How to Meal Plan (with a Free Template)

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Does just the thought of meal planning get you stressed? Maybe you feel like it’s going to take you an hour just to get up the energy to do it! Well lucky for you, I have an easy solution in the form of a simple meal planning template.

Meal planning ensures less stress around meal times, more time with your family around the table, and more home cooked meals. Sounds nice, doesn’t it?

What is Meal Planning?

Meal planning is taking 20 minutes each week to think through meals for the week ahead and then making one grocery shopping trip for the whole week. You make a plan, and follow the plan. Think of it like using a GPS to get somewhere you haven’t been before vs figuring out the way on your own. It’s kind of nice to sit back and just follow the directions.

I can tell a noticeable difference in my stress levels on the weeks that I meal plan. I’m able to just follow the plan instead of making daily meal decisions. And, since we make so much of our food from scratch, I’m able to plan ahead in case there’s any meal prep I need to do ahead of time.

Meal Planning Template

I use this exact meal planning template to plan out the meals for my family. I LOVE knowing what’s for dinner before it’s time to start cooking. If this sounds like something you’d like to use, sign up here. It’ll be in your inbox by the time you’re done reading how to use it!

Why Meal Plan?

Before you start to meal plan, figure out why you want to in the first place. Do you want to…

• Save money?
• Eat healthier?
• Focus on eating sustainable, organic food?
• Spend more time with your family around the dinner table?
• Try new recipes without being overwhelmed?

Figuring out why you’re doing this will be a big motivator to come back week after week and continue. Plus, after you do it a couple times you’ll get the hang of it and the question of “What’s for dinner?” will be an easy one to answer.

Steps in Meal Planning

When you sit down to make you meal plan, here’s how I recommend going about it.

1. Brainstorm to think through what ingredients you have and what meals you want.
2. Fill out your meal planning template to set your menu for the week.
3. Fill out your grocery list.
4. Plan out your weekly cooking schedule. Is there anything you need to make ahead to make it happen?
5. Grocery shop and follow the plan!

Brainstorm

In the first step of meal planning, we brainstorm. Ask yourself these questions and use the box provided on the template to come up with a plan.

• How many meals do I want to make this week?
• What ingredients do I already have that I should use? Are there any meals I can make with these ingredients?
• Are there any meals I really want to eat this week? Do I want to try a new meal?
• Tip: If I need meal inspiration, I often type into google the ingredients that I have. Google is a great resource when you’re looking for meal ideas.

Meal Plan

Think through these questions as you fill out the meal plan section.

• Is there anything in my schedule that will affect cooking or eating times? (Kids sports or activities, birthday parties, family get-togethers, prior dinner commitments, etc.).
  
• You can write specific meals in each box, or (like I did here) you can write several options for breakfasts, lunches, and snacks that you’ll have on hand throughout the week.

Grocery List

• Look back at the meal plan section and think through the ingredients needed to make each meal happen.
• Write the ingredients in the corresponding category in the Grocery List section.
• When you go to the store, bring this paper with you (or take a picture with your phone) and you’re good to go.

Note: When I filled this out, we’d already done a lot of grocery shopping (mostly online). If you haven’t already discovered the wonder that is online grocery shopping, here’s some information on a few services we’ve used and loved. This has been a BIG time saver for me.

Make Ahead

We make most of our food from scratch in our house. So, while our grocery list is typically on the smaller side, the make ahead list is bigger. Do what works for your family. Here are some ideas to think through.

• What meal prep you want to get done ahead of time? Do you like having all your veggies pre-chopped and measured? Or do you like cooking meals ahead of time and then re-heating them?
• Think about when you’ll have time to do those things. Do you have some time Sunday afternoon that you could devote to meal prep? Or maybe on the day you’re eating leftovers for dinner you take 30 minutes to meal prep for the next day.

Tips for Success

Here are a few tips to make this even easier for you.

• You can plan as much or as little as you like in your meal plan. If you’re a planner…plan, plan, plan! If you’re not, just plan enough to keep the stress levels down. Find a system that works for you. This worksheet works well for me and my family. But maybe printing a monthly calendar works better for you, or using an app on your phone works best.
• Remember your “why”. Why are you meal planning in the first place? This will help motivate you to do it weekly and make it a sustainable habit in your weekly routine.
• I highly recommend taking a picture of your grocery list with your phone (even if you prefer to physically hold your paper grocery list). I can’t tell you how many times I get into the grocery store and realize I left the list in the car. With two young kids in tow, I definitely appreciate having my “backup” on my phone.
• These glass containers make it easy to prep meals for the week in advance. They even have a divider to keep everything fresh!
• When you buy pre-made items at the store, I would encourage you to read ingredient labels on the back of the package, not just the health claims on the front. Make sure you understand what you’re putting in your body. And whenever possible, choose single ingredient foods.

Meal planning takes less than twenty minutes a week, but can impact your whole week by lowering stress and giving you a clear plan for your weekly meals. Take the time to make a meal plan and you’ll be glad you did!

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