One of my favorite tips for leftovers: create a "soup bag" in the freezer. When you have little bits and dabs of meat, veggies, whatever left over and there's not enough to serve for a second meal, throw it in a ziploc bag in the freezer. Keep doing this for a few weeks, or until the bag is full. Then you can dump the soup bag in a big pot, and make whatever kind of soup base sounds good (tomato, creamy, broth). Spice it up to your liking. You can add pasta or rice if you want. It's a great way to use up leftovers! :)

So glad you are back! You are one of the few people on you tube who seems so normal like one of us. Can't wait for the next video. Oh and the chili you make was a hit in our house.

I made menu cards years ago, like when my grown children were toddlers and no teens in the house (they’re now 49, 45, and 39)! I am still using those cards, and have even added a few new ones!

I'm FINALLY meal planning & I'm even at the bargin grocery store with app point & coupons. Girl, a budget is no joke right now. And yes, a frozen pizza IS a meal! 🤣

I love how you're very real and honest, and make light of your mistakes, and don't try to pretend you're perfect and have everything sorted. It makes it easy and reassuring to watch your tips and feel relief "oh, I'm glad I'm not the only one who hasn't cleaned their oven in a while or who ate snacks for tea!"

I'm a student at uni. I meal plan once a week before the student trip to Aldi and I freeze spare food and I'm so thankful I do this. Works out so much cheaper.

Ive missed you, you are so genuine and your videos show the real struggle. It makes me feel am not alone

Yay, you’re back! I love watching your videos because you’re so relatable! Most mommy KZfaqrs have a particular aesthetic (you all know what I’m talking about!) and their homes look super expensive and perfectly decorated. It’s just nice to see an awesome, normal mom with a house that looks like mine - things you’d like to change, Mickey Mouse kids decor, and toys in the toddler bed and all 😂

I started a list similar to yours a year or two ago! I added another category... "large meals" those are meals that result in leftovers... so stuff like spaghetti, chili, potato soup, ect. I didn't think about making a category of meals that I could make with leftovers! I know some folks don't like leftovers at all... but it saves us a lot of time & money! My husband always loves to take leftovers for his lunch at work! Sometimes we leave leftovers for dinner too if we can stand to eat it that many times in a row. Lol

Oh, the hell of meal planning! 25 years I've been planning on it, and I've never been able to maintain it. For fifteen of those years, there's only been me to plan for! Ariel, thank you so much for those s. I've taken notes all the way through (I watched the video twice), because this is so achievable. Thank you so much. Xxx

I do theme meal planning. Sunday is fun day. Monday is meatless , Tuesday is Mexican, Wednesday is meat and potatoes, Thursday is stir fry, sheet pan or instant pot, Friday is seafood or dinner out, and Saturday is FCO…fridge clean out. I use a wall calendar. The others put meals on the calendar regularly.

🤣the fire trucks rushing to your kitchen were hilarious!

I don’t have kids but I’m obsessed with your channel! I’m definitely going to start putting meal planning in as an appointment. I’m good at planning the actual meals but terrible at remembering to buy the groceries on time 😂

Is it bad? Or I am old when I find a channel and binge watch every video? Love your videos Ariel! Keep up the great videos and thanks for making cleaning sounds fun! Now to put it to work! Love and blessings from a tired, no energy, no desire to clean, working wife! I am a mom and grandma to but take that time to visit, spoil , and have play dates with my 3 grandbabies.

Ariel, you are hands down my favorite KZfaqr! You're so relatable and down to earth, and you never fail to make us laugh. Thanks for taking us along on your homemaking journey and for sharing all your practical tips. 💚😊

you provide realistic suggestions , its great you learned this so young and its fantastic you share them :)

Thanks for some good ideas! It is easy to get into a rut with cooking. Your daughter is getting so big!!! She’s a cutie.

It’s always nice to see more ideas on meal planning. I’ve used home made meatballs I had in freezer to add to like sloppy joes when I didn’t have enough hamburger for our family of five. It was a little different but they still ate it. I’ve frozen some leftovers to reheat much later or repurpose. Or I make double the filling and freeze half, like for shepherds pie or pot pie. Or just precook protein for quicker meal prep. I mostly do this when I buy chicken or hamburger in bulk. 😁

I love your tip about how trying new meals helps make things easier in the long run! When I still had kids at home, I kept a running list of "successful meal ideas" on the inside of a cupboard. It was always so exciting to add a new meal idea to the list and I had a list to refer to when making a meal plan and grocery list! Successful to us meant no one cried when they heard what was for dinner.

You are so dang relatable 🥰 thank you for what you do! Also those maple bacon brussel sprouts 🤤

I love the look at three days...for our large family the entire stock pot usually is two days. 1. Soups make excellent lunches the next day. 2. Chili day 1, baked potatoes with chili for lunch the next day. 3. Tacos day 1, taco soup the next day. 4. Beans and cornbread, refried bean and cheese wraps the next day. 5. Baked chicken on day 1, any chicken casserole or pot pie for day two. Chicken could be made in larger batches and frozen as well. 6. Make a freeze a months worth of beef at a time...and put in freezer baggies. I chopped onions and peppers and made hamburger base for sloppy joes, tacos, chili all at once and it has helped so much.

Like homemade but at a loss for what all to use it for and find yourself thinking why bother and I have a coupon so I may as well buy store bought? I frequently will make a batch of marinara sauce in my crockpot. That day I will use some for spaghetti. I will freeze some. I will keep some in the fridge. Then I can use it as a base for a more spicy marinara or a chili without opening up a can. How do I make my sauce? I use a large can of tomato juice, a large can of peeled whole tomatoes and a can of paste. I add water, sliced onions, garlic, powdered white pepper and usually just basil because that is what I prefer. I go light on the salt since it is the base for future meals. This sauce can then go either more Italian (think lasagna with additional Italian spices added) or Mexican/Spanish (think of a enchilada sauce or making up a batch of salsa for tacos). If I make a batch of chili with this I then have a base for a chili mac casserole (American goulash) to which I add some small sized noodle and corn topped with cheese. I have even put it in the blender, added some milk and called it tomato soup (heating it up after blending to cook it down to the correct consistency). If this is how you make tomato soup the family will think this is just how it is. Just set a cup along side a grilled cheese and they will dig in if they are hungry. What I am saying is preexisting tastes will need to accommodate homecooked meals since it usually is more nutritious and less processed or salty/fatty. I can have sauce whenever I want it and I can buy relatively inexpensive components to make it. It is cheaper to buy these 3 ingredients than to buy a premium sauce in a jar. I try to have kalamara olives on hand to chop and add when I want extra fancy spaghetti sauce as well as dried mushrooms from the Asian store which I reconstitute before adding to any dish. When I was younger I routinely bought ready made sauce but now realize that it is a really economical item and tastes better homemade. I can add as little or as much olive oil as I prefer or any other ingredient. If I want cheese in it I can add it or leave it out if I want. It is very forgiving to use sauce this way and I hope you give it a go. Usually setting it up in the crockpot means giving a quick stir hourly and cooking on low for 4 hours to get the right consistency. I chop up the whole tomatoes rather than buying them cut up as that retains more of the tomato. I never have moldy leftovers because I freeze at least half and have a plan for the remaining jar in the fridge. You can even use a few of tablespoons to make up French dressing if you are at a loss for that last 1/2 cup in the jar. (use maple syrup and balsamic vinegar with the sauce until you hit the right tangy taste you like).

Your meals look great, Id love it you could provide more recipes...... Dinner time is my weak point

I started meal planning and meal prepping again. Make life so much easier on busy weeks. I’ve also doubled a meal, like soup, and put half in the freezer for another time.

Thank you for this video! I always struggle with the idea of trying to meal plan and this video was super helpful. I never even thought of making a master list of the meals my family likes to eat. So smart!!

Some pre-made frozen meals are nice too. If you're making one lasagna (or whatever freezes nicely) just make two and put one in the freezer.

This is one of the best videos on mean planning that I have seen. You are so funny, and easy to watch!!!

You are back :) Thanks for including recipes in the description box :) Thanks for the reminder to sort/tidy my pantry. I did exactly that the other week bought another can of something I didn't need as a already had a can of what I needed.

Thank you for the FANTASTIC tips that even habitual meal planners can use. I created a 35 block meal planner. Days of the week (with plans, appointments, etc) across the top. Breakfast, lunch, dinner down the far left column (one block each) My fifth bottom row of blocks is a cut away grocery list. I labeled each block according to my grocery store layout for maximum efficiency. I plan my meals based on -Weekly plans -Dietary needs -Food on hand -Weekly Sales With my block planner, I can easily & simultaneously create a menu, check what’s on hand, make a shopping list, and utilize leftovers. I keep it on the fridge so each day I can plan, thaw, prep, or cook any portions ahead of time. I am a visual learner, so another bonuses to the block pattern is that it works better at a glance for me than a list. I will be adding the recommended master list of simple/favorite/ leftover meals to my folder!!!

I love your categories for dividing up your meals! I loosely follow the Food Nanny theme nights for meals and it has really helped. Eating home cooked meals is so much healthier and more economical than grabbing fast food or a microwave meal (although they have their place sometimes). LOL'd at "meal planning pro Ariel." Your editing skills are on point!

Ariel, thank you for another easy to follow video! You are the hero we didn’t know we needed and we don’t deserve! 😍😍

Happy to see you again! I love your humor and down-to-earth ways. Thanks for the good info on meal planning. Because of our work schedules i usually cook two full meals at the beginning of each week and plan our meals to include leftovers. Lots of work that first day but a breeze the other days. Take care.

love your videos and the cheeky funny parts. this is super helpful as I am trying to streamline my cooking process so I can cook more! I love the tip about always try new things to find new faves - really important and keep the process fresh.

This was awesome, thank you! I'm so glad to see someone doing real food that an actual human with a real life can manage.

This is the absolute BEST video I’ve seen on meal planning in forever! It’s so easy to follow! Thank you so much! ❤😃

Yes!! I have recently been like " ok we need to get back into trying a new food. " And we had one last Wednesday and we LOVED IT!! So that meal is going into our core meal list. And I have found meal planning a lot easier when I just start trying to plan for the month. Go grocery shopping once and run to the mini store near me for the fresh veggies for the week.

So happy to see a video from you! I have been trying and using some of your tips, such as using the same ingredients for 2 or 3 meals. And you are right, making twice or three times as much rice doesn't take any longer -- and you only have to wash the pan once! Thank you for the encouragement and the humor -- loved the fire trucks rushing to your house. LOL. Hopefully this will give me the motivation I need to keep trying. You look great, btw!

Great tips! Another thing that has helped me to come up with meals for is to keep a running list of meals we eat, like as we are eating them. This way if I try a new meal it doesn’t get forgotten months down the line. In my family we have a lot of allergies so getting creative is essential so keeping track of meal ideas is also very helpful.

You've inpired me to finally tackle meal planning. I am so tired of struggling to think of what to cook and running out to the supermarket ( or rushing around between finishing my job at the supermarket and picking up my toddler from daycare) and spending at least $50 each time somehow. Thank you so much for the printables!

Wow! Finally someone that gives me a tip about this topic that actually helps- like a lot!!!!!!!!!!! Love you for this❤️

Thank you so much for this video. I had no idea where to start for when is came to meal planning. It never came to me to make a list of what we eat now. I also love the idea of making something different with the leftovers.

This popped in my feed at just the right time. I’ve been feeling frustrated with meal planning and was just thinking I need to make a list. Thank you!

I have been in one heck of a cooking rut so I started subbing to a meal planning site where the recipes are emailed to me along with a weekly grocery list. (It is another well know You Tuber) With those plans I made up 2 binders. One binder is the monthly plans and recipes and the other binder is where we put the recipes that the family loves. I like that I have 4 recipes a week that I do not have to worry about and a few open days that I can mix in family favorites and I am building a new stash of future family favorite meals. I have tried meal planning on my own and boy do I fall off of that wagon fast.

Good to see you again.

This is great practical advice! I like this idea to plan ahead how to use leftovers in other meals so you can save time & money. Thanks ☺️

I LOVE your videos and I look forward to them. Mom of 4 here and seriously…..you make my day. Keep up the great work! You help me so much!

So glad to see you back!

Never meal planned but looking forward to trying. Thanks for helpful tips.

I'll eat your chicken mango curry! And pumpkin chili!!!! You literally made me hungry🤣 One thing I have been able to do is meal planning. I feel like my entire life is just focused on food, and everything else is a mess😶🤦‍♀️ Well, I'm trying😁

Love your videos! I have a set category of each food per day. For example, Monday chicken, Tuesday legumes and so on. Then I plan a recipe for these days based on the main ingredient.

great ideas! I utilize pinterest for meal planning-I organize pins by different boards- vegetarian meals, beef meals, chicken meals, soups, crock pot meals, side dishes, lunch ideas, breakfast ideas. This helps me to find what I'm in the mood for. When I get a new cookbook I also take pictures of recipes I want to make and upload pictures as a pin to the board it corresponds to.

Great video! Thanks for this reminder to try new things!! I definitely need to expand our meals, especially with a picky eater. Saving this video! xoxo

Hi Ariel! Great video great ideas, I will surely give it a try! Can't wait for your next video. You make us feel as you are one of us. Thank you for sharing and have a nice day

I've been meal planning for years and this is a very clever system! Love it!

This is the best meal planning idea I have seen!! Thank you!!

Love your posts- it's genuinely like listening to a friend! 🤗🤗

What an excellent idea to include a leftovers plan in your meal planning! I will definitely be implementing this.

You're one of my favourite youtubers. I love your sense of humour! Thanks for making the effort to entertain us all; keep on being you. :)

So happy to see you! I am sitting down to meal plan, opened KZfaq and found your video. A match made in heaven.

Ariel, this is exactly what I needed! I’ve already started trying this out! Thank you for the template and the easy steps. I appreciate your reminder that it takes practice to meal plan. I think so many of the meal planning tips I’ve read focused on the end without taking note of the process 😅 Thanks again for the tips and the encouragement!

This is the best meal plan I have seen. I’ve left days for leftovers on my meal plans before, but we just ate them as leftovers. I’ve learned that my husband and I don’t really care for leftovers and they would go uneaten. I don’t know why I didn’t think of this myself. It’s so simple it’s beautiful. Thank you!

Great to see you back. I enjoy seeing you bc you remind me of home. Speaking of which, Salt potatoes 🤤 I miss those. I tried to make them when I moved to GA and they just weren’t the same!

You are the actual most endearing person on the internet. Well done.

So happy you're back!!

Your videos are so fun! I definitely feel more inspired.

Love your videos I wish I can see more videos yours ,you got a talent love your personality. Thank you for the videos

Great method! Best meal planning video I've watched. 🧡

I must meal plan! I always waste money/ ingredients if I dont plan it out. I like to keep 2 weeks planned ahead. Planning on how to use leftovers is an awesome idea. I usually just freeze them and take them out for lunches on the weekend but that sux because it takes up so much room in my freezer. Thanks for the tips!

I've been meal planning since July 2022...it has made a huge difference in my life! Significantly less food waste and mental energy being used each night!

You are amazing and SO encouraging! Thank you 😊👍💗

Great ideas I will try this out! I had a list already where I have about 30 meals. I picked 10 or so..I may have added a bit more, my husband picked 10 and my son picked 10. I got tired of not eating what I wanted and my son always complaining so I made them do it and I just wrote it down for them. Although I may have to change few meals seasonally.

I laughed repeatedly throughout this video!! 😂😂😂 you’re very funny and enjoyable to watch. Keep making videos because us mamas love them 😂❤

Yes!!! I also try to use up leftovers in a different meal so it doesn't sit in the fridge and get thrown away. Sometimes I also freeze half of what I cook and have it in two weeks. (Most commonly when I make tomato sauce and meatballs / taco meat)

This is so good! After struggling for years meal planning I basically did the same thing. I only plan 3 meals at a time and always make something new out of my leftovers. I look for leftover recipes that I may not have to buy any extra ingredients for. We also eat vegetarian meals a couple times a week, so that vegetarian meal will be the side for the next meal with meat. Only planning three meals also allows for those nights when someone asks you if you want to go out or if you just want to go out to have something different.

I do my meal planning and cooking exactly like you do! It does make everything easier and has becomes such a habit that I do it naturally now. There are times when I don't feel like eating what is on the menu that night but yeah I make it anyway lol

So happy youre back!! 😊😊😊

Very grounded and practical advice! I think I can actually do this 🙏🏻🤩

I’ve missed you so much! That color shirt looks stunning on you😍 It makes your eyes soooo blue. Plus, it matched your fluffy nose💚 I love the printables. Thank you so much. I don’t think I can do 3 meals from one batch but I love the idea of just choosing 3 meals instead of 7. We recently stayed with a family who has one planned meal a day and grazes the rest of the time. So we are doing 2 planned meals a day and adding intentional snack things that are quick and easy. One sweet, one salty, one savory per week. Honestly we will probably end up with 2 options for each but I didn’t want to stress myself. I completely agree with the clean pantry and fridge/freezer. No one likes being overwhelmed or throwing money away.

I need your master list of favorite recipes! Looks yummy! :)

I just gotta tell you that I enjoy you!! You are so funny, relatable, and comfortable to watch!

Hey, glad you're back! I missed you!

Something I found that helps with leftovers is how they are put away. We started packing them in individual serving size containers. We were more likely to eat it if we only had to get out one container rather than several. Also they can be taken to work or school for lunch.

I meal plan and sometimes I hate it lol. These tips are so helpful! Love you!!

I grew up in a household where my mom never had a plan for anything! We would go to the grocery store multiple times a week just wandering around getting random things to make a meal with. And it drove me nuts even as a kid. I'm 35 and married now and the entire time I've been married (11 years) I've always had a meal plan for the entire week. It saves so much time, energy and money!

My best friend is FINALLY ready to start meal planning. (I’ve only mentioned the concept to him at least a gazillion times over the past two years.) I’m going to show him your video, and your other related ones.

Thank you for making this so doable. 💗

Thanks again for showing how the real population really does things! Love your videos

I've tried meal planning..it takes me hours to plan the meals for the week and I get bored of them. That's why I started planning only for 2 days at a time...the mall is at 10 minutes walk from me...If it was further, I'd probably meal plan for the whole week. Plus, I don't have children...yet (it's not like I don't want them...okay? my body is stubborn) But all these are awesome ideas. Edit: never mind...this information is brilliant.

Love your videos and really needed this one ❤️ 💕

Glad to see you again! Hope you are doing well.

I sooooo enjoy watching your videos!!! Thank you for this! I need to meal plan because our meals are so blahhhhh

I am meal planning with a long time now it’s such a time saver

Thank you for the content!

When there were five of us living at home, I would plan. I wrote a long list of meals. I think I had about 30. Then each week I would pick from the list one takeaway meal, one potato, one pasta, one rice, one tortilla, etc, then add (back when I ate meat) one beef, one chicken, one lamb, one vegetarian, and so on.

I usually cook just enough so my husband will have lunch the next day. We can a lot of food. It is pretty much already prepared and on the shelf. That has been a huge help for us, still food gets overlooked. . I will definitely be putting together a favorite meals list using your template. Thanks for sharing! Also, Pumpkin chilli is one of our favorite meals.

Love this -I do something similar but good idea to break it down to type of meals.

My family loves leftovers just as they are! Such a blessing. My method is to cook four large meals at a time because I can do them all simultaneously. However, I pre-screen recipes for their hands-on time. It's less dishes and way less time consuming. Some leftovers like soups/curries are even better the next day! We don't have issues with leftovers going bad because I only cook again when the food is being finished up, usually after 5 days because my husband eats leftovers for breakfast and lunch. Then it's a few simple meals to stretch until the next meal prep time (my husband likes to cook, but is less efficient/experienced, so I put him in charge of these). To keep everyone from getting bored, I generally only repeat a recipe every 4-6 months. Every method has merit if it makes sense for you and your family! I would definitely recommend your method to a lot of people I know (who didn't grow up in families that ate leftovers)! There's too much food waste in the world, so I respect this method!

Such great idea. Thank you 😊

Dang. Just started the video and I'm attacked🤣🤣🤣🤣♥️ Okay, okay, I'll watch the rest and get my meal plans handled💪🏿

Great idea to try something new twice a month 👍🎉