As moms, we have hectic lives. Whether we work out of the home, in the home or look after the kids full time, we definitely have our jobs cut out for us. We clean, chauffeur the kids around, mend scraped knees, help with homework, do laundry and on top of all that we STILL have to figure out what we're going to make for dinner each night.

Here are a few tips to take the pain out family meal planning:

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First, choose a quiet time once a week when you have enough time to sit down and prepare your menu for the week ahead.

Look through your cupboards, fridge and freezer and make a mental note of all the food you already have in there.

Start with the food you'll need for dinner. Plan your next week's dinner menu around the food you already have. So for example, if you have pasta, simply add pasta sauce and ground beef to your list.

Plan as many dinner meals as you can around what you have in your kitchen already. Once you "run out" of meals then start planning new meals from scratch.