Meal planning, grocery shopping, and all things related to food are aspects of my life I like to keep on autopilot as much as possible.

Minimalism is my guide.

The less I have to think about these things the better.

Meal planning and grocery shopping can be extremely time consuming and drain so much energy.

Over the years I have come up with ways to streamline these processes as much as possible with a family of six.

Here are 8 ways to incorporate minimalism into meal planning for your family.

8 Ways to Incorporate Minimalism into Meal Planning

1. Make Only 2 Plans a Year for Each Meal

Twice a year I sit down and create a five week meal plan for breakfast and dinner.

(Our family usually eats left overs or whatever the kids want to fix for lunch.)

One meal plan is for fall and winter. 

The other meal plan is for spring and summer.

Usually I pull up the meal plan on the computer from the year before and make necessary adjustments based on new special dietary needs, breakthroughs in sensory struggles, and new recipes I've collected that everyone will like.

Sometimes meal planning is quick and easy. Other times it may take a few days, but then I'm done for an entire six months!

I like variety in what I eat so our meal plans don't repeat meals, but your meal plans can if that's what you prefer.

Our meal plans utilize seasonal produce to ensure we're saving as much money as possible.

2. Include Pictures in Your Meal Plan to Help with Finding Recipes Quickly

If you're computer savvy, create a meal plan that includes pictures and names of each recipe. 

Pictures of each recipe make it so much easier for others to jump in and help in the kitchen, which saves so much time!

They can look at the meal plan, see the picture, and find the recipe so much faster.

Pictures on the meal plan are also a great reminder of what early prep can be done ahead of time!

3. Store Recipes Digitally for Easy Access when Grocery Shopping

My husband LOVES cookbooks. 

He is a foodie and doesn't hesitate reading them from cover to cover. 

His cookbooks are usually used as references for different types of cuisines and how to prepare things more than they are used for actual recipes, except for on special occasions and holidays.

When it comes to everyday recipes, I prefer using Pinterest for storage.

There's a picture of each recipe which I love. (I'm a very visual person.)

Instead of taking the time to make a grocery list, I just copy down the meals for the week on my phone and then use the recipes on Pinterest, if I forget what ingredients I need for each meal.

I find this process saves me so much time at home and at the grocery store.

It's an added bonus when my husband comes grocery shopping with me. He looks up recipes as we go, if neither of us can remember the ingredients lists while I continue to add items to the grocery cart!

4. Organize Cupboards so that You Know What You Need by Just Taking a Picture

Besides grocery shopping for meal ingredients, there's usually other items that we need.

Instead of going through each cupboard, refrigerator, and freezer and making a list, I just take pictures.

Each shelf is organized so I know exactly what I need just by glancing at it.

Now I know some may think this may not be possible due to a family member or yourself having ADHD, autism, etc.

I'm here to tell you it works even in household with four autistic and ADHD family members.

The main thing to remember is not to over stuff your shelves with too many items.

5. Grocery Shop Once a Week

I absolutely hate grocery shopping and limit my time in the stores to once a week whenever possible. (Fresh produce, company for dinner, or a fun Saturday night treat may be the only exceptions to this rule.)

When I go to the store, I purchase what I need for the entire week's worth of meals and necessities.

By purchasing groceries weekly, I'm able to have flexibility in what meals my husband or I prepare each night.

We aim to prepare the meals with the most fresh and perishable ingredients first.

Some weeknights are really busy.

Our meal plan makes sure to accommodate busy weeknights.

We did use online ordering during COVID-19. 

For our family it was more of a hassle than not. 

Due to special dietary needs and sensory struggles related to food, we had to have very specific items and brands without substitution options.

We never knew if we were going to receive all we needed or not.

Most weeks we end up needing to visit three different grocery stores for all of the items we need as well.

6. Create a Binder of Recipes for Use During Meal Prep

When I'm meal planning and grocery shopping, I'm all about going digital, but when it comes to cooking, I love having all of my recipes in one place on paper for easy access.

I keep our recipes in a binder with sheet protectors, so they aren't ruined while cooking.

Our family has found printing out each recipe to be very important, as we never know how long a website might last. 

Some of our favorite recipes have disappeared from the web as people have transitioned from blogging to something else.

7. Keep the Kitchen Stocked with Basic Ingredients Just In Case

There are days when no one feels like cooking, someone is sick, there's an emergency, or something unexpected comes up.

We try to avoid eating out at all costs.

I keep our cupboards, refrigerator, and freezer stocked to ensure when something does come up, everyone can either grab what they want, or there's something super easy to prepare.

Three teenagers live at home right now, two are boys. 

It's always important to have extra food on hand to make sure my teenage boys eat enough calories each day!

8. Make a Plan for Treats

Once meals and basic food needs are met, the one thing I've found that makes all the difference in our home is creating dessert bars to go along with dessert meal plans for each season.

They provide so much flexibility!

In the fall and winter I introduce a hot apple cider and hot cocoa bar with add ons that can be used for baking as well.

During the spring and summer I create an ice cream sundae bar. Once again, add ons can be used for other baking and dessert making activities.

I also create a list of ten desserts for each season that I rotate out. 

10 Favorite Summer Desserts: Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Soy Free, Corn Free, and Refined Sugar Free

Each week I add one dessert to my meal plan and pick up any ingredients we don't already have at home.

The system works so well for our family!

There are so many ways to minimize while meal planning. 

I hope this post inspires you to try at least one idea in this post or perhaps it inspires you to come up with new and different ideas.

Every individual and family is different!

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In the Montessori preschool classroom children are introduced to the countries of the world though Montessori maps and country flags. 

These Montessori-inspired Flag Activities for Kids with Free Printables show so many different fun ways to help children learn their countries through flag work.

All activities can be completed with simple flag nomenclature cards and a few other materials you have on hand.

FREE Flag Nomenclature Cards

There are so many nomenclature cards out there, but I am definitely biased.

We've created so many flag nomenclature cards at Every Star Is Different in both free and paid printable packs.

For those who are looking for free resources to meet budgetary needs, be sure to visit the posts below.

Africa Unit with Free Printables

Asia Unit with Free Printables

Europe Unit with Free Printables

North America Unit with Free Printables

For those who are looking for our best resources, including our best and most up-to-date flag nomenclature cards, enjoy the printable packs below.

 

Montessori-inspired Flag Activities for Kids with Free Printables

Flag Fun with LEGOs! from Momgineer

For kids who love to build, creating LEGO flags using nomenclature cards as a control can be the most exciting and satisfying activity. 

LEGO pieces provide the ultimate tactile sensory experience while learning!

DIY Montessori Flag Pin Map from The Kavanaugh Report

Any flag nomenclature card can be printed at a reduced size, attached to a pin and and used on a pin map. I love this post as it shows just how easy it is to make a DIY pin map. 

Please make sure you provide appropriate supervision when using flag pins and keep in mind pinning activities may not be appropriate for some children.

Flag Pin Poking Activity from Every Star Is Different

If you're not interested in creating an entire map for pinning activities, flag pin poking can be just as fun, especially when working with colors.

Please make sure you provide appropriate supervision when using flag pins and keep in mind pinning activities may not be appropriate for some children.

Montessori Flag Puzzles from The Pinay Homeschooler

Montessori flag nomenclature cards can be printed out at any size and can be cut into as many pieces as is appropriate for children in your classroom at home or school.

Matching two pieces together is perfect for little ones. Cutting flags into four pieces may be exactly what older Montessori preschool kids enjoy.

Flags and Montessori Color Tabs from The Pinay Homeschooler

There are so many ways to learn and practice colors when using flags in the Montessori classroom. Print out Montessori nomenclature cards. Have children use Montessori color tablets to identify which colors are in each flag!

Country Flag Coloring Pages from 123 Coloring Pages

Flag nomenclature cards can provide the perfect control for flag coloring activities. Print out the flags you want to focus on and have some fun!

Coloring pages are so versatile. They can be used with crayons, colored pencils, markers, paint, playdough and more!

Flag Matching Activity from How We Montessori

Matching activities or games can be great for children in the Montessori classroom, both young and old. Print out a set of nomenclature cards that includes two copies on cardstock, laminate if preferable and have loads of fun!

Tweezing Beads onto a Flag from Living Montessori Now

You can create fabulous fine motor activities with flag nomenclature cards! 

Select beads appropriate for the size flags you print out. Have children transfer beads (or other objects) onto the flag with tweezers or other tools.

Sorting by Color-Flags of the World from Golden Carers

 

Flag nomenclature cards can be so much fun when attached to a sensory bin or sorting activity with manipulatives. 

There are so many simple flags that can be used to practice color sorting and flag creation!

Felt Flags from A Little Learning for Two

There are so many ways to help children learn about flags. Creating their own flags with felt or other materials can be a fabulous and fun activity. Flag nomenclature cards can be used as a control for this activity.

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Summer Sports Activities for Kids with Free Printables

 Many look forward to the summer games. 

They can be equally exciting for children when they understand the sports involved.

These Summer Sports Activities for Kids with Free Printables are the perfect way to help children understand sports they may see during the summer games.

These resources are designed for children in Montessori preschool and elementary classrooms at home or at school.

All image are true-to-life.

No images included in this resource are from previous or current summer games. They are from other sporting events available on Wikipedia Commons and Pixabay.

The focus of these activities is to help children learn about various sports.

Montessori-inspired Summer Sports Activities for Kids with Free Printables

Summer Sports Card and Object Match Up

In this activity children can enjoy matching cards to objects. 

We chose to use objects in my kids' LEGO collection as well as some other figures. You can choose  to use whatever you have on hand. 

Every sport in the summer games is represented so you have a ton to choose from.

Source: The printable for this activity is from our Montessori-inspired Summer Sports Printable Pack in the Montessori-inspired Summer Sports Bundle.

Summer Sports Sorting Activity

In this activity children can sort sports images by summer sport. 

Younger children can sort images of very different sports.

Older children can sort images of sports that are similar.

Source: The printable for this activity is from our Montessori-inspired Summer Sports Printable Pack in the Montessori-inspired Summer Sports Bundle.

Which Summer Sport Am I? Activity

These cards can be so much fun whether children are able to read or can be read to.

An adult or child reads the description card and then chooses the summer sports card that matches.

Depending on the abilities of children, just a few or several sports can be introduced.

Source: The printable for this activity is from our Montessori-inspired Summer Sports Printable Pack in the Montessori-inspired Summer Sports Bundle.

Which Summer Sport Doesn't Belong?

In this activity, children utilize their knowledge of each set of sports cards and decide which image does not belong.

For younger kids, you can use the set of sports cards as control. 

Older kids may not need the control.

Children can use the white beads provided to mark their answers.

Source: The printable for this activity is from our Montessori-inspired Summer Sports Printable Pack in the Montessori-inspired Summer Sports Bundle.

Summer Sports Clip Cards

In this activity, children use the white beads to mark the correct summer sport written on the clip card.

Nomenclature cards can be used as a control with this activity.

Source: The printable for this activity is from our Montessori-inspired Summer Sports Printable Pack in the Montessori-inspired Summer Sports Bundle.

Summer Sports Logo Painting Activity

In this activity children can paint summer sport logos.

Please be aware these are unofficial logos from Wikipedia Commons and may vary from those seen during the summer games.

Source: The printable for this activity is from our Montessori-inspired Summer Sports Printable Pack in the Montessori-inspired Summer Sports Bundle.

FREE First Summer Sport First Letter Sound Clip Cards

These FREE Montessori-inspired Summer Sports First Letter Sounds Clip Cards are a great way to teach children the names of summer sports.

Children use white beads or another marker to mark answers on each card.

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