Move over Taco Tuesday, dinner theme nights are creeping in on other days of the week. Save your sanity with this meal planning hack that uses themed dinners to create consistency in your meal planning schedule without having the same meal each week.

Before having kids, I had no idea why people needed to plan menus for the week. I really didn’t get it. Now that I am in the trenches of parenthood, I completely understand. Somehow, if I don’t have dinner planned days in advance, we end up eating cereal for dinner. While my kids would be happy eating Cheerios for dinner every night, I’m not.

Dinner theme nights have transformed the way I plan meals

Before I planned with themed dinners, I’d rack my brain for dinner ideas before going to the grocery store.  Now that each night has a theme, I have such an easier time picking out recipes which means I waste less time searching for easy/ kids friendly/ healthy recipes on Pinterest. The best part is that this has given my kids some consistency. They are more likely to try new foods when they are already familiar with the theme of the dinner. This is a win-win situation!

Planning out meals is one of my favorite ways to save money at the grocery store. When you go into the grocery store with a meal plan and a grocery list, you are less likely to make impulse purchases.

Get more meal planning tips here. 

How to make dinner theme nights work for your family

1. Pick your dinner themes

Pick 4-6 food themes that your family already enjoys and put that theme on the menu each week.

Here is a list of favorite dinner theme ideas:

• Meatless Monday
• Taco Tuesday (anything Mexican)
• Breakfast for dinner
• Pasta night
• Salad night
• Soup and sandwich night
• Asian
• Comfort food
• Pizza
• Casseroles
• Seafood

Do you have a favorite theme that isn’t on this list?

2. Make a schedule of your dinner theme nights

I like to pick a schedule and stick to it because it makes it easy for me to plan. This also helps the kids feel like they are familiar with the dinner schedule.

Don’t pick all of the themes, just pick a few that work for your family and then add in leftovers for an easy make-do dinner night.

Here is an example of our schedule:

• Meatless Monday
• Taco Tuesday (anything Mexican)
• Crock Pot Meal for Wednesday & Thursday
• Friday: Leftovers
• Saturday: Breakfast for dinner
• Sunday: Seafood

3. Write out your menu with your meal themes

Now that you have a few favorite themes picked, you can start a Pinterest board with your theme, similar to this one I have for sandwiches.

Sit down once a week, look through your themed Pinterest boards to pick your favorite meals, and write out a weekly menu.  If you are organized enough to plan out your entire month, do it!

Head here to see some of my favorite easy recipes.

I like to write mine out on this free printable then make a shopping list.

Download the free printable here. 

Use this meal planning hack to make back to school season easier

Let’s face it, heading back to school isn’t easy for anyone. I always dread having to get back into a regular routine just as much as the kids. This meal planning hack is sure to save you some headaches. I know it has saved me quite a few!

Need some back to school breakfast ideas too? Read these posts:

Back to School Breakfast Ideas for Busy Moms

Back to School Breakfast Kabobs

How do you meal plan?