mealplanning

Menu planning and homeschool organizing go hand in hand, which is why I have been  doing this 31 days of dinner ideas with you this year.

The area that I struggle with the most is dinner because my days are long this year. The Mr. has switched careers and with this new industry we get up at 4:30 a.m. to 5:00 a.m. for six days of the week.

Even when my schedule wasn’t as demanding, I learned early that by menu planning for longer period of times relieved the dinner time crunch.

Why 31 Day Menu Planning Rocks When You Homeschool

So my menus each month reflects my style, which is easy but they also reflect my family’s likes and dislikes.

Though  I tried menu planning for 7 days, it was just was never enough. The next week was upon me before I had a chance to menu plan.

By planning for longer periods of times, I have more time during the month to plan and I really like cooking a lot more when I have a plan.

August 31 Days of Dinner Ideas with Linked Recipes @ Tina’s Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Back when I started this series in January, I explained how stress reduces your energy to homeschool. Meal planning is important because it’s part of the solution to minimize the stress in your day.

Grab this month’s menu above and if you need some more ideas, grab some of the other 31 days of dinner ideas.

January dinner ideas along with an editable menu planner
February dinner ideas
March dinner ideas
April dinner ideas
May dinner ideas
June dinner ideas
July dinner ideas

Hugs and love ya,

Don’t forget to follow BOTH of my Pinterest accounts for more AWESOME pins.

Visit Tina Robertson’s profile on Pinterest.

Visit Tinas Dynamic Homeschool ‘s profile on Pinterest.

Today, I have 31 days of dinner ideas for July.

Coping Like Career Moms

For many years I have planned for 31 days regardless of the amount of days in a month.

That is one of the key tips to sticking to 31 day menu planning.

Don’t get bogged down by looking ahead to see what all holidays, appointments and other things that are planned for the month.

It’s okay to do that, if you have time. Some months, I do plan slower and look ahead to be sure on a day when I am out running errands that I have a crockpot meal recipe planned for that day.

However, not all months are like that.

Instead of planning perfectly, I plan wisely by being sure  I have 31 days of dinner ideas.

31 Day Planning means Flexibility, Saving Money and Being Healthier. That Equals Smarter

Too, I have no gasps of being in the middle of cooking and not having one key ingredient needed to complete the meal. I hate when that happens and I refuse to do it.

Keep in mind I have repeated only a very few recipes because variety is what makes cooking for your family satisfying. Can you make that your challenge?

Download here July 31 Days of Dinner Ideas with Linked Recipes @ Tina’s Dynamic Homeschool Plus

If you need some more ideas, grab some of the other 31 days of dinner ideas.

January dinner ideas along with an editable menu planner
February dinner ideas
March dinner ideas
April dinner ideas
May dinner ideas
June dinner ideas

Are you struggling with this? In what area?

Hugs and love ya,

Don’t forget to follow BOTH of my Pinterest accounts for more AWESOME pins.

Visit Tina Robertson’s profile on Pinterest.

Visit Tinas Dynamic Homeschool ‘s profile on Pinterest.

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Menu planning when homeschooling not only gives you sticking ability for homeschooling, but your family’s health is not compromised. Today, I have 31 days of dinner ideas for June but first I have to tell you why and how I plan this way.

Why Menu Planning for 31 Days Rocks (sorry no 7 day planning here)

For many years I have planned for 31 days regardless of the amount of days in a month.

Look at a few of these tips for planning for 31 days that I keep in mind.

You can look at your family’s schedule or appointment, but that takes too long for me. I plan for 31 days without trying to plan around appointments, days off or holidays. The goal is to gather 31 meals that my family will eat and remember. It’s about having them at my fingertips.

My goal for 31 days is to have ideas, not to be hemmed in. This means I can switch around ideas, which is why I don’t try to think of easy dinner ideas when we have appointments for the day. I have 31 days of options to choose from and can make decisions each week based on my family’s needs. Do you see how easily that you can plan for the next 7 days? It’s liberating to have more ideas ready than it is to have the next week sneak up on you and then have no plan. I don’t like that feeling and don’t want to be faced with it. It takes away from peace in our homeschool.

This same mindset applies to coupons and discounts. My 31 days of dinner ideas allows me the flexibility to take advantage of grocery store savings, the amount of time I have for the week and my family’s request for certain food. I will mark off dinner ideas or draw an arrow to another day when I want to take advantage of grocery store savings for that week.

The hardest part of planning is coming up with the ideas and then having the recipes. All my recipes are hyperlinked so that you can have dinner ready quickly.

Don’t undervalue your time by spending needless hours at the grocery time buying one or two items that you need for dinner.

When I cook, I have all my ingredients on hand and actually enjoy cooking so much more than I did when I planned for only 7 days.

31 Day Planning means Flexibility, Saving Money and Being Healthier. That Equals Smarter

I have no gasps of being in the middle of cooking and not having one key ingredient needed to complete the meal. I hated when that happens and I refuse to do it.

Cooking should be a fun part of homeschooling and I love caring for my family. 31 day menu planning lightens my burden each month and turns cooking into something that is painless, delightful and an enjoyable part of our day.

I hope these few tips I shared this month keeps you rocking on with 31 days of dinner ideas.

We are halfway through the year with month six and I am loving every bit of sharing with you.

Keep in mind I have repeated only a very few recipes because variety is what makes cooking for your family satisfying. Can you make that your challenge?

Download Here 31 Days of Dinner Ideas for June

If you need some more ideas, grab some of the other 31 days of dinner ideas.

 January dinner ideas along with an editable menu planner
February dinner ideas
March dinner ideas
April dinner ideas
May dinner ideas

Are you struggling with this? In what area?

Hugs and love ya,

Don’t forget to follow BOTH of my Pinterest accounts for more AWESOME pins.

Visit Tina Robertson’s profile on Pinterest.

Visit Tinas Dynamic Homeschool ‘s profile on Pinterest.

I am glad you are following along with me as I am finally sharing how I menu plan, which is 31 days at a time.

Today, I have 31 days of dinner ideas for May.

Here are my reasons why I menu plan for 31 days and how I do it so quickly:

• Dinner is the time of the day which I need help with the most because it is a busy time in my household and I need to go through the motions of preparing dinner without wanting to think about or compromise my family’s health;
• I use to look ahead and plan for field trips, doctors, days off of homeschool,etc. but I don’t plan that way anymore because I can quickly move around any of my 31 days of dinner ideas. Putting them down is more important and having a plan than trying to make my life line up with each meal;
• My dinner ideas reflects my family’s tastes and health issues. We do love meat, but we have never eaten a lot of red meat or fried food because of my husband’s health. When I add them to my menu, it’s a treat or once in a while. So we eat a lot of chicken;
• Too, my dinner ideas reflect how we like to eat during each season. For example, we love to grill when we can or eat one pot meals or lighter pasta or salad meals with a bit of meat added when the heat is hot here in Texas. We love more soups in winter and lighter soups during summer months.
• I am not into fancy food, but meals my children will eat and enjoy.
• We don’t have any issues like gluten free, so our meals reflect that fact.
• I do try to get as many organic and fresh products as I can and then choose frozen food next.
• I always have a few crock pot meals spread throughout each month.  On busy homeschool days, I have one or two crock pot meals to choose from.
• It’s much easier to plan for 31 days and use the rest of the month relaxing than it is to plan for the next 7 days, which comes quicker than you realize.

As I go along this year, I have been planning tips for long-range menu planning and I hope one of my ideas above will inspire you to plan for a longer period of time.

You can grab next month’s 31 days of dinner ideas below.

31 Day Planning means Flexibility, Saving Money and Being Healthier. That Equals Smarter.

Download Here May 31 Days Dinner Ideas

If you need some more ideas, grab some of the other 31 days of dinner ideas.

 January dinner ideas along with an editable menu planner
February dinner ideas
March dinner ideas
April dinner ideas

We’re almost half way through the year and I think I have only repeated two or three meals. Variety truly is the spice of dinner!

Are you still with me?

Hugs and love ya,

Don’t forget to follow BOTH of my Pinterest accounts for more AWESOME pins.

Visit Tina Robertson’s profile on Pinterest.

Visit Tinas Dynamic Homeschool ‘s profile on Pinterest.

I hope you’re hanging with me on planning meals so that your homeschool day is less stressful. Remember my tip, which is if you don’t struggle with all meals, just plan for the time of the day where you are tired, busiest or want to think less about meal preparing.

31 Day Planning means Flexibility, Saving Money and Being Healthier. That Equals Smarter.

For me that time happens to be supper. It’s not that I am not interested in cooking or eating something delicious and healthy, it’s just that I am ready to slow the day down. So I plan my dinners because I am a stickler for avoiding stress when I can control it.

It’s not the time for me to run to the grocery store or begin cooking something to realize that I am missing one ingredient to complete the meal.

I simply follow the directions and keep evening time low stress and high on taste.

Today, I am sharing 31 days of dinner ideas for April so that you have it early for next month too.

Download here April 31 Days of dinner

Remember you can grab any 31 day dinner ideas I have done so far because instead of trying to match up days with our activities for the month, I just do a straight list of 31 days of ideas regardless if the month has 31 days or not. This way, I can have options and mix and match too.

Grab January dinner ideas along with an editable menu planner here,  grab February dinner ideas here, and grab March dinner ideas here.

Surely, one of these menus will impress you enough to inspire you. Plus I have done the hard part for you which is coming up with ideas and not repeating dinners. (Oh I repeated one or two meals because we loved them, but for the most part variety is the key to enjoying both the meal and planning.)

Which meals are you finding hard to prepare?

Hugs and love ya,

Don’t forget to follow BOTH of my Pinterest accounts for more AWESOME pins.

Visit Tina Robertson’s profile on Pinterest.

Visit Tinas Dynamic Homeschool ‘s profile on Pinterest.