31 Days to Simplified Menu Planning: How to Simplify Your Kitchen Flow

It’s almost here! Monday begins my contribution to The Nester’s 31 Days round-up with 31 Days to Simplified Menu Planning. I’ll be going over the process I went through while creating Simplified Dinners, though it took me much longer than 31 days! I’ve distilled and condensed that process and will write about it in manageable, bite-sized chunks that will help your kitchen process – everything from planning, to storing, to shopping, to cooking – flow smoothly.

Not only will I have 31 Days to Simplified Menu Planning here, over at my homemaking blog, Simply Convivial, I will also have 31 Days to GTD for Homemakers. That series will walk through the principles and practices outlined in David Allen’s Getting Things Done, but applying it directly to moms at home.

If you want to receive the baby steps to simplify your menu planning directly in your email inbox daily during the month of October, just sign up and subscribe to Simple Pantry Cooking for free!

Table of Contents for
31 Days to Simplified Menu Planning

Identify Your Food Sources
5 Ways to Stock Meat
5 Ways to Stock Fresh Produce
Organize Your Grocery Lists
Compare Prices & Create a Price Book
Decide on Your Shopping Strategy
Create and Maintain Inventories
Never Run Out of Your Staples
Set Up Your Menu Plan Calendar System
Pick a Kitchen Day & Kitchen Tasks
Add Menu Planning to Your Task List
Make Checking Your Menu Plan a Habit
Keep up Your Inventories Daily
When You Forget to Soak the Beans
When You Forget to Thaw the Meat
Set Aside Daily Prep Time
Establish a Dinner-Making Routine

All the thinking tasks on this list can be short-cut simply by purchasing my eBook, Simplified Dinners, which helps anyone simplify menu planning and get dinner on the table with ease while allowing creativity and flexibility. It contains 16 basic meal types with the process lined out in a quick-reference style, then 3-9 variations for each. I kept the master pantry list as short as possible while still being versatile. Simplified Dinners allows you to grab the list and go to the store without having thought through all the week’s meals beforehand and also to plan dinners without keeping track of ingredients to buy. It also frees you to buy whatever meat or produce are on sale, and know that you have the ingredients and the instructions to make it into dinner, whatever it is.