From the time my kids were born until very recently, I did the meal planning practically by myself. This was mainly to make sure they were introduced to a variety of foods and were eating a balanced diet. Earlier this year, though, they started making requests about what was on the dinner table. I looked at it as an opportunity to involve them in the planning process and so the 4-week dinner menu was born!

Click this link for a printable version: 4-Week Family Dinner Menu

There are similarities to the 5-week meal plan I shared last year, but this method involves more input from my kids and husband. Now, each member of the family is assigned a week and they get to choose six consecutive meals for us to eat. Day seven is either takeout or a “Leftover Buffet” where we clean out the fridge. I like sharing the responsibility of putting the menu together and my kids love that their opinions are valued.

Just to give you a frame of reference, Belly is six and Goose is eight so it’s fun to see what foods interest them right now. It would’ve never occurred to me to make peanut butter and jelly for dinner, but who says you can’t?

As for the cooking, I take care of dinner Monday through Friday and my husband is in charge during the weekends. We don’t schedule the kids nights to help us, but they’re more inclined to spend time in the kitchen when we’re preparing meals they chose.

Toward the end of every four weeks, I ask each person if there are any meals they want to swap out. We’re in the middle of a very hot summer so salads and sandwiches make sense. We’ll add more soup and comfort food to the rotation as it cools down outside.

If you aren’t sure where to start, head over to my meal-planning guide for my complete list of meals and a step-by-step explanation of my thought process.

Here of some dinners your family might like: one pot creamy pasta, sweet potato and black bean quesadillas, and pesto grilled cheese sandwiches.

Talk to you soon!