How to Use Theme Nights For Meal Planning

Theme Nights for Meal Planning is the key to consistent meal prep for our family, and I know it will help you too! Designate a certain theme to each night of the week and repeat them with variations throughout the month.

Here's How to Get Started Creating Your Theme Nights For Meal Planning:

This type of planning will take the thinking out of it and make this dreaded task so much easier! It not only saves time and money, but will make grocery shopping easier too!

The kids know what to expect and so do you! And even better...get your kids involved and have them help you pick some of the theme nights.

Choose your themes based off of these three categories and then pick corresponding meals:

Ethnic Flavor - Think of your family's favorite flavors: Mexican, Italian, Asian, etc.
Protein Type - Chicken, steak, fish or choose a meatless protein option!
Cooking Method - There are lots of different cooking methods these days! Slow cooker, instant pot, and sheet pan meals are just a few of your options.

Below is a sample week of themed meals to help you get started:

Monday: Stir Fry

Shrimp & Ramen Stir Fry

Tuesday: Mexican Night(aka Taco Tuesday!)

Burrito Bowl with Creamy Avocado Dressing

Wednesday: Pasta Night

Homemade Hamburger Helper

Thursday: One Pan Meal

Honey Mustard Sheet Pan Dinner

Friday: Fish/Seafood

Grilled Salmon with Mango Salsa

Saturday: Lazy Leftover Night or Go Out to Eat

**Take a break from the kitchen one night a week!

Sunday: Slow Cooker

Slow Cooker Potato Soup

Here are some other fun theme nights for you to consider:

Instant Pot Night
Meatless Monday
Soup or Sandwich Night(depending on the season!)
Salad Night
Pizza Night
Breakfast for Dinner
Kids favorite night: chicken fingers, french fries, etc.
Casserole Night

You may want to switch up your family dinner theme nights periodically, and you can do that as often as you want. Seasons change, so you may want more soups and comfort foods in the fall and winter, then add more grilling and cold foods in the spring and summer.

Be flexible, do what works for your family and have fun with it!

Let's eat!