Meal Planning Part 3

Today we are finishing off the plan we started. We are going to post a little bonus on Thursday, examing the steps after you make this plan so make sure to check that out. Also next month (April), all the Freebie Fridays are going to be recipes that I talked about in this meal plan. Also, make sure to keep an eye out for our free meal plan (the one we have created together), and our free meal plan layout!

So today we are talking about side dishes. Not every meal needs a side, but most people like more than just your basic meat item. Now a side can be as simple as a steamed vegetable, or something complicated like Fully Loaded Fried Potato Skins. The key to sides when meal planning and trying to save money is to think of what you already have. (So I am going to post what we have already and then we can look at what sides we can make.)

As notice that with the hamburgers I wrote, Lettuce, Tomatoes, stuff like that. So you have all the basics for a salad. I am not sure why but I always think of a salad with Spaghetti. So that would be a great starter. Also if you have salad dressing and vegetables that makes a great snack. Or just getting a Vegetable Tray is a great snack and you can use the vegetables in other dishes (like soups or salads, etc). So you will see below, Spaghetti changed to Spaghetti and Salad, and again I added what I would need for that in the Ingredients list. When you actually make your list of items you need, you won't add anything because Lettuce is already on the list. (You will have to add Salad dressing if you need that.)

Now, I think the standard side for Hamburgers is Fries. And that's not a problem, and it also makes the decision for us on one of the other dinners. So since we are going to make homemade fries with the hamburgers, we are going to go with Salisbury Steak over Meatballs since we will already have the potatoes. That is one of the main things about meal planning is finding stuff you can use in multiple meals. And of course it doesn't have to be french fries it can be anything with potatoes as long as you account for what else you need.

Keep in mind that lunch needs side dishes also sometimes. If one sandwich is filling enough that is fine. I often pair sandwiches with soups, or potato chips, or a salad (like macaroni salad or kale salad, something like that). So that's always a good thing to think about also. And of course, you want to add it to the section like everything else. Macaroni salad for this meal plan would be a great idea. I already have the pasta from a meal, we already have the mayo and whatever else you add is up to you (we already have a vegetable platter to use).