Creating a successful meal plan

I woke up today focused. First step on my agenda was to create a meal plan for the next two weeks.  I have tried this many times in the past, but I always end up with a bunch of food ruining, not getting all the ingredients because I tire out at the store, and not liking what I planned because I wasn't realistic about the plan.

Here are some steps I took to set us up for success in the upcoming weeks regarding our meals.

1) I set realistic goals.  Josh and I want to gradually adopt a clean eating lifestyle the majority of the time. In the past, I would have felt like I had to be perfect from the start. But I know it is highly unlikely that we are going to go from eating out 1-2 times a day to cooking homemade meals three times a day. Plus we have a freezer and pantry full of foods. The only foods I have decided not to use up is the sweets. So I set the goal that I would prepare two clean eating recipes over the next two weeks. I included other recipes that I knew how to make, and tried to focus on incorporating easy to fix fruits and vegetables. 

2) divide and conquer- Josh and I each decided on meals we would be willing to cook. This way we don't have to be in the kitchen every day.

3) plan a route- I made a very clear grocery list and made sure to check to make sure we had items instead of just assuming we already had them. I grouped items together by location in the store. This will make grocery shopping a lot easier.

 4) planned the best store to go to-Once I made the grocery list, I went to krazycouponlady.com and checked out the coupons and deals. I know they say you save more money if you plan your purchases around the sales, but I just don't know enough about regular prices to do that. Plus I don't have a large bank of receipts I've tried. 

I marked beside the item on my grocery list if there was a coupon to print.

5) finally, I made a semi game plan for when to cook what. I planned the meals so that I saved time and limited the amount of time in the kitchen. I focused on cooking the meals with the fresh ingredients the first week, so the items won't go bad. I also planned out cooking larger quantities of certain foods such as taco meat to have again the next week.

I am hoping these steps will help. I will let you know how it works out. My sister-in-law shared with me an idea that I am going to try as well. I am going to get a  binder and some clear protective pockets. As I cook recipes we like, I am going to put them in the binder. After I have it filled up, I can use that binder as an easy meal planner. As one meal is fixed, I can move it to the end of the list. Would love to hear any tips or tricks you use to help with meal planning.