Does dinnertime get you down? Do you spend more time figuring out what to make for a meal than you do enjoying time with your family? Taking the time to plan your meals can save you time, money, and energy.

If the task of planning breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks seems too big, start by planning only the evening meal or the largest meal of the day for your family. Once that becomes routine, add in one other meal, and so on. Follow these tips to start your weekly or monthly meal planning routine:

• Make a food budget. Decide how many times per month you plan to shop. If you shop once a week, divide your monthly food budget by four to get your weekly food budget.

• Check to see what foods you have on hand. Once you know this, decide what recipes and meals you can make with the foods you have, and include them in your meal plan.

• Write down all the ingredients for your meals. Make a list of all the items you will need to purchase including fruits and vegetables, grains, protein foods, dairy, and beverages.

• Include a “planned-over” meal for another meal during the week. A “planned-over” meal is a meal that uses leftover food from another meal.

• Use sale flyers from your local store to help you plan meals with foods that are on sale, or look for coupons for foods that are on your list.

Get your children involved! Ask them to help you plan your meals for the week. Children can be in charge of choosing a certain part of the meal such as the vegetables for the evening meals, or ask them what their favorite meal is and include that in your meal plan that week. Having your children involved in the planning process may make them more willing to help prepare meals and also more willing to eat at mealtime!

Another factor to think about when planning your meals is what activities you or your family will be participating in that might interfere with meal preparation. On those busy days and evenings, plan meals that are easy and quick to prepare, such as breakfast for dinner or a planned-over meal. Another tip to keep meal planning organized is to keep a schedule that shows not only the meal for the evening but also the activities of family members.

When planning your meals, remember to stay flexible so you can switch meals around if you need to due to a change in your schedule. Also, save the meal plans and menus that you make so you can pull ideas or menus from them at a later time. This will save you time and energy as you make meal planning a habit!