menu planning

A fav new family tradition from my friend Noel. Enjoy!

Menu planning with the whole family

What to cook for dinner in my home is always a quandary, and choosing something everyone will like is even harder. So when I heard a new idea given to me by a mom from MOPS, I was so excited to try it out. Each member of the family gets a night; on their night they choose the dinner, they set the table, they say the prayer, and they get to clean it up. Great right? On Sunday afternoon I sit down and ask everyone what night they want and what they want to eat on their night. Each person picks a main dish, veggie, any side they want and maybe even a dessert. Our family has four people picking, so we have four planned meals per week, one night of leftovers, one night with some kind of quick dinner, and one night out. So easy!

This has been the best plan implemented into our home yet. My 3 year old loves it and is great at it! Everyone else seems happy and I find I do not have to tell anyone to "eat your food, or please take one more bite!" They pick good things too and the pressure to please and the timeless question of "what's for dinner" have been alleviated for now!