeks choices.
With four children and a husband that works rotating shifts, menu and budget planning help me keep a little of my short supply of sanity!!!
I hate the “What’s for dinner” question.Before planning I never knew and we had alot of “fast” home food.Now I can start dinner at a less hectic time and have an adult meal not just those fast frozen pizzas and chicken nugget nights.
Oh my gosh, what an awesome idea! I LOVE IT! I hope that I win :). Because I am 100% positive that I could not create anything as beautiful.
My favorite parts of menu planning (I cant choose just one) are that I always know whats for dinner, and whats going to be available for lunch throughout the week, and I find myself making fewer trips to the grocery store.
Saving money on gas and time!
I like not having to worry about figuring out what’s for dinner.
I really need to menu plan! My husband and I both work full time and we have 3 boys in school. I don’t know why I haven’t tried it. Laziness? Motivation? HELP!!! I think that a pretty menu board would help motivate me to try! 🙂
I keep wanting to start menu planning, but for some reason stop because I don’t have time. And yes I’m sure it’s a time saver, but I keep putting it off. This would totally kick start me into doing it!
Since I have a son who is gluten/dairy restricted, and I follow a no carbs/no protein mix diet, I have to plan menus ahead of time. It relieves a lot of stress come cooking time!
My favorite part of menu planning is simply KNOWING WHAT’S FOR DINNER! I hate deciding and sometimes it keeps me from cooking at all! I do so much better with our finances if I simply plan some menus so that we don’t decide to go out at the last minute because nothing is thawed.
I love that menu planning saves me money and time. I can go to the grocery store once a week, totally prepared with a list and coupon match-ups, without having a marathon planning session each time. I also love that I don’t have to rely on the creativity in my fried brain at 5:00 to come up with an idea for dinner!
I love menu planning because I am not staring at my fridge at 4:30 anymore wondering what we are having for dinner!
I like when menu planning is all done and I can sit back. Everyone knows what to expect.
I love these! What a great idea! I love menu planning because it makes grocery shopping so much easier!
Not sure if the prize draw is ope to Aussies, but you have to be in it to win it! This boards are fabulous!
My favourite for of menu planning is eliminating the rush to the shop for the vital ingredient which isn’t in the pantry or fridge. Menu planning makes for more organised shopping, which makes for less stress and less trips to the sho – which equals less impulse buying!
I love menu planning. It has greatly helped in keeping me accountable to our monthly grocery budget and, like you said, time management so I can have a bubble bath every once in a while when everyone is sleeping. Would love to win one of these. Thanks for the chance!!
[email protected]
Love this idea, and they are so cute!
Menu planning is great because with hectic, busy schedules no more guessing and stressing about dinner. Planning ahead of time also means better odds of having a nutritious meal instead of just whatever you can find in your fridge and cupboards. Love it!
My favourite part of menu planning – all of it! I make more nutritious meals (instead of the quick desperate fix in the moment), save money, waste far less food, and feel a sense of control and order in an otherwise chaotic world with only men and boys in my home! I have just started doing monthly menu planning on paper and would love to have a Menu Board. It’s a vast improvement – I can’t find my paper menu when I need it and a Menu Board is far less likely to get lost under a pile.
I love not having to worry about planning dinner at night. It also saves on the questions, what’s for dinner. Everyone knows to look at the menu. 😉
I haven’t started menu-planning yet. I have a fear of commitment.
I love being able to get some dinner prep work done ahead of time, because I know what I’m going to be making!
I have no creativity when it comes to dinner so planning it all out is the only way I can make it work!
I love menu planning! But I currently only do it weekly, and on a scrap of paper that gets stuck to the fridge. Both of my boys have allergies, so it really helps to be organised with our meals. But I really enjoy food, and nourishing my family, so I enjoy sitting down with my recipe books and diary and working out what were going to eat for the next week. And my husband really loves knowing what we’re going to be having for dinner, he says it gets him through his work day!
CUTE menu board. i love how much easier grocery shopping is with a little menu planning first.
I also plan our meals, but typically just for one week. It would be SO incredibly nice to be able to do it one week in advance though. I am always writing our menu down on a piece of paper and then I lose the paper it is written on. I menu plan to save money, and to save myself the time and frustrations of figuring out meals at the last minute. These boards are adorable!!!
I’m just getting into it but my husband’s unusual schedules are what hold me back. (He’s an airline pilot)
I love menu planning- because it simplifies my life!! I can shop while items are on sale and then menu plan from my pantry. It saves me time and money and gives me a bit of control in our hectic schedules. And the idea for these boards are great!
I love this!!
I’ve been wanting to do something similar but I’ve never gotten around to it.. and this idea is much cuter anyway. I’d like to have one, sure!
My favorite thing about menu planning is that, when my kids ask “What’s for dinner” (something every mother gets asked at least five times a day), I can say “check the list and you’ll see!”.
Kate
I love the money I save by planning our menus. We make a lot of foods from scratch because we plan ahead and staying out of the store is the very best way not to spend money at the store!
I ABSOLUTELY love these – they are adorable!! My favorite thing about menu planning is that I don’t have to think about what I am cooking at the last minute, I just have to look at the scrap piece of paper I have hung up on our dry erase board. Thanks for the entry!
I’ve been doing MPM for a year now and it has been SOooo liberating! Hope I’m eligible to win one of these even though I’m in Canada – if selected, I will happily pay any extra postage to cover shipping here. 🙂
I have not been much of a menu planner so far – I struggle with wanting to be very careful about using up items I have in the fridge/pantry before purchasing new stuff. I also try to stretch out meat as far as it can go – we are in an extremely frugal stage of life (hubby in Seminary!). I usually have something figured out for supper by mid-morning and the kids and I almost always have leftovers for lunch. I would L.O.V.E. to try this board!!
I get lazy and don’t get it planned out before the week gets started and I also feel like I get stuck in ruts and can’t remember anything other than the same 10 meals. Having a list of so many more meals to pick and choose from would be nice.
My favorite part about menu planning is that my husband knows what we’re having and can start dinner if he gets home before I do. I leave all the recipe cards out or write down the page number of the cookbook.
I love menu planning because I don’t have to run to the store at 3:30pm for thawed meat, when I have a freezer full of it, just to make a meal for the night. I also enjoy having to make my major grocery run one time a month instead of every other day to pick up things for dinner.
I love your Menu Planning Board! What a great idea!
The best thing about menu planning for me is getting a comprehensive grocery list. There’s nothing worse than realizing midweek that you have to go back to the store!
I only plan a week at a time right now, but I can imagine going to a monthly schedule would be a good time saver.
Love these – so much more attractive than the white sheet of paper I have in a clear plastic page-protector & scribble on with dry-erase markers! Just redecorated our kitchen – it would be fun to have one of these to coordinate with the new color scheme.
Menu-planning makes grocery shopping more focused, gives us a better variety in our diet, and helps me feel more “in-control” which is HUGE with our four children, two jobs, and the kids’ school and extracurricular activities.
Meal planning has has dropped my grocery bill by $200 plus a month, I shop only once a week and I can play w/ my kids instead of spend time in the kitchen stressing.
My favorite part about menu planning is that it helps with my indecisiveness about what to make for dinner each night!
Menu Planning for a couple of years now and the best thing it’s done for my family (besides freeing up time, having less leftovers to waste, hubby knowing in advance what we’re cooking, etc.) is the COST EFFECTIVENSS of it!!! SAVES ALOT OF MONEY when you know exactly what you’re shopping for!! :o)
My favorite part about meal planning is how it really saves us money but not going out to eat as often!
My husband needs me to have this heehee
Menu planning makes things easier when I remember to do it! A great side benefit that I’ve discovered is being able to know how long certain leftovers have been in the fridge and if they’re still good to eat by looking at the menu plan to see when they were made. 🙂
Would love to win this!!!!!!!!!
I love that it encourages me to buy ingredients that I like from the grocery store (like cilantro!!) and find ways to use it in multiple dishes throughout the week so I don’t waste as much fresh food.
well, i’m not a consistent menu planner…but i have tried to plan a little in the past – like 1 week at a time. i definitely see a difference in my grocery list if i plan…so, i guess that means i should get back to it! 🙂
My favorite part of menu planning is the amount of stress that is eliminated by knowing ahead of time what’s for dinner.
This is adorable! I love how you stated it frees up pockets of time to do more important things, that is so true! It makes the afternoons so much more enjoyable, I’m able to enjoy my kids’ naptimes and then I already know how much time I need to allow myself to prepare dinner rather than staring at the fridge and pantry, hoping for something to magically appear on the table for dinner.
I menu plan two weeks at a time and love it because I really only need to think about what’s for dinner every two weeks.
I love this board and may have to buy one if I don’t win… I’ve actually wanted to make something similar but my idea involved small post-it notes and wasn’t nearly as pretty as yours!
I have never tried meal planning but it is part of my families new healthier life plan! So often we resort to ordering out just because we haven’t planned ahead and health-wise and financially it is killing us. This would be amazing!!!
Menu-planning helps my wife make me eat my vegetables 🙂
I have been convicted recently to eat out less, reduce making processed food dinners and cooking healthy, homemade food and this menu board would help me out immensly! I think my children would love to help me decide on our meals if they got to help me decide what to cook and place the magnets!
I only started menu planning when I stumbled onto this site. As a working mom and wife to a police officer who works nights, I find that I bear most of the load of running the house – menu planning gives me a sense of peace and a little extra control in a hectic life. Every Saturday I check out other moms’ sites from the week before and make my menu plan myself!
As a single student I have always just eaten on the go. Now that I have a family I am trying to create healthier habits for us all while living on a tight budget. The biggest thing that has held my wife and I back from meal planning is just not having a consistent method of doing it. We try here and there but I think this could make it fun and a family affair instead of just falling on my wife to figure out!
I would love to do Menu planning but cannot figure out how to get started. I have a husband and two boys and I eat more variety that they do. I would love new suggestions. I am new to Laura’s website and just love it. I would love to try one of these boards and get more organized.
Laura Simpson
I always just print out a black and white menu from publisher. This would be so muuch more classy!
I love being able to shop once for a week of dinners and always know what is planned each day. The days of trying to figure out what’s for dinner at the last minute are long gone!
LOVE LOVE LOVE these boards! They’re so cute, and I actually believe I (and my 5-year-old) could actually be motivated by one to get started with menu planning. 🙂
As for what’s holding me back, I think it’s partly just being lazy, but also being a bit unwilling to actually look at what I cook and serve on a regular basis… My hope here is that winning (or making) a lovely board like this would give me a kick in the seat of the pants to just Get Over It already, and make a start. 🙂
I’m wanting to start menu planning. Don’t know what’s holding me back but maybe this would be the jumpstart I need.
I love that I can get everything I need in one trip to the grocery store and I don’t have to worry about what’s for dinner at 5 pm every day! Thanks so much for the giveaway, I would love to have one of these!
My favorite thing about menu planning is that once I have my meals planned and shopped for, I know I can interchange or rearrange meals to suit our schedules or preferences.
I LOOOVE this idea! I currently use a weekly calendar and plan out my meals on Sunday before I go grocery shopping. It saves me time and keeps me on a budget!!!!
Your magnetic menu board is such a wonderful, creative idea! I don’t have the consistent routine I should have, but when I do plan menus and post them it saves the hassle of my kids constantly asking “what’s for dinner, Mom!?” : )
Menu planning saves me answering “what’s for supper” two hundred times a day… especially now that the kids are old enough to help me with the planning. It also saves me from last minute pizza calls.
I love menu planning because it keeps me organized 🙂
I get so stressed out if it comes down to time to get ready for dinner and I don’t know what to make. Planning the week’s meals out ahead of time has saved me a lot of heartache! (although the next task to tackle is to remember that I have to go to the grocery store or else it doesn’t work 🙂 )
I love the amount of time it saves me at the store. I know exactly what I need to buy, and so I’m in and out a lot faster. Thanks for the opportunity! Those boards are sooooooooo cute!
Oh this would be a dream for me. I have a huge family and although i try to plan before I go food shopping I never quite stick to it. Would be great to have something this super organised and also so pretty to look at
My favorite part of menu planning is being able to start supper first thing in the morning. That way I am not rushing around at 5:00 trying to figure what I am going to make from what is in the pantry!!!
I like knowing what we are having each day, makes dinner less stressful!
This is such a great giveaway! Menu planning makes life less stressful. No more…..What is for dinner tonight???
I love it when I get the plan together and then execute with freezer cooking so that I have some fresh, easy meals to prepare and some to just pull out of the freezer ready to go!
I haven’t fully jumped into menu planning yet. I love the visual aspect of this board and it may be just what I need. I have a very picky, autistic 5 year old, and dinner can be a battle – trying to serve something she’ll eat but also make a variety for the rest of us. We use a lot of visual schedules for her, but I never thought of making a visual menu to help her with meals. I’m so excited about this!!!
I love how after you plan your menu, making a shopping list is a lot easier too.
This is great! I like menu planning because it keeps me accountable and out of the store with the possibilty of buying stuff we don’t need. Thanks for the chance to win!
AWESOME give away (I have my colors already picked out, in case I get lucky)……It might make me enjoy menu planning again! Right now, I have little kids (one is picky) and I am pregnant, so planning has been a bit of a challenge, this would be so much fun, that the novelty of using it, might make it easier going forward…until I get out of my rut!!!!
HOPE I WIN!
I LOVE…LOVE…LOVE this!!!!!! Menu planning not only saves me the stress of the “what’s for dinner” crisis when I get home from work, it really saves on our budget as well.
These are so cute! I have not been planning our meals but I would love to start doing so with one of these boards. Thanks for the chance to win!
I’ve done a bit of menu planning and it really made my day run smoothly. I think winning a menu planning board would be so much nicer than doing it on paper. Hope I win!
I love that now my menus are planned we don’t eat out nearly as much as we used to!
As an artist who presently has her hand in a cast and who takes public transportation as often as she can; it is to make as few trips to the grocery store as possible!
I love how organized it would make planning our meals and less frustrating!!!!
As a single mother of 4, I had carefully planned meals for years. Not only for the stress factor, but not only 4 children by yourself but a job to boot, saved time and not to mention MONEY. Now as an empty nester, I find that I still plan meals, but can often persuade myself to change my mind. A woman’s perrogative, right? I do love organizing items and this seems like a great idea to have a visual and decorative meal planner right in plain sight. After all out of sight and out of mind if it is only on a piece of paper. As we all know those papers leave or invite company when we aren’t home. Great idea!
I love meal planning I felt lost with out it. I would love a board.
What a beautiful, functional idea! I am on again off again with menu planning. It seems to take so long, or we eat the same 5 or 6 meals over and over again. I have tried many systems and haven’t found one that works for us yet. I usually can come up with dinner from the basics I buy week after week, but it gets boring! I think I could really love this board, and even my kids might help!
I haven’t gotten into menu planning because 1) My husband is the cook, 2)I can’t think about food unless I’m hungry, and then it’s too late! and 3) I’m horrible at planning anything, period.
But, I’d love to win one of these to pass on to my sister in law, who enjoys cooking and staying organized!
That is awesome! I menu plan to save money. If I know what I am going to use up, and only buy what I need for that week, it cuts down on extra wasteful purchases.
Honestly, this may sound strange but I LOVE the flexibility of monthly menu planning. Since I’ve already bought everything I need at the beginning of the month I can switch meals around however and whenever I want and I know I have all the ingredients 🙂 Rather than being constricting it is SO freeing! Go figure.
And I love the board – right now I use a calendar and it’s just not this pretty 🙂
Wow-what a great idea! I feel like there are so many things holding me back from menu planning. The hardest being the allergic to milk, eggs, and peanuts child with the close second-vegetarian! In addition to these two kids, I have a finicky eater who could like on mac and cheese. To top it all off, I am married to a dentist who is very popular and seems to have a dental emergency every time I get a hot meal on the table (not very often). All this while trying to organize our swim team, irish dance, boy scouts, basketball and piano schedules for just the older two children. It seems I will never be organized–but I must say God loves me because he did invent the crock pot! Love your idea and would love to try it out!
Those are AWESOME!
My favorite part of menu planning is that it is one less thing I have to think about or make a decision on every day! I make so many decisions and have so many things going on that it is such a relief to have something already decided for me! 🙂
I don’t really know what is holding me back from menu planning. I guess, I don’t know where to start and If the plan changes. I hate wasting food so i don’t want to have too many leftovers. No excuse, really!
I thought weekly menu planning what where it was at, but wow…I love the idea of monthly menu planning. If I don’t win, then I’m going to make a monthly planning board. My favorite part of menu planning is avoiding the daily trip to Safeway every afternoon.
Love the boards!!! For me the best part of planning is not having to stress at 3:00 in the afternoon what I am going to serve in just a few hours. That stress in the afternoon can ruin the rest of my day. It helps us eat out less, has saved us grocery spending, and is starting to help us eat healthier.
I have 2 step-kids (both teenagers) and two toddlers (3 and almost 2) and this saves my SANITY!!!!! I love not having to figure out what I am going to eat and I love only going to the store once a week!
Beautiful! My favorite part of menu planning is the variety it brings to my table. 🙂
I love this idea! This was my first week at meal planning and it didn’t go quite as planned, however, we did eat out less and this is a BIG improvement. I can’t wait to get more organized with meal planning.
What a cool idea. This falls right in line with my organized brain. I love menu planning, because I don’t have to wonder what to make for dinner. I already have it figured out. Plus, it helps me make less trips to the grocery store, and I love that!!!
I would LOVE one of these! I’m preggo with my 2nd child and did menu planning prior to having my 1st child 3 1/2 years ago. I’m in an organizational frenzy these days, and this would help SO much!!
I need to know what I’m making before I spend an hour a day in my carpool. If I try to start thinking of what to cook when I get home, the kids get soooo cranky.
When I meal plan, we eat out less = cheaper and healthier. These calendars are beautiful!
I have seen these menu boards on a different blog and love them! I have been terrible about menu planning. I figure out what we are eating 30-60 min. before dinner. It has become so stressful for me. This system would eliminate that hassle of figuring out what to eat everyday. I also buy foods and then they go bad because I forget about them. This would help me know specifically what ingredients I need.
LOVE this!!! I’m always trying something to get myself organized when it comes to Meal Planning. Right now, it’s using a dry erase marker on a plastic sheet protector that holds my calendar. It works..but how nice would this be!
I love this. I really think this could help me. I have tried to do meal planning and can get one week done but can’t seem to go to the next week. I have a hard time finding the meals that my family will like and planning ahead in time.
What a beautiful and functional menu board. Nice Job!
The best part of menu planning (when I do it) is not having the
stress @ 4:30 of wondering what’s for dinner. The hardest part is coming up with new and different ideas every week that sound easy, yummy and nutritional.
I love menu planning when I stick with it. I love the how you have done the boards. Hope to win!
Love planning my menus because then I don’t have to “think” about what to make each night when they all start asking, “What’s for dinner?” I would love a board!
I love being able to plan for the week something of what we will be eating. My schedule changes daily (I’m an interpreter and don’t know what I will be doing until the night before), so I plan my meals with the knowledge that they will probably get shuffled, but at least generally know what we will be eating. I am able to make sure everything is on hand at the beginning of the week. If I am able to stick to the schedule, great! If I have to shuffle things around, at least I have the ingredients for it all on hand. The board is a great idea and I would love one!!!
Oh these boards are awesome and so inspiring!!! … Menu planning :P…although i love organizing, I haven’t quite found anything that I love about planning, other than the eating. 🙂 I love seeing my husband happy and enjoying my meals, but I’m still searching for ways to make the process more creative. I’ve recently put pictures with my meals to get me more excited about the recipes and remember that they taste good once i “see” them 🙂
This is a great tool! I love this idea!
i like knowing a few days in advance whats going to be around. makes things less stressful!
I would love to get to a point where I could menu plan for a month. Taking the time from busy weekends to plan is my hurdle.
How gorgeous are these menu planners. I try, and use a whiteboard to plan a week in advance, which kinda works. This planner would make it so much easier, clearer and wouldn’t get smudged off :-).
I luv already knowing what I am making and having the kids know it too- So I don’t hear “Mommy I hate this!” and “Mommy leftover again!”
Meal planning saves me from wasting food and money! I utilize what I have in the freezer and pantry, then shop the ads to create our weekly menu.
I don’t know why I don’t do it. I guess I’m afraid of the time involved!
I love that you made them magnetic! Such a simple thing can make all the difference. I have been doing a weekly menu on my computer and printing it out. It looked really nice until plans change mid-week and I have to cross out things and add arrows. Then it doesn’t look so nice. This is a GREAT idea. Thank for sharing.
Linda
Those are the cutest! We have been meaning to try doing a monthly menu plan because I think we could totally make it work, and the board would definitely be a great help. Thanks for the giveaway.
I love menu planning because I get to spend my afternoons finishing laundry and straightening the house before Hubs gets home- not frantically trying to defrost chicken breasts in time to make dinner!
Menu planning reduces some of the stress in my horribly stressed life. Even if I choose to make something scheduled for a different day or serve leftovers, I still have a starting point and that makes my life easier. Can’t we all use some of that in our lives?
I love the magnet ideas! That would make it so much easier to plan menus. I’m not a crafty person so the thought of having make something like this stresses me out but having one would make menu planing seem so manageable with the magnets. GREAT IDEA!
I’ve always planned my meals for the week, and am amazed when people say they don’t do it. But it’s a job I’ve never liked. My favorite part of meal planning now is that MY HUSBAND STARTED DOING IT! I’d love to give him one of these menu boards to help him out!
OOO Baby, I’m so glad you’re doing another giveaway, since I didn’t win on UCreate. I LOVE this board. If I win looking at my beautiful board will be my favorite part, but until then I like knowing what’s for dinner without having to scramble at the last minute…and that we use our food purchases in a timely fashion.
Menu planning saves me time and money. Having a cute way to make sure I do it is just what I need!
i hate to say it but my favorite part of menu planning is when it is done….menu planning stresses me out. i don’t want to plan the same things over and over…but some of the things everyone eats the best are the things that get planned the most.
This idea is wonderful.
I use another system developed by myself for a long time absolutely adapted to my necessities and I can say that planning menues has been one of the best things I’ve done for being relaxed about this matter: knowing what to cook every day, and specially what to buy only once a week. (excuse my english, I’m not english speaker).
Gemma (From Barcelona, Spain)
This looks like an amazing product, thanks for the chance to win one! Though I absolutely love looking for recipes and deciding what to make, the best part of menu planning for me is knowing that I won’t have to think about what I will eat for the rest of the week! It is stressful for me to wonder what to eat and I also feel like I don’t get a very balanced diet because what I choose for lunch may be similar to what I have for dinner if I don’t have it planned out.
I love how menu planning helps me to stick to my budget. And, as many others have mentioned, when asked “What’s for dinner?” I love being able to point to the menu and say “that.” Ha! Plus, my teens can look ahead and have been known to help get things started if they know what we are having that night. These menu planning boards are gorgeous! Thanks for the chance to win!
I think the board is a great idea. I haven’t tried menu planning because I am just basically too afraid to try. I know it would make my life easier so this may help get me on the right track!
I hope to start menu planning very soon. It is challenging with a lot of food allergies and health issues at our house. Thanks for considering me!
I love always having an answer to the question “What’s for dinner?” … I only recently started planning out the whole month on a paper calendar and it has been great!!!
The board is amazing. I want to menue plan. I really have the best intentions each week.. but some how I never get to it, or stick to it.
I really think If I could just start, life would be so much smooter.
Menu planning takes a lot of self motivation to routinely create and utilize. I tend to throw meals together on the fly. No mater how hard I try to plan, I usually end up improvising.
I love that menu planning takes away the dreaded “what are we having for dinner?” question an 4pm! It has also saved us a ton of money, and our waistlines, too.
With 5 hungry kids, I need to know what to feed them with ease. This is how menu planiing keeps me a head up!
We always use a piece of paper with the menu in the t corner and the grocery list everywhere else! My honey and I menu plan every Monday. It helps us from coming home from a long day at work saying, WHAT SHOULD WE HAVE FOR DINNER!! Would love to have one of very cute menu boards.
The only part about menu planning I love is being able to cook nutritiously for my family which is very important to us as we have severe health issues and being disabled myself with severe fatigue, among other medical issues, when I fail to plan we eat more convenience foods, get sicker, and waste half of what we buy because it goes bad before I remember what I bought it for. I absolutely LOVE this magnetic menu planner idea!!!! I think it is a must have for our family…I might even be able to get hubby to plan a little!!
Awesome- love it! I need something to help me get me through the “dinner rut!” Just discovered Organizing Junkie- very cool! Looking forward to learning some new habits to help me function smoothly with 3 little boyz….
I love menu planning. It takes away the daily stress of thinking about dinner, when to fit in grocery shopping and how to balance the family’s nutritional intakes. When I make up a weekly menu, I look at the overall nutritional intakes for the week and plan accordingly. If I’m ‘flying by the seat of my pants’ the convenience of something quick takes over and often it’s something boringly familiar.
These boards are the coolest thing ever!!! You should sell them!
Menu Planning has saved me more $$ on grocery shopping that I can even calculate. It also takes a huge burden off and makes my life less stressful when the question is asked… What’s for dinner!!!
Thanks for the great giveaway!
I’m just getting into menu planning. I’m not very good at it yet. When I do plan out my weekly menu’s I’m so happy that I don’t hit that 4 0’clock time frame and think, ‘oh no, what’s for dinner?’.
I absolutely love this concept. And the upside is they are visually appealing too!!
Gorgeous! Love it! I use the weekly one and monthly sounds like fewer trips to the store! I also have twins and another son so time is limited if I had it all planned out I would have extra time. Great idea
Menu planning has saved me time (trips to the grocery store) and money. Love the boards!
I’ve never entered a contest like this before but when I saw the menu boards and the simple logic behind the system I just had to enter!! My family is currently working on our menu planning and deciding as a family what the week’s menu is and discussing what meals are healthy meals and what are “less healthy” (always have to leave room for pizza nights!). Anyways, each child gets to choose a meal or two for the week and this menu planning system would be a very fun, tangible way for them to be a part of by simply moving their magnetic meal to the designated day and seeing it posted on the board for all to see!! The best part of menu planning when you have your children involved, even if they are really young, is that they eat it! And it turns a mundane part of your day into a fun one because your children are so excited to see that the meal they chose is being served to the family! My one daughter chooses breakfast for dinner all the time and we just do a differnent kind of breakfast each time, but her choice. Our children seem to be more open to trying new things as a family rule when they feel they have a say in things. I am a mom of 3 girls 6 and under and am slowly creeping out of survival mode into a more organized life (knock on wood!). I think this would be so helpful to us! I understand I may not win, and that is okay, so if after your contest you could post where to buy these, I would be interested in buying one if I don’t win. Thank you for your great blog by the way. It is very helpful and easy to read and I read it every time I get my email! Thanks!
Potentially immensely useful… that’s not something I’ve ever seen before in the UK! We need to learn about menu planning over here too!
Prior to meal planning (just started about 4 wks ago), we ate out all the time. I wasted so much money just making a grocery list of things I thought I might need, then used none of it and had to throw it all away–what a waste! Meal planning has made for more nutritious meals for my family and saved us money!
I need this desperately….I try to plan out each week on my note card but it rarely comes to fruition. What a great idea!
We save money because I plan around what is on sale. And it’s just great to have a plan so the evenings aren’t so hectic.
As a new mom to 3 (4 and under) I can’t just rush out to the store anymore. This would really help me out!
I love menu planning because it lets me get more creative with what I cook. If I throw something together at the last minute because I haven’t planned there can’t be any tasty homemade bread or other “complicated” stuff to eat. If I had my way, I could spend all day every day in the kitchen playing with food and menu planning makes that much easier to do.
I love this! So neat! It would make things so much easier!!! I love planning my menu for the week because it makes shopping so much more thrifty. Planning for the month would be amazing!
I love this board and just haven’t had the time to put one together. I would be beyond happy to win one of these beauties! Menu planning rocks!
Oh my I love this idea. Please enter me in the giveaway! Thanks for the great ideas!
What I like most about menu planning is…………..being at work and knowing, dinner is alreay planned. I can focus on work. And when I get home at 5pm, I know exactly what I need to do to get it on the table.
Every year my News Years resolution is to be more organized.It really helps to have meals planned in advanced.Less stress means a happier home life!
I like to have my meals planned because it is hassle free and easy! I love that when I came home from a long day of work I can just look at the menu and know what we are having for dinner. It is wonderful!
this looks like it just might work — I so love the idea of this — have triedd it for 2 separate weeks and loved it for thoswe weeks — you think that would be enough for me to get back at it—
my issue is that I’m a single mother to a picky 8 year old — I’m a teacher and find our schedule so rushed — that just doing the groceries is an event. She dances three nights a week so on those nights we need an early ready to go supper at 4 pm.
so I’m hoping this is my ticket to more balance. any suggestions would be aprpeciated.
Gosh anything that can make my life easier and less complicated is a winner in my book! Just like your menu organizer board! I love it and can see my life gaining hours from having to NOT plan dinners for the family!
I love how it frees up my day!
I just recently went from being a sahm to a full time high school teacher. I NEED to get more organized – menu planning is on my list of things I need to figure out how to do, and something cute and helpful like this would be a wonderful way to get started!
My favorite part of menu planning is remembering to defrost the pre-made meals to put in the slow cooker before heading to work, and then getting home in the evening to an apartment that smells amazing. There are no cries of, “What’s for dinner?!?” from my husband or son. It’s like having a little electric wife working at home while I’m working at school 🙂
My favorite part about menu planning is the decreased stress! It changes how I view the entire day.
I would love one of these for my new kitchen! I’ve been a menu planner for a long time, what’s not to love! Menu planning saves time, money and prevents unnecessary stress!
I love this idea! I am one that has a hard time coming up with meals and feel this would be really hopefully. This would also give me more time with my son if I had our meals already planned out!
i’ve been meal planning for about 6 months now and love this stylish way to accomplish it 🙂 it’s great to know in advance what’s for dinner. and, occasionally when our family feels like something different it’s fun to change things at the last minute — the flexibility is perfect.
count me in!
What a great idea!! My husband was just diagnosed as diabetic and this would be awesome to keep him on track. He has a tendency to eat what he finds when I am at work and this menu board would let him know what is on his menu for meals – breakfast, lunch and dinner. Plus, I would stay organized and not frazzled, i.e. we were having tacos, but someone ate the ground beef, now what?!?
Using a sheet of paper… Losing the sheet of paper… Wait- what did I plan for dinner?
The visual menu planner looks wonderful!
I’m a sporadic menu planner at best. When I DO plan things are much easier, but my biggest issue is boredom with my choices. I’m always looking for something new to try. I love cooking and get tired of making the same things over and over. But these planner boards are GREAT! I think I could keep it up with one of those!
I love being able to tell my family what’s for dinner when they ask me in the middle of the day, it also helps me increase the variety of our diets and save money at the grocery store!
Goodmorning everyone, This Menu Planning Board is an awesome creative organizing idea. I just started doing menu planning, but only on a weekly basis. I have not been brave enough to do a monthly yet, but even doing a weekly menu has taken so much stress out of my daily routine. Still this board would create even less stress because instead of trying to find out what everyone wants each night it makes it possible for everyone to suggest something for dinner without having to ask and then decide. I would love to be able to try out a monthly menu.
Wow! What a lovely idea.. I dunno whether you can ship these overseas but anyways, I love menu planning since it helps to cut chaos at mealtimes, makes eating healthy easy and shopping for groceries quick and inexpensive, and reduces stress in the kitchen. I’m going to check these out right now.. Lovely!
Love, Love, LOVE this system! What an cute and organized way to simplify menu planning. Not only do I want one for myself, but I have a few organizing clients who could really benefit from one of these, too! Thanks for the giveaway!
My favorite part of meal planning, is that it allows me to use what is in my pantry on a regular basis. I continually rotate the contents of my pantry and don’t have food that sits there unused for six months. It also cuts down on my grocery store visits and saves money.
This board would be wonderful!
My favorite part of menu planning is not stressing out the rest of the time about what I’m going to make for dinner! It also keeps the kids from constantly asking “what are we eating tonight.”
Love the challenge of finding meals my family would enjoy as well as keeping it varied. This beautiful board would make the planning so much more enjoyable!
I love this cute and practical menu system. I’ve tried using paper, but end up either losing it or spilling something on it. It would certainly help me avoid those “Oh no, what was I going to make for dinner?” moments! Fingers crossed!
I love that when my menu is already planned I don’t have to worry about what’s for dinner. When I worry about what’s for dinner, we end up eating out or eating a poor dinner. With a menu plan, the ingredients are already in my kitchen and I just need to pull them out and make dinner. So easy! Thanks for the chance to win! I love your boards-so pretty!
Wow–you are so inspiring to me! I have three little ones (including a newborn) and I often feel overwhelmed with getting everyone fed at night. I feel very inefficient and that I am constantly wasting time running back and forth to the grocery store. I am so excited to give this a try–thank you for the inspiration! I would be so excited to win this!
When I do take the time to plan menus, my mind can focus on the activities for the day rather than worrying about what we are going to eat. This system seems like it would save a lot of time. What a great idea!
love this… no more paper to throw away each week. plus, these boards are way cuter than anything else in my kitchen! this would definitely help me be a better wife and mother!
What a fantastic idea! I would like to do more menu planning but we always seem to be spur of the moment on what we want right then or using what we have in the house already. I’d love to plan more so we could eat a more balanced diet and work in trying new things more often!
We just started menu planning. We are doing an entire month! I bought everything for a month worth of meals! We did pretty good this month. Looking forward to planning for Feb!
This sounds so wonderful. I’ve attempted to menu plan before, but just on paper….this sounds soooo much better!
Ooh….that’s sooo pretty. I love the colors and organization! My favorite part about menu planning is not going through the “oops, what’s for dinner?” at 5 o’clock. I usually plan two weeks out at a time since that’s how often I shop but if I could plan each month out I would be inspired to start couponing.
I LOVE this idea. I already plan monthly for shopping purposes and it takes off some of the stress, but sometimes I forget to look at it for thawing purposes, etc. Having a beautiful reminder right in front of me would be such a help!
I haven’t tried menu planning yet, but as a busy working Mom I need too!! And this sure would come in handy!!! Quit adorable too!!!
I love menu planning because it helps me spend less when grocery shopping because I know exactly what to buy!
Wow! The planner looks amazing! I have always wanted to make weekly menus but have been too lazy! This should be great to nudge me into it.
Some weeks I am better about menu-planning than others. It’s my coupon organization (or lack thereof) that seems to hold me back. I really *want* to plan my menu around what’s on sale at the grocery store each week, but right now I am up to my eyeballs in coupons and tend to get overwhelmed. It’s a work in progress!
I <3 MENU PLANNING! Unfortunately I don't do it enough :-/ I'll do well for 2 weeks and then it's back to the 5:00 freak out "OH MAN … WHAT ARE WE HAVING FOR DINNER?!?!" LOL So I would LOVE to win the giveaway 🙂
Menu planning is something I have been meaning to implement in my house but haven’t tried yet because we usually only have enough groceries in the house fo rone week and then wait until the circulars come out with all the sales to start planning for another week.
favorite part of meal planning??? It’s actually one of my most dreaded tasks, which is why I want this board 🙂
I like that the “whats for dinner”question is no longer a question but a simple answer!
although menu planning has so many benefits for our family, the 2 biggest are no more “what should we have for dinner” at the end of the day when I’m tired from work and need to get a meal together and deal with homework, sports activity, and the normal kid stuff. the other is less fussing about what is on the menu for that night since they can see the whole week laid out and if they really hate that night’s dinner, they can see the next night be one they do like. less fussing and whining (not eliminated but reduced!)
I’ve tired using paper menu and it just doesn’t work. Hoping to win this to give me a new place to start
While the board sounds like a a great idea, don’t you have to worry about your kids changing the magnets? I know I would have as a kid to avoid the fish that I hated and my mom insisted on making about once a week.
What I like about menu planning, though, is that it’s introduced more variety into our diet, even though I pretty much make the same thing every week (ex. Monday is pizza, Tuesday pasta, etc.). Before, it was pasta every night, pretty much, except Fridays. It also does help me plan my shopping trips better, although I’ve only been doing weekly.
I love that I don’t have to come home from work and stress over what I’m going to cook because I’ve already got it planned out. This has given my family more variety when it comes to what I fix because I don’t fall back into fixing the same things all the time. I love it!
Not having to go to the grocery store at the last minute with 3 hungry kids is why i loe menu planning!
My best friend introduced me to menu planning about 7 or 8 years ago. I love that we waste less food, that I don’t have to scramble each afternoon to find something to make for dinner, and that it helps me save money at the grocery store! I have even created a google calendar that I share with my husband, where I post the menu plan for the week. It helps him decide what he wants to do for lunch each day!
LOVE the magnetic board. Menu planning makes grocery shopping so much easier. I know exactly what I need.
I love menu planning when you have such a busy schedule the only thing is that we start out the month great and then slowly start slacking. I think this might help get a little more organized.
I love your menu planning board system! what a way to simplify life–as well as save money, time and energy on a daily basis.
Best Wishes!
I love this. I just blogged yesterday about my method of menu-planning, but this would take it to a whole new *lovely* level!
Let’s see… my favorite thing about menu planning…. It’s got to be the peace of mind part. Life can be so chaotic and stressful, so it really takes a lot of pressure off of me (mom) when I know that meals are already planned out and taken care of.
Thanks for the opportunity here! LOVE IT!
I love the efficiency of the meal itself. Supper is a snap and we’re all able to sit down to a family meal nearly every night without the stress!
I am a former meal planner – from about 15 years ago. Life, work and a lack of dedication distracted me and I lost my way. I have recently been going back to my meal planning and shopping strategies and never would have thought of such a great idea! This would help with that overwhelming feeling of “how did I do this before”? Great idea and fun boards… love them!
I kind of fell off the menu planning bandwagon, so this would most certainly get me back on track!
We have been talking about menu-planning for awhile, but have never actually taken the time to DO it. We’re trying to save money this year for a wedding and menu-planning would definitely keep us accountable to not going out to eat when we don’t have anything in the pantry to cook.
Menu planning has saved me $$ – which is always a good thing. I love the magnetic board.
I do a vague (very vague!) sort of menu planning, largely because my schedule is so changeable, which would make you think I would actually do some more/better planning. This would help, I think. Really.
I think I would actually be organized with menu planning if I had one of these:)
I have recently consistenly made a weekly menu and started a blog to help me stay accountable. I have little kids and boards like this are so cool to them (and me)! This way, they could help me put my menu together each week and be helping Mommy!
I don’t really meal plan. I just get something in my head and write the grocery list out, then if we get to the store I might get myself to cook it before I forget about it. I think having a planning board will help a lot, I just don’t have the energy to create a paper one or make a nice one myself.
Oh my goodness!!! These boards are soooo CUTE!!! I started out really well in the beginning of the school year & have been trying to get back on track. Trying to ‘think ahead’ about what my family would like to eat is the thing that is making it most difficult for me. I keep thinking what if we have the same thing over & over again? Are there that many things that we like that are different? This looks like it’d be the perfect tool to help make Menu Planning really happen!
This would be awesome! I can’t imagine NOT meal planning 🙂
These are so cute, and ORGANIZED! I am totally into anything that can take away even the tiniest bit of stress from our hectic schedule. This is perfect! As Moms we all know that “oh great, now I have to come up with something for dinner” feeling. With this, the question already has an answer, its on the board!
I just started meal planning (on paper) and it has made grocery shopping and inventory so much easier. The kids are eager to find out “what the plan is” and we have planned leftovers for lunch. This board is so cute. I’d love one!
I homeschool and so menu planning (when I do it) is a life saver. When I started homeschooling, a very wise person told me to not start my day until I knew what was for supper. Thus, menu planning. But it often ends up being one more of those things that gets on my to do list, but never gets done….so this board would be so great! Oh, I hope I win…other wise, I might have to save my pennies and just buy one. Thanks for sharing this idea!
What a great idea, love it!!
I have not yet started to menu plan because i haven’t found the perfect way to organize it. But i love this idea. even if i don’t win i might have to make something like this.
Menu planning? What’s that lol. Oh I so need to win one of these to get myself organized. It would beat starting at the open fridge door asking myself what I’m serving in an hour lol. Thanks for the opportunity =)
I am SOOOOO ready for a menu board! I want a menu board because:
🙂 I want to be more organized!! And being organized in the kitchen would be GREAT!
As a mom of 4 and nursing student about to graduate, menu planning
has saved my sanity! Nutritious planned out meals has saved us from
the world of fastfood and kept us all around our own dinner table. I’d love to be able to plan things out on one of these beautiful boards!
I can only imagine how much easier life would be with our crew of 11 if I actually planned dinner. Between activities and such we resort to cheese quessedilla too much.
I’ve tried menu planning before, but always got frustrated trying to think of what meals to include. This menu board is genius, since all your meal choices are laid out in front of you. I would love it!
I’m still a “newbie” at menu planning. But I’ve done it faithfully for three weeks now and I’m finding it’s getting easier the more that I do it. I really love that I’m not stressed out at dinner time because I have a plan. I think these menu boards are as beautiful as they are functional. Thanks for sharing!
With hubby deployed, I can get pretty busy being a (temporarily)single, working-fulltime, stressed-out mommy. Having a plan definately helps me have more time. I’m not aimlessly wandering around the grocery store, or running back to the store because I don’t have this or that to make this or that. It has also helped me to actually cook more and microwave/easy-way-out crap food less, which means I’m eating healthier, my daughter is eating healthier, and I’m (hopefully) giving my daughter good habits from the start.
I love it! My favorite part of menu planning is the lack of “pressure” I feel as dinner time draws near. I am a procrastinator of the 1st order and will put cooking dinner off until we just decide to “go get something.” When I plan my menus in advance I start preparations early in the day, leaving the pre-dinner hour stress free for me. Now, I just have to decide if I will give this to my daughter for her home or keep it for myself (If I’m the lucky winner.)
My kids love to help in the kitchen … but when I am rushing to get something ready by six, there isn’t time for little hands to measure the salt. I end up shooing them away from what could be a bonding, learning moment! So when I know we’re going to have X for dinner, we can do that measuring after lunch, or whenever it’s convenient for ALL of us.
These are fabulous! Would love to know what the “magnetic” part is made of?? Menu planning for us has saved my family so much money and we have a sense of freedom and peace about dinner because we know what’s ahead. If one of us is not home, it’s easy for the other to know what we are having! Fantastic!
Meal planning saves the day every time! I only work with one week at a time right now but with 5 kids, 3 which are in sports, a full time work at home biz, kids home work at 2 toddlers that go to bed early I found that if we did not have a PLAN we would end up getting takeout. Being organized with meal plans saves us tons of money, has us eating healthy and losing weight!
I’m a half-hearted menu planner…wishing I was a whole-hearted one. Maybe having a menu front and center in the kitchen would make me accountable?
When I actually manage to keep up with menu planning, it makes shopping and eating so much easier. But, the thing I like about it best is that when I have spent time doing it for special days and feast days one year, I can just borrow/recycle theideas the next. We just did this for a feast day celebration!
Sa-weet! My favorite part of menu planning is knowing what I’m going to fix a least most of the week. It takes so much of the stress away!
These boards are fab!!! I currently do not plan my menus, but desperately need to do so!! Our family meals have become so mundane & we need to spice things up & begin to look forward to them again! Thanks for this wonderful opportunity!! 🙂
Right now I only plan by week but it’s makes grocery shopping so much easier and when I get home from work I know exactly what we are having for dinner instead of playing the guessing game.
Menu planning combines all of my goals: cash envelopes, couponing and more homemade meals. It encourages me to sit down with the mounds of cookbooks I have and play with the options. Right now my weekly menus are on pieces of paper that I occasionally dip into, I am looking forward to making this more streamlined as my husband and I both work full time- and we have a growing preteen boy always wanting to know “what’s for dinner?”
Maybe you can post the directions for how to make this great monthly menu.
I menu plan for one week at a time. It used to overwhelm me, the idea of it. Trying to make so many decisions at one time! But it has become such a big help. And my boys love to read it and find out what’s for breakfast tomorrow or if we are indeed having homemade pizza again on Friday. So maybe I’ll be able to plan out 2 weeks at a time sometime soon…
The boards are so cute, BTW. What a neat idea!
I’ve just recently started reading posts regarding menu planning. While I believe it would end the hourly “what’s for dinner, tonight?” questions, it still seems like a lot to take on; especially a month at a time. I do love these boards though. They are so very cute and up for all the family to see. Love the concept; hope to “get there” with my menu planning. Thanks for the great post.
I am trying to be consistent with my menu planning but sometimes find it difficult to sit down and make the plan. This board would be a great help with all my menu items right at my fingertips to play with and adjust when I need to.
i love to menu plan
my favorite part about it is planning new and different meals and seeing what i can come up with in the pantry and freezer.
What I love about menu planning is when I get home after a hectic day at work, I KNOW what we’re going to make for dinner. I don’t have to think, we don’t end up eating at 8PM because by the time we decide and look around to see if we have everything it’s that late.
Love those boards!!!
I like trying one new recipe each week and having the flexiblity of having the items needed for several meals ahead of time. My kids also prefer knowing what they can expect for dinner. Thanks!
My favorite part of menu planning is cleaning the fridge at the end of the week! Ever since I started menu planning, we have really wasted a lot less food. It makes me feel good to know that not only am I helping myself stay stressed free; but I am also teaching my four boys great food habits, and I am helping our pocketbook by wasting less.
I am practically speechless! This is such an incredible idea and presentation. I have avoided menu planning because I couldn’t quite find a method that I thought would work for me. This is genius! What an amazing blessing this would be. And they are beautiful as well…
I just started menu planning Jan 10th of this year. OMGosh what a time saver, stress reliever, money saver..it goes on and on. I use to go to the grocery store every single day and now I only go once per week. I am less stressed and excited to come up with the next weeks menu. BTW I love your beautiful menu frames.
I have attempted a meal plan but it just isn’t effective. I typed out most of our favorites meals and put them in sheet protectors and put them in my household binder…..and there they sit. I still scrounge around at 4 pm and know that the hunger pangs of my 5, 3 and 1 year old will hit soon and hard and I tell myself EVERY DAY, “I really need a better system.”
I think this may be it! If I don’t win this one I will be making one of these pretty little masterpeices! But I am hoping that you just pick ME!
I love menu planning! It has helped us be more prepared, save money on groceries, lets everyone know whats for dinner, and because both of us work–it just makes more sense. No last minute questions, plus I can get the whole family involved. AND…if its a day my husband is off, he can see what is planned and help accordingly.
Your menu board is so much cuter than what I use, so it would be a nice improvement!
Thank you!
This calendar looks so cool!! I love menu planning because it just makes life so much easier when I know what I’m making for dinner on any given day.
Thanks 🙂
Kelly
I have yet to “jump on board” with menu planning. It always seems more difficult to try to think of what to make in advance, but I’m thinking that maybe a cool menu board like that would be some inspiration for me to get started! I have a one-year-old who takes up most of my time at home and who HATES to grocery shop, so my grocery trips are basically “grab whatever you can as fast as you can and get out of there” trips. It’s sad because I really do love to cook, but as a working mom, my time is limited. Hopefully a menu board would make my life much less stressful! Thanks so much for considering me.
S
My favorite part of menu planning is that it saves me from giving in to eating out, since I don’t get home from work until about 4:00 and it can be oh so easy to order out if I don’t have a plan!
I have two young kids and one on the way-
a menu board like this would save time, money and stress! Also, my (very picky) husband could plan the menu which he would love.