(Props to anyone who got the Lord of the Rings reference.)
Since moving to Florida this summer, Mark and I have taken the initiative to create a bit more structure in our lives…from the food inside our cabinets, to our exercising, and now…to our meals!
Menu planning is one thing we both agreed would not only make our lives easier, but so much healthier. We’ve never done it before (chalking it up to busyness), but we’ve gotten into that chips-and-queso-for-dinner scenario one too many times of late…. It was time to make a change.
Enter, the menu planner to rule them all!
I cannot take ANY credit for coming up with this genius design. All I did was create a replica of the original created by the oh-so-brilliant Clair Dickson. If you’re interested in making your own, I highly recommend you check out her original post as well as this feature from the blog, The Creative Mama. A lot of my questions were answered in the comments on these two posts, and I got tips and tricks from other readers, many of whom posted pics of their own versions.
Cue those singing angels!
Now, you may be wondering a few things.
What supplies did you use?
- Rows of Roses Fabric from Banberry Place.
- 11″ x 14″ Magnetic Whiteboard – $8.99 at Hobby Lobby.
- Scrapbook paper (picked up a book of it on sale at Hobby Lobby for $10 that should last me for the rest of my life).
- Ribbon – 50 cents for a foot.
- Medium-sized clothespins.
- Type-Letter Embellishments – $4.95 at Hobby Lobby.
- Keurig K-Cup box from the recycle bin – one box to create both mini boxes on my board.
- Chipboard letters I already had on hand from my White Letters on White Canvas D.I.Y. Artwork.
- Cardstock from Staples. $11.99 for a pack of 250 sheets of cardstock in green, yellow, red, orange, and hot pink…should last me for quite a few craft projects.
- Fabric & Paper Glue by Elmer’s.
- Other supplies: Acrylic paint, hot glue, x-acto knife, scissors, clear packing tape.
How long did it take you to make this?
Good question (smile). I worked on it bit by bit over a week, but if you added it all up, it took about 8 hours. I procrastinated from typing up the menu cards for several days (and several episodes of Downton Abbey), since I knew that would take the most time and attention to detail. However, when I think about the hours of time this menu planner will save us in the end (no more staring blankly into the fridge), it is worth every second of time invested into creating it.
Why is THIS the menu planner to rule them all?
I am fully aware of the subjectivity of that statement, but below, I’ve listed my reasons why I think it’s going to rule in our household.
- The design is simple, covering dinners for one week. We take new recipes from the top box and after they’re used, deposit them in the bottom box (which discourages repeats). Then, once the top box is empty, we refill it with the cards from the bottom box and start all over again.
- It encourages variety because of the color-coded cards (see key below).
- With this system, it will be easy to write up my grocery list on Sunday nights. All I do is look at the back of each menu card I have selected for that week to find my ingredients (see second image below).
- When it comes time to referring to my recipe, I know where to look based on the “location” or page number I have listed on the card.
- It pulls all of our favorite recipes into one place, so they’re right at my fingertips instead of buried in a cookbook.
- The board is magnetic. So, it lives on the fridge, but is easy to remove when I want to sit on the couch and arrange meals for the week and enter ingredients on our Cozi grocery list.
Each card color represents a different meal category.
In addition to listing the ingredients, the back of the card lists the cookbook and page number for the recipe.
Do you have any tips for me if I were to make my own?
Here’s what I learned in the process:
- Cut your boxes to size before covering them with paper.
- When typing up your menu cards, use Microsoft Excel to create your boxes. If you’re using an older version of Microsoft Office (2004), you’ll want to create your boxes in Excel, but then copy and paste them over into Word, which will allow you more formatting options for your text.
- Also, when typing up your menu cards, change the color of your box outlines to a very pale gray; they’ll serve as sight-lines when it comes time to cut the cards out.
- Make sure you’re aware of the direction in which your printer prints your text so you properly set your cardstock when printing on both sides.
- 4 foot roll of ribbon will barely fit around the margins of a 11″ x 14″ board. So, buy a little extra.
- Only lay down 4 or 5 cards on a strip of packing tape at a time. More than that gets a bit unwieldy.
Would you be willing to share the file you used to create your menu cards?
UPDATE: I’m happy to share the Word file I used to create my menu cards to help eliminate a step for you! Just click here to download the file fo’ free from box.com.
Now, it’s YOUR turn:
Do you have a system for planning meals that works well for your family? If so, I’d love to hear about it. I know there are an abundance of other great ideas out there, and we can all learn from each other’s glory and gorey stories.
Visiting from Pinterest?
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Linking up here.
you’re a genius
i don’t think i’ll ever be that organized but i’ll dream on… already pinned it for further reference. next step: just do it!
I’m really no genius – - it was all Clair’s design; I just re-created it! And I never thought of myself as organized in the “meal planning” realm, but it’s an area I wanted to grow in – - so I just decided to carpe diem. You can do it, Simona!
This is awesome! I’m going to make one today. Right now I’m just writing the menu down every week on a white board.
At least you already had a system of sorts! And that’s great that you want to make your own…today! I would love to see a pic of yours when you finish!
This is a great idea!! I am going to get my kids involved with this. That way they pick a menu night each week!! Thank you so much!!
Love that idea, Jenny! I bet they would delight to be involved in that part of family life. Brilliant.
I love this idea! Meal time and planning is a dreaded chore around here but this would make things so much easier. How many meals do you have in your box?
Good question! (I meant to include that the post.) I have 50 meal cards, but that includes a couple that say “leftovers” and a couple that say “eating out” and “date night.” Those are just the recipes we’ve tried and enjoyed from our cookbooks and recipe binder. I cut a few blank cards in each color that I’ll keep nearby to use as we discover new recipes…until I can get around to typing them up!
This is great, my kitchen totally needs this. Thanks for sharing!
Sure thing! Thanks for the follow. Love your mother-and-daughter blog!
Thank you, Happy Holidays!
Oh wow…how wonderful! I for sure need one of these..now finding that 8 hours to make it might be tough. So pretty though!
Thanks, Christina. Yes, it was time consuming…but there are a lot simpler renditions that could be done. Going through some of the comments on the original posts I referenced, I came across a wide variety of manifestations. You can make it work for you!
Such a great project idea! I love you you made it watching Downton…best show ever.
Yes! I’m totally hooked. In the middle of season 2 right now. Trying to pace myself so I don’t run out of episodes too quickly.
Wonderful idea and I’m so proud of you doing this early in your marriage. It will make life much easier! I’ve never been that organized with meal planning…maybe one day! I always write out menus for holiday meals and when guests come over so I can be sure I don’t forget anything! Your board is so colorful and appealing!
You always managed just fine without a menu planner! But yes, menus for holidays and guests is a must.
I have enough colored cardstock to get us and the whole neighborhood through many years of meal planning…so hopefully, it will last!
I’m a huge fan of menu planning! It really does make your life easier, saves money and helps you eat more healthily. I know you said that you can’t take credit for the idea, but I thought your post is fab so I’ve pinned it so other people can be inspired.
You’re too sweet, Angela. Thanks! Excited to join the ranks of those who menu plan…like you!
I pinned this with every intention to make a version of my own. I am figuring out how to follow… I reached you through a string of pins, but will surely figure it out. I am excited to see what else you’re up to!
Glad to hear you figured it out, Chandra! And so happy you made it here! (I’ve found some of my favorite blogs through a string of pins, as well.)
First of all, I love the title. It makes me excited to see The Hobbit soon! And, I’m even more convinced we’re kindred spirits because I love Downton Abbey too
I’m so excited for the new season in January!
Then, of course I absolutely love this menu planner. We get stuck in a pasta rut, because I usually think about dinner 10 minutes before we’re ready to eat. This would be revolutionary for us! I love that it takes everything into account. Wow! I need to do this.
Hooray for The Hobbit & Downton Abbey! We most definitely share similar movie/tv tastes.
Pasta is (was) often our go-to move or chips and dip – - and that’s not so bad once in a while, but we’re hoping to get a bit healthier and more organized now.
I can’t wait to try our new menu! This is a truly revolutionary idea. Great post!
Yay! Thanks for your support, Mark. And for encouraging me to go for it!
I love this. One of my friends had pinned it. I had never used Pin Interest, so I wasn’t sure how to find this, but just clicking around bought me to your blog. I printed out the directions and plan on making this next week. I plan a menu on my shopping list each week and this will just bring to into view for the rest of the family. Plus I love the idea of moving the recipe to the bottom box and waiting until the top box is empty to start again. Thanks for sharing
So glad the rabbit hole of the internet led you to my blog! It’ll certainly be fun for your family to be included in your meal planning. And I, too, was really drawn to the concept of rotating recipes from the top to the bottom box. I debated labeling those boxes (“fresh ideas” and “oldies”) but didn’t want the board to get too busy; I suppose it just matters that WE know the way it works. Hope you have fun creating yours!
That is super cute!
Why thank you, Laura! It definitely dresses up our fridge a bit.
Beautiful
Thank you, Wen!
I absolutely love this! I am a novice and what to make this project. Can I ask– how did you apply the fabric to the board?? Any additional tips would also be appreciated.
To answer your question, Lisa, I applied the fabric to the board by using the fabric & paper glue by Elmer’s on the front. Then, once that dried a little, I folded the edges around to the back of the whiteboard and glued that down using hot glue. Those were the two types of adhesive I used throughout the project – - the fabric & paper glue for gluing the paper onto the boxes and clothespins, as well as the ribbon around the borders – - the hot glue for gluing the days of the week letters to the clothespins, the clothespins and boxes TO the board, as well as the “m-e-n-u” letters to the front.
Email me at thethinkingcloset {at} gmail {dot} com if you have any other specific questions that I can answer! I’d also recommend checking out the original posts I linked up as they have a lot of great details to help you out in creating your own. Best!
Thank you so much! I just finished mine – even ordered the fabric you used!! This is such a great board with a lot of room for flexibility. I have made additional categories (diabetic friendly) is just one of them. The other thing I like about this– I get the family involved in selecting the meals as well. This way, I hear less griping about what is for dinner. Now when they ask, I tell them to tell me, since they picked it out! Love it!!!
Putting the board together was the most pleasurable part– making the cards was not. I had a hard time getting the template set (guess my computer skills are not up to par) and printing front to back. So my least enjoyable part of the project was making the cards…
Wow, I’m so flattered that used my same fabric! And I think that’s fantastic that you’re including the family on planning the meals. For sure, making the cards was the toughest part…but in the end, I know you’ll see it was well worth the effort. Enjoy using your meal planner! (I’m actually getting ready to get this week’s plan in order so I can go shopping later tonight – - it has really worked out so well for us thus far.)
This is…to put it in a word…. AWESOME!!! Wow, thanks for sharing.
I hope you will consider linking up this amazing craft on Tutorial Thursdays over on my Blog, http://marigoldsloft.blogspot.ch/2012/11/tutorial-thursdays-thankful-book-project.html
Thanks for sharing.
x
Natalie
http://www.marigoldsloft.blogspot.com
I appreciate the invite, Natalie! Love the projects on your blog. Pinned some of them!
I love your blog because it inspires me and pushes me to create more structure and organization in my life…I still have yet to move n’ act on it, but will get more organized one of these days soon.
For several years, I didn’t feel I had the space or time to create more organization and structure in my life – - then, suddenly, that space and time came! I don’t know how long it will last, but I’m enjoying it for what it is and for however long it is! Your time will come, my dear. Hang in there!
Thanks for linking up to my party! I wanted to let you know I picked your link to feature this week! See my post and grab my feature button here http://toastiestudio.blogspot.nl/2012/11/create-and-inspire-47-picks.html
Wow! That’s exciting news! Thank you, Stephanie.
Wow, what a great idea! Cute too, and a great way to make menu planning fun. (Not one of my favorite chores.) Found you a the Creative Me linkup and will follow.
Thanks for the follow, Pam! And sweet comment. Just used it today to plan for the week, and it was super easy. Well worth the effort!
Wow, awesome menu planner! I’ve been trying to figure out what menu planning system will work best for us and this one looks worth trying! Thanks for sharing at The Fun In Functional!
I’ll attest that it is working out great for us thus far! Thanks for hosting and visiting our links each week, Jessi. You’re amazing!
Wow this is such a great idea! And it’s so cute! I need to make one of these for my family. It’s hard to come up with meals all the time so this would be a great resource. I’m featuring this on my blog tonight!
Hooray! Thanks for the feature, Alexis!
This is so awesome! I really want to make one to match my kitchen colors, so nice, you did a fabulous job! Thanks for linking up last week to Think Tank Thursday!
I had a lot of fun picking out the fabric and paper to coordinate with our kitchen, which has honey colored walls. Thanks for your kind words and for stopping by, Margo!
I love this idea!
Thanks, Kara! I was so inspired by the original pin – - there was no question about it: I HAD to make my own.
I love love love it! The color scheme too is brilliant – well done!
Aw, now you’re making me blush! Thanks, Karima.
I have had one of these pinned for a while. Your’s is so beautiful. I love having the recipes right there. This is going on my to-do list!.
Thank you for posting.
I had my pin just “sitting there” for quite a while myself. So glad I didn’t wait any longer!
I am featuring you tomorrow! Thanks for linking up last week!
Kim
Wowza! A thousand thanks!
I totally got your LOTR reference
Looking forward to the Hobbit? We’re wondering how they are making a relatively short book into three movies. Should be interesting. Anyhoo, I am super impressed with your menu planner! I featured it in this week’s A Crafty Soiree, which will be up at midnight EST. Please come by and check it out and add another of your fabulous creations. Thanks so much for linkin’ it up!
Yes, very much looking forward to The Hobbit! As is my entire family.
Thanks for the feature, Katie! Will definitely be by to join in on your party again…and again!
Thank you for linking up this awesome project at last weeks craft, create & Inspire party last week…
Your project is featured this week!
Hope you will join us again this week !
Claire @ polkadot pretties x
That’s very exciting to hear! Thank you so much for letting me know and for the feature, Claire.
Just made my own in my own color scheme! In a word: Awesomeness.
Oooo! That’s great. I’d love to see it! Email me a pic of it if you get a chance: thethinkingcloset {at} gmail {dot} com.
Done!
Anna, I just sent you an email reply, but it looks FABULOUS! I love the scrapbook paper you used and the bric-a-brac around the edges. I hope it serves you and your family well!
This is amazing! I just referenced this article in my post “Family Message Center” about my future plans to beautify that area of our home, Thanks for the inspiration!
Yay! You are welcome. And thanks for the shout-out love. (Fun to find other fans of Cozi, too!)
Love this! I use a big excel spreadsheet but yours is way prettier!
Loved and pinned. Thanks for sharing at MightyCrafty Mondays.
An excel spreadsheet sounds fancy! I’m all about doing whatever method works best…even if it’s not “cute.”
Fab! Just found your blog. I’m a killer cook, professional photographer, and terrible crafter! I had to google many of the supplies. Have you ever thought of selling kits for your projects? Or partnering with a site like Hobby Lobby to sell kits using your brand? Worth a look…
Mary, I haven’t thought about putting together supply kits, but it’s a great idea! I just might have to hire you as my business manager if I ever venture in that direction….
I love this idea. I’ve been getting better at meal planning lately, but I just use a whiteboard calendar. I need something to make me want to do it every week (otherwise, we end up eating out too much).
I hear ya, Veronica. What really helped me was having a set day that I go to the grocery store (Monday night after I teach)…so I knew I had to plan it out before I left to teach. The planning of it really goes quite quickly using this system, and having the ingredients on the backs of the cards makes it super easy to create my grocery list on Cozi. Sounds like you’re already in great shape, though, with your whiteboard calendar!
Great idea. Love it! Thank you for sharing.
You’re so welcome!
Lauren ~
Happy New Year! I just finished making our Menu Board after the inspiration of yours and Clair’s {the one you were inspired by}. I think it is really going to be a blessing in the upcoming days and will work for this “season of life”.
Blessings ~
Jarnette @ Seasons of Life
Yours turned out great! Love that you adapted it in order to make it your own, too. Yes, the cards do take the most time, but it is SO worth it. We have used our menu planner every week since I made it, and it has truly revolutionized meals for us. I know it will bless you and your family, too!
Just what I needed to start off my year right! Thank you and thanks Pinterest! BEautiful blog! Following you now! Flavia
Hooray! Thanks for the follow. And I also saw that you’re from South Florida. You’ve got a bloggy neighbor in me in Orlando.
While I’m not going to be this awesome I am going to steal your color coded menu night idea! Genius! Thanks!
Amber, I bet you actually are really AWESOME. And steal, steal away! Claire was generous enough to share her idea with all of us, and I am so thankful she did because my husband and I really digging our menu planner. And the color coded cards make a world of difference. If we see too many red cards (red meat), we swap them out for more yellows (white meat) or greens (meatless). Helps us eat healthier! Have fun making yours.
This is so fantastic! So thoroughly, *actually* useful.
Thanks for your comment, Natalie. It has been just that – - actually useful for us. I used to not be a huge fan of cooking, but I think a lot of what I disliked was that sense of not knowing where to start. Now, by having a plan, you eliminate the guesswork, and I’ve actually started to enjoy the experience of making meals!
I started this last night (with the help of my two-year old, so not much in the way of progress) and I can’t wait to get back to it!! We desperately need organization, and this is an amazing start! I’m also adding a place for a grocery list. Whenever I get around to blogging about all of my January organizing, I will definitely link up to this. You kinda lit the fire under my tush with this post. Thank you.
I’m so happy to hear that you’re taking this project on! Believe me, it is well worth the time investment. Monday evenings are my shopping nights, so I’m getting ready to do our menu for the week. This menu planner has really freed Mark and I both of a lot of stress when it comes time to make dinner. No more of that staring blankly into the cabinets to see what we can muster up. Just check the menu planner!
Can’t wait to see your planner with added grocery list when it’s complete!
I am going to make one. First get the board, then what ? Tape fabric around to back?
Yes, Lori – - that’s what I did first (I used hot glue). Then, I added the ribbon, the boxes, the “menu” text, the clothespins…and I saved the hard part for last (typing up all of those menu cards). But it so worth it! Have fun, and let me know how it goes.
Thanks for sharing! I quite like this idea. I may just have to make one for myself. =)
Do it! Do it! Do it! (You won’t regret it. I was just talking to my friend, Gina, today how it has changed my whole outlook on cooking. It used to be an act I dreaded. Now, we’re starting to become friends, cooking and I.)
This is fantastic! Found it on Pinterest (<3 LOVE <3) and I can't wait to try it! My husband and I have struggled to find a simple solution to our cooking woes. I am a Pampered Chef consultant so I am gone 2-3 nights per week doing cooking shows. My husband loves to cook so we try to find a system that fits both our needs and wants and I think this will work great! Thank you for sharing!
My husband really likes this system because when I’m out running errands or not home in time to start dinner, he does! And several of the recipes are his picks from his Weber Time To Grill cookbook, so he takes those on. It’s working out great for us, and it sounds like it might be the kind of simple system that could help solve your cooking woes, too. Let me know if you take it on!
Oh my gosh, what an awesome menu planner! I really need to be better organized about planning our menu, so thanks for this! And thanks for sharing this at The CSI Project!
Thanks, Jessi! I appreciate that. Best of luck as you judge this week’s CSI Project! I don’t envy you in your decision-making.
is there a way you can send me a template for the recipe cards? I’ve been struggling all day on how to get a good size box and put text in them.. I’d really appreciate it.
This is so cool and it looks like it will WORK! I have a blank calendar on my fridge from OCTOBER (it is now February?) that says “What’s For Dinner?” and I have only one day filled in for Halloween with LIVER! A joke from my husband’s many years of having to eat liver before going out to trick or treat (sorta seems like child abuse to me!) Anyway, this seems much easier and with 4 boys, they can choose (or not) something they want!
Susan, it totally works! Seriously, I’d feel lost without it now. We use it week after week, and it has really stood the test of time for us. I wouldn’t change a thing about this system!
And you should definitely involve your four boys in choosing meals…less pressure on you to meal plan and more involvement for them in the family happenings!
Ha ha! You had me chuckling with the vision of your Halloween calendar…and that story of your poor husband having to eat liver before trick-or-treating. Blech! Glad he survived that aspect of his childhood.
awesome!!!
Danke, Kristi!
First up, quick comment – I’m getting “Pinterest thinks this is a suspicious site” warnings when I click your link from Pinterest. Looks like SOPA has been sneaked through or something, because I see nothing suspicious here, but thought I’d give you a heads-up.
As far as suggestions, I’m making mine almost exactly like yours. The only difference is I’m re-organizing the ingredients listings of each recipe, with commonly-owned ingredients in italics on the back.
So, for example, if a recipe includes olive oil, salt, pepper, rosemary, mint and suchlike, those ingredients, no matter in what order they’re listed in the recipe, I’m re-listing at the bottom of the ingredients list, in italics.
That way I can just skim them when I’m looking at the ingredients list and go, “Oh yeah, and it has X, Y and Z – which I already have.”
Just makes reading the ingredients list that much faster.
Apart from that, when I’ve got recipes out of magazines, I’ve created a binder file and printed the recipes out. Otherwise it got too likely I’d lose them if I had to write “Healthy Food Guide, Jan 2013, p 51″ or whatever.
Hope this is useful. And thanks for the great pin!
(Leanne Wingatui on Pinterest)
Once again, Leanne, thank you SO much for the heads-up about the Pinterest problem. I’m working on it! (It’s an issue with the fact that my pins from my wordpress.com blog redirect to the new url…Pinterest thinks I’m spam, but I’m NOT! I promise!)
And I really liked your tweak for listing commonly-owned ingredients in italics and at the bottom. That actually would have probably prevented me from forgetting to buy mushrooms that one time when I was making creamy chicken and mushroom soup! (When you have A LOT of ingredients, it’s easy to miss some of the main ingredients among the common ones.)
And I do something similar with recipes from magazines and online. I just insert them into a page protector and add them to my main squeeze, my red recipes binder. They are then sorted by category, so its easy to find.
Yes, your comment was useful in more ways than one. Leanne, thanks again!
Wow! I just found this on Pinterest! Beautiful!
Way more permanent and ambitious than my simple menu planner found http://www.apronfreecooking.com/hints-and-tips/how-to-plan-a-weekly-menu/
I think there are a lot of really effective ways of going about menu planning…and your way looks just fine! The problem was that we had NO SYSTEM for menu planning, so I really felt the need to come up with a solution that I was excited about. So far, we’ve kept up with it…and now, I can’t imagine life without it! Thanks for your comment, Noel.
Wow! This is a super idea, and this would especially be good if you have children.
I’ve just been using Excel to create a pretty spreadsheet that we magnet to the fridge.
Hey, if Excel works, great! But yes, I think kids would definitely take to this system both in its function and design. Thanks for stopping by and for leaving a comment, Crystal!