How to Make a Weekly Meal Plan
Making a meal plan is a huge lifesaver, time saver, and money saver for us. It takes a little bit of planning, but the benefits of knowing what you will make for dinner each night are worth it.
Here is how I create my weekly meal plan.
- Research Recipes – There are always new recipes I want to try (on Pinterest), but I never have all of the ingredients. So, I research and select 1 new recipe (not every week). Once I’ve chosen a new recipe, I add the ingredients to my shopping list.
- Make a shopping list – We have a list of essentials we buy each week, like bananas, milk, orange juice, etc…
- Shop the sales – If Harris Teeter has a special on London Broil, I’ll buy one or two and freeze them.
- Survey your stock and list possible meals – After shopping, I list all the possible meals I could make.
- Select meals based on your calendar of events for the week. – If we have a hectic day, I usually plan a slow cooker meal. On weekends in the summer, we usually grill out.
- Write down your plan and post it on the fridge, calendar, or somewhere everyone can see it. You can use this free meal plan printable I made.
- Every morning, look at the meal plan – I look at my meal plan each morning to set out meat to thaw, prep food, or pick up any extras I might need. This prevents a 5 o’clock panic.
It’s really simple and such a tremendous help with keeping my family well-fed. PB&J every night gets old.
My Meal Plan for this week….
Possible Meals
- Chicken Tacos
- Spaghetti
- Slow Cooked Cuban Pork
- Sandwiches
- Pork Ribs
- Stir Fry Beef
This week:
Monday – Pork Ribs
Tuesday – Sandwiches
Wednesday – Slow Cooked Cuban Pork
Thursday – Spaghetti with meat sauce
Friday – Pizza and a movie
Saturday – Beef Stir Fry
Sunday – Chicken Tacos