Assuming you would like tips on how to plan a menu for the week:
One way to make menu planning easier is to choose recipes that can be easily adapted. For example, if a recipe calls for chicken, it can easily be made with pork or tofu instead. This gives you some flexibility in what you make each night. Another tip is to have some go-to recipes that you know your family enjoys and that are easy to prepare. That way, if you’re short on time or energy one night, you can fall back on a tried-and-true favorite.
Another helpful strategy is to batch cook certain items ahead of time. This could mean cooking a big pot of rice or quinoa at the beginning of the week, so it’s ready to add to meals as needed. Or it could mean prepping ingredients for several meals, so all you have to do is assemble and cook them when it’s time to eat. If batch cooking sounds like too much work, another option is to simply cook double portions of dinner every night and save the leftovers for lunch the next day.
When it comes to actually putting together your menus, there are a few different ways to approach it. One method is to choose one protein and build your dinners around that – so maybe Monday is baked salmon, Tuesday is salmon burgers, Wednesday is stir-fry with tofu (using leftover rice from earlier in the week), Thursday is lentil soup, etc. Another option is theme nights – such as Mexican Monday or pasta night on Wednesday – where everything revolves around a particular cuisine or dish type. You could also do something like Meatless Monday or Soup & Sandwich Saturday if those sound appealing.
Once you have an idea of what you want each night’s main dish to be, take inventory of what ingredients you already have on hand and make a shopping list for anything else you need before heading off to the store (or placing an online order). And finally, don’t forget breakfast and snacks! Planning ahead for these will help ensure that everyone in the family starts the day with a nutritious meal and has healthy snacks available throughout the day.