Dr. Melanie Wilson Shares on Pinterest Meal Planning

Dr. Melanie Wilson Shares on Pinterest Meal Planning

I asked my buddy (and fellow counselor and homeschooling mom), Dr. Melanie Wilson of Homeschool Sanity Podcast and PsychoWith6.comif she had something to share with our friends. It seemed like the perfect post to share as we get ready for a new year.

Pinterest Meal Planning Made Simple

You saw that to-die-for dish on Pinterest and just had to make it. You daydreamed of basking in your family and friends’ praise for discovering such a delicious recipe and cooking it to perfection. But it didn’t exactly work out as you’d hoped.

The Problem with Pinterest Meal Planning

It took you awhile to find the recipe after you pinned it because your recipe board is getting big. Really big. Once you found it, you had to click over to the recipe and make a shopping list.

Then you realized that you should shop for more than one meal to be efficient, so you looked through your recipe board again and repeated the process.

You spent more time at the store than normal because some of the ingredients were new to you.

When it was time to cook, you realized that at least one of your Pinterest recipes was going to be more involved to cook than your usual fare, so you put it off for when you had more time. The one recipe you did make didn’t taste nearly as good as the picture made it look and you put off making the other two so long that the ingredients went bad.

How to Make Pinterest Work for Meal Planning

After repeating the above process several times, I realized that there was a difference between meal planning that saves time, money, and family health and the hobby of making new recipes.

I reluctantly created a monthly meal plan that wasn’t very Pinterest-worthy. It was made up of simple meals that I rarely needed a recipe for. While they weren’t necessarily unique or beautiful to look at, they were quick-to-fix and most importantly, my family ate them!

I explain the process of putting together what I call the Once-and-for-All Meal Plan in a free book available to subscribers. Some of these tried-and-true recipes I have pinned to a board I call Recipes on My Meal Plan. I do this for my followers more than for myself because creating a shopping list from Pinterest recipes is not a simple process.

But Pinterest is a great way to organize recipes that have potential to be added to your monthly meal plan. Here’s how:

• Create boards for recipes you want to try. Because my meal plan covers every meal including snacks and desserts, I organize my boards accordingly.
• Decide how often you’ll make a new Pinterest recipe. I only have time to try one new dish per week, but vary this according to your needs.
• • Include the new recipe in your weekly shopping trip. I shop once a month for non-perishables and weekly for perishables. However, I add any ingredients I need for the new recipe to my weekly trip.
  • Make the dish and have your family rate it. If it’s a winner, determine if you like it more than another meal on your plan. If you want the new meal on your plan, modify your monthly (and weekly) shopping lists accordingly.

  Have you found other ways of using Pinterest for meal planning?

  Dr. Melanie Wilson is a Christian psychologist turned homeschooling mother of six. She shares sanity-saving ideas for homeschoolers at Psychowith6. Be sure to pick up your free copy of the Once-and-for-All Meal Plan so you can make Pinterest work for you!

• ————————————————————

Speaking of FREEBIES, hop over to our Freebie page and download some valuable gifts to start the new year well: tips for scheduling backwards, carrying each others’ burdens, studying Genesis, starting a drama team or homeschool co-op, middle school tips, and introductory career exploration.

Free is good!