Soard suggests that you start with your family’s favorite meals, and then think of related dishes that utilize the main ingredients in those favorites. Set up fourteen menus using these dishes, and rotate twice a month. Soard’s plan starts with dinners and uses leftovers for lunches. She even includes suggestions for breakfasts.

I have planned menus for an entire month using this method, and the work is intense but well worth the effort. However, for my family, having a two week rotation would be too monotonous.

Soard also suggests that readers not experiment too much with adding new dishes, making changes and additions only gradually. Soard backs up this suggestion with anecdotes about her family, and it’s clear that they don’t like to be culinarily challenged. My own family is a lot of more adventurous taste-wise than that.

Still, the concept is good, and Soard does offer worksheets in her ebook that you can print out. And, if you really need help with menus, you can use her two-week plan and shopping list. She also includes recipes; however, these are very general and don’t list amounts. Since the recipes are rudimentary, you are supposed to adjust ingredients to your personal tastes.