Mix and Match Meal Planning helps you create a meal plan based on ingredients you have on hand to help solve the question, “What’s for Dinner, Mom?”
Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Healthy Family Project’s Mission for Nutrition. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
I’m all for sharing my weekly meal plan with you in my newsletter. Truth be told, if I didn’t share a meal plan there, I might forget about meal planning all together. It’s just the age and stage I’m in with the kids! Hey, at least I remember to FEED the kids… you get where I’m going with that thought. A lot of what you see on this blog, in my newsletter, and in my other posts about meal planning, I like to plan meals that use foods you already have. Before we get into the nitty gritty of a mix and match meal plan, FIRST make sure you have a well-stocked fridge, freezer, and pantry.
Before we meal plan, let’s stock your kitchen!
I typically pride myself on a well-stocked fridge freezer and pantry, which is really the basis for this mix and match meal planning guide. While I’m all for an exact or specific meal plan for each week, life doesn’t happen that way. So I like this mix and match option which helps give my brain the flexibility it needs to get dinner [or lunch and breakfast] on the table. Stocking your fridge, freezer, and pantry might seem like a daunting task, but you’ll thank me afterwards! Plus, if you cook every now and again, you should have a few of these items already on hand. Keep in mind these are not the only foods I eat or have in our house at the moment. I picked them because a. they are commonly accessible and keep long before spoiling b. they mix and match well with other foods and c. they are standby’s that are commonly used in a variety of recipes.
Why I Mix and Match Meal Plan
Meal planning helps you save time, money and extra trips to the grocery store. It also helps you stick to your food budget and helps you buy only what you need for the week. What I love about Healthy Family Project’s Mission for Nutrition is that they too agree, the healthiest meals start with a plan in mind. It’s all about Meal planning made easy. Mission for Nutrition materials like their free meal plan e-cookbook, complete with 5 easy meal prep recipes and a shopping list, helps save time AND money in the kitchen. Who wouldn’t want that?!
Download your free e-book and enter to win an air fryer!
Mission for Nutrition also rounded up lots of virtual cooking classes to get you and your family in the kitchen, preparing healthy and fun dishes everyone will love (Psst – they’re all hosted by dietitians so you can check that nutrition box). Check out the calendar below to find an event for your family.
HOW Do You Mix and Match?
I was inspired by the Mission for Nutrition’s goal of planning, preparing, and eating more meals together as a family. And I do that with the simple tool of mix and match meal planning. Drumroll please…. Guys, there’s really no science to mix and match meal planning. Yep, take your stocked fridge, freezer, and pantry and look at my formulas for breakfast, lunch, dinner below, then create your meal plan.
Save and PIN this image for later!
Other Meal Planning Posts You Might Like
5 Tips for Healthier Meal Planning
If you have decided you want to eat healthier or make some positive changes to your family’s daily meals, congratulations!! Healthy eating might seem like a daunting task but trust me it’s easier when you PLAN! Yep. You heard me right. Healthier eating begins with planning, then actually consuming healthier food options. Plan first, eat next. It’s as simple as that! Well, there’s the cooking part in there too… details.
Leave a Reply