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Simplify dinnertime with a Capsule Pantry

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Capsule Pantry, Holidays, Meal Planning · December 1, 2020

How to create a simple meal plan during the holidays

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I know how hectic this time of year is, and I wanted to share with you how I create a simple meal plan during extra busy times – like the holidays!

So you can focus on all the other “stuff” that needs your attention and not worry about dinner.

This simple strategy comes from my Capsule Pantry method and you don’t need a fancy planner or even a Trello board (as much as you know I love me some Trello meal planning!).

What do you need for a simple meal plan through the holiday season?

Just grab a piece of plain paper, fold it or draw a line down the middle (length-wise). Then here’s what you do:

1. In the left hand side, jot down some dinners your family loves. After each dinner idea, write the ingredients it uses in the right hand side. As you come to one you already wrote down, put a little check mark next to it.

2. Circle all the main ingredients (these are usually proteins unless it’s a vegetarian meal or something else is the star ingredient).

3. We want to get our main ingredient list down to no more than 4. So cross out any of the main ingredients that do NOT have a checkmark next to it (in other words, are only used in ONE dinner idea). And cross out any accompanying ingredients to that main dish (ex: if Chicken Parm didn’t make the cut, cross out chicken breast, sauce, and spaghetti if they’re not in any other dinners).

4. You should be left with a list of dinner ideas and that use and re-use the same ingredients (hello master grocery list!). Transfer the ideas to your meal planner and you’re done!

Do you need more dinner ideas?

Stop making the same thing over and over.

Here’s my one-flip-switch idea:

Pick 3 dinners from your list and do a one-flip-switch. I’m going to use Chicken Parmesan as an example.

1. Find one dinner idea that uses the same ingredients but is in a different format (turning it into a casserole or soup or sandwich, maybe?). ex: chicken parm soup, chicken parm casserole, or pulled chicken parm sandwiches.

2. Then find one dinner idea where you flip the main ingredient. Just make sure you use an ingredient that’s on your master grocery list. ex: meatball parm or pork chop parm or shrimp parm.

3. Finally, find a 3rd dinner idea where you switch one ingredient to something totally different. ex: switch the sauce to alfredo, or enchilada, or lemon butter.

Free Holiday Dinner Planner

This is just one of the simple strategies I teach in the Capsule Pantry Blueprint.

That’s where I show you how to set up a capsule wardrobe for your kitchen, so you know exactly what’s for dinner and always have the ingredients at your fingertips.

I break it down into 3 simple steps:

1. Clear out the clutter that’s holding you back

2. Create a simple, easy meal plan that your family will love

3. Have your backup plan ready for when (not if!) your meal plan fails

I do NOT teach you to meal plan every week. I don’t have time for that, and I know you don’t either!

This program is designed to eliminate your stress in the kitchen, not create more. If you want more information, you can check out the details here. 

Free Holiday Dinner Planner

In: Capsule Pantry, Holidays, Meal Planning

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Spice jar organization! Swipe for the before. Alt Spice jar organization! Swipe for the before. 
Although I had cute little glass jars and labels before, I was having trouble seeing my spice labels (hello aging eyes...). 
And I don’t know about you, but I tend to not use something if I can’t find it easily. 
So I got new jars and made myself some easy-to-see labels using sticker printer paper. 
Now I want to use ALL the spices! What do you think?
(jars from Amazon - link in bio, labels designed on Canva and printed on Avery sticker paper)
The best, true, good love. Nothing can separate us The best, true, good love. Nothing can separate us from it. 
❤️ Happy Valentine’s Day!
How to come up with dinner (quick!) when your meal How to come up with dinner (quick!) when your meal plan fails. I wasn’t planning on making dinner tonight but then our plans changed and I needed an idea pronto! Here’s how I deal with that.
Fun fact: I have ZERO poker face. Like none. I’m Fun fact: I have ZERO poker face. Like none. I’m a thinker and have  always lived in my head. It’s the Enneagram 5 in me. 
Bonus: it’s allowed me to be able to talk my way out of any situation. (Except that one time in social studies in 10th grade when a girl was bullying me and I had to fight back. Let’s just say she left me alone after that!😂).
Anyhoo. A friend recently said to me “it makes sense that your face betrays you because you’re so in control of your tongue”. 
My face betrays me 😂 
She’s right, I can hold my tongue pretty well unless it’s something that really gets my goat. 
🐐Fun fact #2: “gets my goat” is one of my favorite phrases ever!
🤢 Fun fact #3: I am not a picky eater and will eat just about anything but don’t you dare make me eat a sandwich with the cheese and Mayo touching!! 
Tell me: are you a thinker too?!? What are some fun facts about you?
One of the most common misconceptions I hear about One of the most common misconceptions I hear about planning for more than one week is that it takes so much time...

But the reason this is such a big misconception is because if you think it take a lot of time to make a seasonal meal plan, think about how much time it takes you to meal plan from a blank slate every week. 
Let's look at it over the course of a year.
1. weekly meal planning 1 hour x 52 weeks = 52 hours
2. monthly meal planning 1 hour x 12 months = 12 hours
3. seasonal meal planning 2 hours x 4 seasons = 8 hours 

And we're not even talking about how much time you're losing by following a weekly meal plan and subsequently grocery shopping. 

Think about how much you're missing out on with your family by spending so much time planning and shopping so often. An hour meal planning + 2 hours grocery shopping every single week is 3 hours a week you could have back to do fun things with them!

I mean, I get it...you NEED to feed your family every day, right? (kinda something we hafta do...).
But you can  do 👏🏼 it 👏🏼 differently 👏🏼
A seasonal meal plan with not only help you spend less time in planning-mode, but also help with your grocery shopping so that you can go to the grocery store less, and stop making emergency trips to the store because you forgot something.

And while you're here, let me tell ya this: avoiding a seasonal meal plan because you don't have TIME is HOGWASH... because I have lots of short cuts and tricks to show you that will maximize your time. 

PS. Stay tuned for tomorrow's post - I'm sharing my newest meal planning formula calendar... It's only around for a few days...see ya tomorrow!

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Meet Karyn. She had amazing results as a customer Meet Karyn. She had amazing results as a customer of ours and I need to share her with you.
 
She bought the Daily Dinner Blueprint calendar, dug right in, and told me she was so excited because she got these results:

📆 her meals are planned until SPRING (and she said it was painless!)!
🛒 a streamlined grocery shopping list!
🥣 an ingredient-based plan that doesn't limit what her family is eating!

She also said how every month "will be even quicker and easier"!

Here’s what she had to say about our business in her own words...
"My husband and I just did our first plan using your system and I wanted to drop you a line to say THANK YOU! Once you wrap your head around the process, and you start using it, it's easy to see how it will streamline grocery shopping without limiting what you are eating!

WOW! I would have to say this was pretty painless! Another benefit is I can see a clear way to categorize my recipes for future use! Each successive month will be even quicker and easier!

Back in the day, Emeril would've said "BAM, kick it up a notch!" I love that my meals are planned UNTIL SPRING! 🙌."

Thank you Karyn for being a customer! 💜
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One of the most common mistakes I see people make One of the most common mistakes I see people make when it comes to meal planning ​is doing it backwards.
BACKWARDS = planning your meals THEN doing your grocery shopping. 
Honestly, I used to teach it this way. 
But I found this doesn't work because:
🕳 you buy single, hard-to-find ingredients that end up in a black hole after you use it for just one recipe (oyster sauce in the back of the fridge, I'm looking at you...)
💰 you overbuy ingredients thinking this is the week your toddler finally eats broccoli, or this is the week you're totally going to cook every night...but end up eating the same thing over and over anyway.
🤷🏻‍♀️ you have too many options and if your plan gets interrupted (which it WILL), you're left staring at a full pantry or fridge wondering "what can I make???" And then end up ordering takeout!

Don't worry, I've got ideas for you. Check out my stories for 3 things you can do instead of backwards planning!
I could tell you so many things about this girl... I could tell you so many things about this girl... 
...my BFF Cara @apurposedrivenmom 
...but I want to focus on how she KILLS it at going after her goals. And loves teaching other busy mamas to do the same. 
She helped me map out an action plan for my goals on Saturday and wow, guys. Just wow. 
So I asked her if she would help my audience with their goal setting for the new year...
...and she agreed! 
Join both of us this Thursday (LIVE!) for “How to Take MASSIVE ACTION on your Goals (without burnout or overwhelm)”.
Sound like something you want to chat about with us?!? Link is in my bio (just click this picture of Cara and I!).
Who else hates throwing away lots of un-eaten prod Who else hates throwing away lots of un-eaten produce at the end of the week as much as I do? 
Focus on an ingredient-based meal plan instead of the other way around. That's what the 2021 Annual Meal Planning Calendar does. Here's this week's meal plan...
🍕🌮 🍔 
‣‣‣Monday: Dinner Blueprint # 51 (A4+B1+C3)
Homemade Pizza Dough & Pizza Sauce (two recipes)
‣‣‣Tuesday: Dinner Blueprint # 33 (A3+B1+C1)
Blackened Tilapia Tacos
‣‣‣Wednesday: Dinner Blueprint # 10 (A1+B3+C2)
Crispy Lemon Chicken & Veggies
‣‣‣Thursday: Dinner Blueprint # 5 (A1+B2+C1)
Santa Fe Double Chicken
‣‣‣Friday: Dinner Blueprint # 40 (A3+B2+C4)
Baked Fish Sticks (+ leftover veggies or salad)
‣‣‣Saturday: Dinner Blueprint # 13 (A1+B4+C1)
Santa Fe Double Chicken Soup (just add a carton of chicken broth to leftovers to make soup)
‣‣‣Sunday: Dinner Blueprint # 3 (A1+B1+C3)
Chicken Parmesan w/Pasta
🍕 
If you're following along on the 2021 Annual Meal Planning Calendar, these are the same Dinner Blueprint #’s for each day. You can use the blueprint to come up with your own dinner idea, or use the linked example recipe.
🌮 
If you don’t own the 2021 Annual Meal Planning Calendar, you can purchase it by clicking my link in bio or if you're seeing this on Facebook, click here:
https://mpb.vipmembervault.com/products/courses/view/1065589/?action=signup
🍉🥬Tell me... what fruit or veggie do you always end up throwing away? (watermelon and fresh spinach here!)
I don't know about you, but I can waste time like I don't know about you, but I can waste time like a CHAMP. Like re-drying the same load of laundry 3 times or scrolling IG like a zombie in bed.
Anyone else?
But I don't like it. 
And I definitely try to be more intentional on the things that give me more time back than what I spent on it. 
Meal planning is one of those things. Spend ONE hour a month meal planning, and you'll gain so many more hours each day (and *bonus* - it's during that dreaded pre-dinner time when the kids are maniacs!)

P.S. Please stop weekly meal planning. That doesn't actually save you time. (you can watch the ✨free training✨ in my link in bio if you want to know how often I suggest!)
Tell me...what would you do with an extra 30 mins each day?
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