It’s no secret: I hate planning a weekly menu. In my thinking, it ranks right up there with cleaning the bathroom. It’s just not on my list of fun things to do.

Veteran menu-makers agree, however, that planning a menu is a crucial step in keeping a grocery budget in check. It helps keep us “eating within our means,” so to speak. Here are four benefits of meal planning:

1. A menu plan helps prevent those last-minute trips to the grocery store.
We’ve all been there, haven’t we? Right in the middle of preparing a recipe, we find that we’re “out” of something. And off to the grocery store we go. Extra miles, extra time . . . and it could have been prevented with a well-planned menu.

2. A menu plan is useful for planning meals based on weekly sales.
It just makes sense to plan weekly meals based on the best deals in the local stores. If you aren’t planning ahead, you are undoubtedly spending more money by just preparing whatever “sounds good” at the moment.

3. A menu plan curbs impulse shopping.
Very few people can just run into the grocery store and come out with one or two things. Let’s face it–we all grab a few extras while we’re in there, especially if we’re already hungry. Taking time to come up with a well-planned menu and grocery list eliminates the need for those extra stops at the grocery store, saving extra dollars that would certainly have been spent on impulsive purchases.

4. A menu plan helps get balanced meals on the table consistently.
If you have already planned out meals for the week and purchased all the ingredients, there will be no need for last-minute fast food due to lack of planning. Big savings!

If you are a reluctant meal planner like me, you’ll want to be here tomorrow to find out how I am simplifying the menu-planning process–and to find out about an exciting new giveaway! If you haven’t already, please take a minute to subscribe for free daily updates from Contented at Home. You can also follow on Facebook or Twitter.

And so, without further ado, here’s my evening meal plan for this week:

Monday–Creamed ham with potatoes and green beans
Tuesday–Bacon Cheeseburger Pasta, vegetable
Wednesday–Meatloaf, baked potatoes, vegetable
Thursday–Meatloaf Shepherd’s Pie
Friday–Sloppy joes on whole-wheat buns, cole slaw, carrots and dip
Saturday–Leftover buffet

Have some great menu-planning tips to share? Leave a comment–I’d love to learn from you!

This post contributes to Menu Plan Monday.

Well, I have certainly had a whirlwhind start to the new week–how about you? I’ve been running behind all day. I’m reminding myself that tomorrow is a new day!

Here’s what’s on the menu this week:

Monday–Slow Cooker Roast Beef with Gravy (using this recipe), mashed potatoes (at the last minute, the mixer refused to work!), broccoli

Tuesday–Hamburgers, baked beans, salad

Wednesday–Porcupine Meatballs, baked potatoes, vegetable

Thursday–Pizza Night

Friday–Spaghetti (by request), green beans, Whole-Wheat Garlic Rolls

Saturday–Whatever sounds good–does that count?

What’s cooking at your house this week?

Visit Menu Plan Monday  for more menu inspiration!

 Happy Monday, everyone! After a very hectic and exhausting weekend, Monday actually feels like a day off. Really.

Before we get into this week’s menu plan, I must  share with you that I totally forgot to prepare the dish I had been asked to bring for the pastor’s family and their guests for Sunday dinner–totally mortifying, to be sure! Hopefully everyone was able to enjoy an extra serving of dessert in place of the green bean casserole I had planned to prepare.

This week I am looking forward to plenty of baking: homemade bread, rolls, blueberry muffins, apple-cinnamon muffins, and perhaps more. I’d love to be able to freeze some of my baking, but I’ll have to find a way to stay ahead of my hungry crew!

This week’s menu plan:

Monday–Slow Cooker Mac-n-Cheese, homemade applesauce

Tuesday–Cheesy Chicken and Rice, vegetable

Wednesday–Pizza Night (trying out whole-wheat pizza crust this week)

Thursday–Subs (purchased through a local fundraiser)

Friday–Slow Cooker Steak with Gravy, mashed potatoes, vegetable

Saturday–Canned venison, served with noodles, vegetable

Visit Menu Plan Monday  for more menu inspiration!

Happy Monday! Have you planned your menu yet?

Here’s what we’re eating this week:

Monday–Totally cheated and grabbed fast food–but hey, we had coupons!

Tuesday–Bacon Cheeseburger Pasta, green beans

Wednesday–Slow Cooker Mac-n-Cheese, peas, homemade applesauce

Thursday–Homemade pizza

Friday–Broccoli Potato Chowder

Saturday–Canned venison, noodles, vegetable

Visit Menu Plan Monday  for more menu inspiration!