10 reasons you should create a weekly menu

I have a big family – 6 people – and it can be hard to manage time, money and food all week long. To prevent us from spending too much, I like to sit down and plan a weekly (or bi-weekly menu) and go grocery shopping just once or twice in that time. It also keeps us from eating out often because we know what will be for dinner and have the food at home to prepare.

I love finding new items at the grocery store that I can incorporate into my weekly menu, and my favorite find this week was Smucker’s® Fruit & Honey Fruit Spread. It comes in three different varieties and tastes amazing! You can use it for so many different things – that it is nice to keep on hand.

I want to share 10 reasons you should create a weekly menu and my experience shopping.

1. It will save you a lot of time
2. You can have a variety of yummy dishes (instead of pasta or tacos every night)
3. Your kids can take turns helping prepare and cook dinner
4. You go to the store less often so you don’t spend as much money
5. By creating a menu you will also create a shopping list which will help you spend smarter in the store
6. Knowing what is on the menu will help you plan ahead and make prep easier
7. You can “repurpose” leftovers in dishes the next night to save prep and money
8. You get more time to spend with your family because you already know what you will be having and don’t have to spend a lot of time worrying about dinner that night
9. You can make things in bulk (like bread/dough) and use it for dinners a few night in a row, cutting back on prep time
10. You can make extra for freezer cooking meals for another week

These are just some of the reasons why it is great to have a weekly menu planned. It is also nice so you can think a head and be really creative with your menu. I was so excited when I was at Smith’s yesterday, I found Smucker’s® Fruit & Honey Fruit Spread . I couldn’t pass it up because it looks and sounds so yummy. You can use it for anything from adding flavor to your yogurt to make desserts, breakfasts and more. I grabbed a couple of jars and some other ingredients so we could make fruit pizzas with them (recipe coming next week). They turned out amazing!

Be sure to load the digital coupon for Smucker’s® to your shopping card before you head out! Click here to get the coupon for Kroger, Dillions, Frys, Fred Meyer, King Scoopers, Ralphs and Smiths.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of The J.M. Smucker Company®. The opinions and text are all mine.