I used minimalism to master meal planning.

Simplifying meal planning was a key step in becoming more proficient in the kitchen. It's an ongoing process for me and I have aspirations to be able to cook entirely from scratch and produce a lot of my own food. But, I'm getting there by first embracing exactly where I am — able to cook a few healthy meals that I know by heart and keeping up with regularly making food at home. Today's video goes through my 5 approaches to the kitchen that have enabled me to create simple, whole food for my family and find joy in the process.

🎙 MENTIONED
Cookbooks I learned the most from...

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Music licensed by Epidemic Sound.

⏰ TIME STAMPS
00:00 Intro
00:15 Perseverance
00:30 Seeking guidance and advice
01:20 The simplest meal plan I could devise...five approaches
04:05 Becoming the home cook of my dreams

THE FIVE APPROACHES
1.
Cook meals that I know by heart:
When I started, it was a measly 5 dishes

2.
Cook as few dinners as possible each week with breaks from cooking every two to three days:

Currently we follow this schedule...
Mondays: Leftovers
Tuesdays: Black bean tacos or Green salsa chicken on rice
Wednesdays: Pulled pork and roasted veggies
Thursdays: Breakfast for dinner (usually an egg scramble or pancakes)
Fridays: Leftovers (I'm always tired on Fridays)
Saturdays: Roast chicken, roasted veggies and fresh bread (this is my heavy cooking day)
Sundays: Chili and leftover bread (from Saturdays)

3.
Expect life to revolve around the kitchen:
I know that every day I will have touch points in the kitchen
I've accepted that the kitchen is the heart of my home and when it's running well then everything else in our home and family follows suit

4.
Break down kitchen tasks into small, bite sized chunks:
For instance, rather than cooking an entire dinner in one go I will instead do as many steps of the dinner prep throughout the day. So, on taco night, I might take a minute to chop the onion while the kids color in the morning. Later, I'll mix the spices for my seasoning. After lunch I'll stage each of the ingredients on the counter so I can easily grab them.
Maybe I do have to be in the kitchen regularly, but it doesn't have to be all-consuming. I look for tasks that I can do in 5 minutes or less.

5.
Repeat the same meals for as many weeks as my family and I can stomach them:
When the meals are the same, the grocery list tends to be the same, ingredient prepping becomes predictable, even budgeting is easier. Our food has to sustain us and provide nutrition, it doesn't have to wow us (and our families) every single night.

[easypeasy]

"Expect life to revolve around the kitchen" this is so true, and if you don't expect it and plan for it you'll be miserable

[chelseajones]

Dawn’s meal planning method helped me so much! Some things I do as a stay at home mom to streamline things is that lunch is always leftovers. And then I freeze anything else that’s left for days when there aren’t leftovers or we eat out or have dinner with friends/family. I’ve been absolutely amazed at all I can freeze and how even though we might have been tired of that food before, it was a treat to pull out of the freezer. This increases the variety in our diet without increasing my work load.

I also bake chicken breasts every week or two. Literally as simple as breasts in a glass pan, drizzle with olive oil, s+p. Bake covered at 375 for a few hours until I smell it. Leave covered until they cool. Place them flat in a ziplock bag, seal it and then press them flat. It creates tender and juicy shredded chicken with so little mess. If I have cooked chicken in the fridge or freezer, I can always make a pasta dish, soup, chicken salad, or simple casserole with minimal effort.

[marthaC]

I live alone, so I tend to repeat food that I like, but may be boring for some people. Mondays are chicken with veggies; Tuesdays are spaghetti with meat sauce; Wed, are fish in some form; Thursdays are Mexican (think what you'd eat at Chipotle); Fridays are salad and pizza or stew in a crock pot; Sat. are grilled cheese sandwiches, salad, or leftovers; Sundays are hamburgers, chips, salads. I prepare large portions, eat one the first day after cooking, freeze 3 portions for later in the month. Be sure to label whatever goes in the freezer,

[lynneeie]

I wrote too much & deleted it. But this concept has really helped me. I have been struggling for a few years now with disliking cooking. Always thinking about food & what to make & just very stuck feeling.

That said I think the beauty of your plan is that I don’t have to think. The decisions are made. But I do like to eat seasonally, so if I combine that in, then each season… I can have FOUR weekly meal plans & then 4 plans for guest meals/desserts and that is IT for the entire year! I LOVE this. Love it. You may have saved me or given me the key to rescuing myself from this weird hatred of cooking that has crept into my life. THANK YOU!

[chaniecenicole]

“Food needs to sustain us, not wow us.” This video was calming and I believe this concept will be life changing! Thank you! Always look forward to your videos!

[tanyadutton]

I'd love to see all of the videos you mentioned at the end.

[madyer]

I whole-heartedly agree! I LOVE cooking and I used to make complicated, expensive meals multiple times a week, but that’s just not feasible anymore with two littles. I used to feel guilty for preparing a simple meal, that I was doing my family a disservice, but honestly it leaves me more time to spend with them, and it’s better on our budget. And I realized my kids can help out more with simple meals. I love how you said that our meals don’t have to “wow” us every day, but that you are able to tweak your meals to eliminate culinary boredom and add made-from-scratch elements. ❤And my husband and kids actually like eating routine meals! Now I save my favorite “complicated” meals for special occasions, so I still get to enjoy making some of my favorites, I just don’t get exhausted in the kitchen on the daily anymore. Thank you for this video!

[emeliefoster]

Another great video. I’m glad to hear that there are other moms who tend to repeat the same meals every week. It’s kind of exhausting trying to find new ideas, plus the energy to execute new recipes well. At least in the season of life I’m in!

[AnnetteA]

GREAT Video, Erika!! The kitchen is the heart of the home but it does not have to be all consuming and overwhelming. For me, as much as I love cooking and making savory meals on a seemingly daily basis, when hubby is on call for 36 hours straight, the last thing I want to do is cook when he gets back, so on "post-call" nights, we order take out from our favorite mexican restaurant - and I look forward to eating the shrimp fajitas and relaxing. Come the next morning, I feel refreshed and I am ready to cook again and again because of my little break the night before

So yea, great video and amazing editing. Thanks for sharing.

[Katy_living_simply]

For the past 8-10 years we have also majorly simplified our meal planning. We have a master list of groceries we keep on hand. And it's mostly all one ingredient foods. We cook from scratch. And out of those same ingredients I can cook dozens of meals. When trying a new recipe I already know what seasonings/items i feel comfortable with. So it is easy to change it or omit it. My husband is a foodie and loves to cook. I cook and bake basic home meals for sustenance. And we agreed that when he cooks he can go all out. We call it "getting fancy with the spices." Keeping things simple in the kitchen definitely helps with being able to have the bandwith to learn to cook or try a new recipe. I know its been almlst 12 years since I've stayed home to raise our daughter... but I still struggle with I HAVE TO BE IN THE KITCHEN MULTIPLE TIMES A DAY. 😂 I'll get there.

[carrietyler]

Love the simplicity of this. Thank you!

[bluerubydoo]

This is a great video, I meal plan each week but I have a four week meal rotation. I'm going to try your way to simplify even more. Thank you 😊

[francinehogsett]

Smart lady…I do this also Fridays and Saturdays are leftovers or we order in…i love cooking but weekend I need a break 😊❤️

[kallistoindrani]

Meal planning is so hard! I live alone now for 3 years (no kids, no partner) and it's still something I struggle with sometimes. But I guess I just also need to simplify. In the beginning I wanted to try all the recipes and cook a new recipe every week but I've found out that it's actually a hassle for me. Doing the groceries, trying to find that one specific thing, following the instructions and then sometimes not liking the result.... I have a binder now with meals I really like but I should go through it again and see if I do indeed still like them and see when I last made them.

[maria.b.this.old.cottage]

I adopted something like it 30 years ago, and im still doing it 😊 as your children grow you will probably tweek it a bit, but simplicty will stay with you 🙂 thank for sharing. ❤

[kelseysmith]

A lovely video as always. I'm looking forward to hopefully being able to move in with my husband soon. (Visa process, we are currently long distance)

And I'm looking for all the tips to make the start of our lives together as smooth as possible. Not perfect. And this is a great idea. Just a few great meals on rotation and change them up when the need arises. Any good pasta dishes you can recommend? We both love pasta. 😊

[reneehaynes]

thank u for cookbook suggestions…i will be checking them out at library now

[Pigmentscript]

Simple definitely works! Same ingredients and then mix it up with those same ingredients. Think of 🌮 or Mexican food, same ingredients but the shape/ prep of the tortillas changes 😅 ❤

[mareebryant]

We transitioned to a similar meal plan late last year after I changed jobs - my son really loves it as it is predictable for him too! On the weekends I bake bread, muffins or brownies for lunch boxes & make a quiche or frittata. The quiche can be a quick lunch or fill in for a dinner if the day goes awry!

[sl]

I always appreciate your transparency and humility combined with your progress and ideas. Really liked this video ❤