12 Simple Meal Planning Tips from a Homesteading, Homeschooling Mom of 7 for Stress-Free Meal Planning

Simple meal planning tips are everywhere! Everyone has their own perspective and experience to share. In this post, you’ll hear 12 simple meal planning tips from a Homesteading, Homeschooling mom of 7 that used to hate meal planning and now plans with ease. And with no burn out, no overwhelm, and no experience necessary, you can also learn to meal plan stress-free with these 12 simple meal planning tips!

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Simple meal planning tips are everywhere! Everyone has their own perspective and experience to share. In this post, you’ll hear 12 simple meal planning tips from a Homesteading, Homeschooling mom of 7 that used to hate meal planning and now plans with ease. And with no burn out, no overwhelm, and no experience necessary, you can also learn to meal plan with these 12 simple meal planning tips!

Hi, I’m Priscilla!

As a young, growing family facing job loss in 2013, with a toddler and a newborn baby, I wanted to learn how to grow food to supplement our rising grocery bill, but I had no experience. So, I called on my mom to help me start my first garden as cheap as possible. I remember her stewarding a small garden from time to time when I was growing up. We started one with blocks, soil, seeds, and a few starters that she helped me invest in. And that’s how I started!

Before I was a homesteading, homeschooling mom I was a professional musician and music teacher. I carried over my teaching experience into homeschooling my children, but I learned it was much different teaching your own children. And, when I started homesteading, I started with NO experience. It was something I never imagined doing. I had to do a lot of researching and learning each season. So, I know how hard it is to start homeschooling and homesteading with no experience! 

After 2020

After the events of 2020, we saw the vital need to learn to grow, raise, and store real God-given food in abundance, and continue homeschooling all of our children. We felt God had a new call and season for us. So in 2021, we left everything behind, and moved from northwest Indiana to southern Georgia. And we just got started!

How we can help you

Now, I’ve homeschooled for 11 years and have 6 children of homeschool age with 1 more in waiting. And, we established our homestead in 2021 with lots of research and no experience. We built up gardens and livestock and had a small farmstead business within 2 years. We stewarded a small farmstead by selling fresh eggs and healthy chickens to many happy customers! 

Also, we started taking and completing several homesteading courses by experts, and we continue our education every year. And, I’m always looking for ways to make things more time efficient by making them simpler to do and sustainable. When things are simpler, they are more sustainable in our already full lives.

But, an unexpected turn of events landed us in a rental home in an HOA neighborhood while we search for land. We proved to ourselves that we could still homestead even with all the restrictions. We knew if we could do it, others could do it too! So, we started this blog and our newsletter to equip modern families to live abundantly in their homesteads and homeschools no matter where they live and with no overwhelm or burn out. NO EXPERIENCE NECESSARY! We offer and affordable solutions, free printables, resources, and encouragement for your Christ-centered beginner homesteading, homeschooling journey.

Meal Planning

Meal Planning. These words can either have a negative connotation to you, or a positive one. For a long time, they were negative words to me. But, I came to realize that it was because of my lack of cooking skills, not because I couldn’t plan! I’ve been a type A planner most of my life; a recovering perfectionist. So, it wasn’t the planning part that messed with me, it was the what do I know how to cook, with what food, and will everyone in my large family eat it? Maybe for you it is the planning that stresses you.

Well, tons of people sell meal plans. That’s not what I’m here to give you today. Today, I want to encourage you. I want to encourage you that if any part of you ever felt negatively towards meal planning you are not alone. And, you can overcome those feelings. Because I did. Here are just a few tips to help you simplify meal planning. Because, remember, we are here for you. To help make things simpler for you because when something is simple it is sustainable. (Get simple meal plan printables in our free printable library!) So, here we go to the 12 simple meal planning tips for stress-free meal planning!

12 Simple Meal Planning Tips:

1. Learn as many homesteading skills as you can.

Learn as many homesteading skills as you can and it will be much easier to keep providing food through growing, raising, and cooking, food, as well as preserving food to ensure your pantry and freezers are always full. Some homesteading skills to mention are cooking from scratch, rendering broth, baking with sourdough, milling grains, fermenting foods, dehydrating foods, canning foods, freezing foods, gardening, keeping bees, raising chickens, and many more.

We learned almost all of these skills and more from the School of Traditional Skills, Lisa Bass from Farmhouse on Boone, and Homesteading Family. Learning these skills helps keep you prepared for the future, but also helps keep meal planning moving simply and easily by always having food to eat!

2. Stock up on ingredients.

Stock up on ingredients, not convenience foods. You will discover that stocking up on basic ingredients is actually more convenient than convenience foods. It’s also cheaper; more frugal if you like that word better. Make sure you have ingredients like flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, spices, herbs, olive oil, oats, rice, wheat berries, etc. Also, think of produce to grow or have on hand each week for eating and meals. If you are an “ingredients” household or a “cook from scratch” household (or want to be), this is vital to your success in cooking from scratch AND meal planning. So, stock up on ingredients, and keep it stocked.

2. Shop your pantry and freezer first.

When you are working on your meal plans, shops your pantry and freezer first. Use what you already have and create meals around it. Look in your freezer, and look in your pantry. What do you already have? What can you make with what you already have? How simple can you make it? Do you have produce or ingredients that need to be used before they go bad? Then, you may find you don’t need to get anything from the store, or you may need to add a thing or two to your grocery list.

Another thing to think about is your regular weekly groceries. What do you already get each week? So, if you don’t have it right now, but will have it for the following week that you are planning for you can still use it in a meal. This depends on your weekly flow. We buy groceries every Thursday, but I don’t actually meal plan for the week until Monday morning. So, I plan meals weekly Monday through Sunday. This causes me to make sure I’m using what I already have and what I already regularly get each week without adding a bunch of extras that will cost more.

3. Create a list of your family’s favorite meals.

Think about your family’s favorite meals, and make a list. Once you have that list it is easy to pull meal ideas from there. This should be a list of meals that everyone in your family, even the pickiest, loves to eat. But, it’s also okay to add meals that most of your family loves. (I have one that is pickier than all the rest, so that kid simply cannot dictate meals, but is super excited when I choose meals she loves, too.) I try to incorporate family favorite meals regularly, especially when they are quick and easy meals.

4. Create a list of quick or super simple meals.

Create a list of quick or super simple meals as well to pull from. For breakfast, our family knows that every day they will choose eggs or oatmeal which can be made many different ways. Some days we get spunky and make pancakes, crepes, muffins, or something else fun. But, typically, it’s as simple as possible when we keep it to eggs or oatmeal.

I do the same with lunch. I typically will make ground sausage at lunch time which can be made with spaghetti, eaten with bread, or many other options. If I don’t make sausage, then we choose from slices of lunch meat or chicken chunks. You can do what works for you and your family.

For dinner, quick for super simple meals can be something like spaghetti or chili. Meals that take little to no preparation, are hands off (like an oven sheet pan meal or Instant pot meal), or cooks very quickly. Use these ideas when you forgot to defrost meat, it’s too late to cook, your family is busy that day, or you don’t feel well. Or, even plan to use at least one quick, simple meal a week just to make meal planning easier. That’s what I do. I opt for the simplest, quickest meals along with what produce I have that needs to be used.

5. Create a list of as many simple meals as you can with similar ingredients.

Think about the ingredients and meats you constantly have on hand and create a list of as many simple meals as you can with similar ingredients. That way if every week or so you are buying similar cuts of meat, rice, pasta, whatever it is.. you can have a whole list of meals to pull ideas from without adding extras.

For instance, I have a list of different meals I can make with any meat, squash, and a carb for fall nutrition. The carb can rotate to be pasta or rice, and the meat can be any meat I want to use. All that changes is maybe how I season the meal, but mostly whether the meal is fried on the stove top, simmered in a crock pot, in a casserole in the oven, roasted in the oven, etc. You can do the same thing with a list of meals you can make with meat, potatoes, carrots, and another carb like rice, pasta, buns, or even a pie crust! A list like this makes meal planning so simple, especially if you are also trying to save money.

Bonus: Make seasonal meal plan lists around seasonal produce, and/or what you are growing.

Make seasonal lists of meal plan ideas. I just started doing this, and I also consider what I’m currently buying, stocking, growing, and preserving. This is a tip that not only will save you money, but will help you make simple meals that are also nutrient-dense.

7. Make a freezer inventory.

This can be on your phone or pen and paper. However you want to make it is up to you. And, it can sound overwhelming, especially if you have a lot of meat and other freezer items, but do it once and then keep up with it and you don’t have to do it again. Seriously, just do it. We have two refrigerators with freezers filled, and a deep freezer. (We actually have two deep freezers, but one is not in use right now since we are not actively raising chickens right now.)

I like my freezer inventory on my phone because my husband and I share the note and we can easily add what one of us buys, and I can subtract as I cook. It is a simple, quick habit that literally helps simplify meal planning because I don’t have to sit and stare and daydream looking in the freezers. I have an inventory and I keep up with it, so I know exactly what’s in there without looking…

It takes me less than ten minutes to go through my shared note on my phone of what meat is in my freezer and pull together ideas for the week. Yes, using all the lists that I told you to make above, plus the freezer inventory and the next few tips, it usually takes me less than 10 minutes a week to meal plan. These tips and habits have saved me so much time!

8. Pull meat from the freezer to thaw in the refrigerator every week.

I do this on Mondays because that is my meal planning day. Then, I head to the freezers and pull out Monday through Thursday’s meats to thaw. I also pull out any meat I may want to make my kids for lunch that week. (Why I don’t need to pull out meat for Friday will make sense during the next tip.) I do not pull out meat for the weekend until about Friday or Saturday morning because refrigerated meat is typically only good up to 5 days. So, have that knowledge in your back pocket when pulling out meat to thaw.

9. Make Fridays (or any day) a set special meal every week.

Every week we have homemade pizzas on Friday. We’ve done this for so many months. We only missed one Friday which was a family wedding and they still had pizza. (Isn’t that funny?!) Anyhow, it may seem like a lot of work, but it’s actually so stress-free because I know that it is going to be every week, and I’ve practically memorized the dough recipe making this meal run on auto-pilot!

I make the doughs and then, invite my kids to roll them out and top them. While we make the pizzas we have a candle lit and Italian restaurant music or instrumental jazz playing in the background to create a fun atmosphere. Not only is every Friday’s meal planned without thinking, but it can become fun family time, and everyone eats it!

10. Create a weekly meal plan flow with daily themes.

This is another simple way to make meal planning start working on auto-pilot for you. You can give each day of the week a theme and then choose a meal each week that falls under it. I created lists of meals that fall under each of my daily themes. Yes, I know, I make a lot of lists, but this has helped me greatly over the years. Instead of needing the brain and memory space, it’s all down on paper for me to see visually and quickly. So, here’s an example of my current weekly meal plan flow:

• Monday-Easy Instant Pot, Crockpot, or Dutch Oven Meal
• Tuesday-Taco Tuesday (tacos, enchiladas, nachos, rice with enchilada sauce, quesadillas, etc)
• Wednesday-Quick Meal (spaghetti, chili, sheet pan etc)
• Thursday-From Scratch Longer Meal (I don’t know if that makes sense to you. But, this day is a day I usually have more time to make a longer from scratch meal, or even try a new recipe.)
• Friday-Homemade Pizza Night
• Saturday-American Food (homemade burgers, fries, hot dogs, sloppy joes, pulled pork sandwiches etc) 
• Sunday-Slow cooker or Smoker 

Create your own themes, a weekly flow, or even assign meals to each day for the simplest way to meal plan. But, if your family tires of the same meals each week, then you can make a list of meals for each day’s theme and then rotate like I mentioned above. This is an easy way to keep meal planning on auto-pilot. It may take some work to create at first, but then it’ll be worth it when it saves you time and sanity each week!

11. Double the meal size to have a meal or leftovers another day.

This is a common tip that I agree with. It can be hard with a large family though. We often eat everything we make in one meal, and I’ve had to grow the size of our meals as our family has grown. However, I started trying to double meal sizes when I can, especially when I know a week will be busier. I do not have much time in my schedule to make ahead freezer meals (although that is a great tip for moms and families who DO have the time!).

So, an example of how I can double is by making two pots of chili at once, two pie crusts into the freezer at once, two or more loaves of bread at once, a large stockpot of soup that will equal two or more meals, cook multiple pounds of chicken breast in the instant pot at once for meals all week, etc.

12. Cook a large cut of meat that you can use ALL week!

My husband enjoys smoking meats, and so the BEST is when he will smoke an entire pork shoulder or butt, ham, or turkey on Sunday, and I can use it in different meals ALL week. I have been writing down meal ideas for how to turn one cut into meals all week for a large family like mine.

For example, a large pork butt or shoulder can turn into pork tacos, nachos, quesadillas, or anything for Taco Tuesday. It can be used in chili, with rice, stir-fried with teriyaki and vegetables, pulled pork sandwiches, and more. If you have a smaller family, it could potentially last you longer or you can freeze portions to have meals for TWO WEEKS! We hope to come out with those lists to share soon!

Pick your day and plan!

Choose the day a week that works for you to meal plan your week’s meals. Or, maybe you want to do it bi-weekly or monthly. I have thought about going monthly, but I have such an ingrained habit of pulling out my planner every Monday morning after my prayer and Bible time and planning my week. It is a discipline that I enjoy, and I have no desire to change it right now. (*shrug and smile*) So, do whatever works for you! Remember, you can get simple meal plan printables in our free printable library!

We hope you’ve enjoyed these simple meal planning tips, and that it helps you enjoy stress-free meal planning. As always, we want to equip modern families to live abundantly in their homesteads and homeschools no matter where they live and with no overwhelm or burn out. So, we try to provide simple solutions and simple resources, as well as links to other simple resources to help you on your adventure.

If you found it helpful, please share this post and subscribe to our newsletter for more simple solutions, free printables, resources, and encouragement!

Resources for you:

• Learn homesteading skills with leading experts at School of Traditional Skills
• Learn Fermenting Foods with Lisa Bass from Farmhouse on Boone
• Learn Sourdough with Lisa Bass from Farmhouse on Boone
• Sourdough Starter Kit
• Learn to mill grains with Lisa Bass from Farmhouse on Boone
• Free Printables for homesteading, homeschooling, and homemaking created by us
• Affordable Resources created by us
• Quality Grain Mill -NutriMill
• Simple Food Dehydrator -Excalibur
• Non-toxic Dutch Oven

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