Setting up a simple meal plan for your family can not only save you a lot of time and effort, but also save you money. Follow these simple beginners steps to create a meal plan that works for you family today!
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Meal Plan For Your Particular Lifestyle
First things first, when it comes to creating your perfect meal plan, look at your unique lifestyle. This may change from season to season, or even week to week, depending on work schedules, kids activities, family gatherings, etc. If you know that there are particular days in your week ahead that are going to be harder than others to cook a meal, mark those days with an asterisk on this FREE PRINTABLE. Those will be the days when you make your easiest, quickest meals or get carry-out if you want.
Also take into consideration special family nights, like Friday night’s pizza picnic on the living room floor and/or the special dessert or popcorn you’d like to enjoy on family movie night. If you’re family likes to frequent a particular restaurant every weekend, or you and your spouse want to go out on a date night once a week account for that as well.
Once you’ve got your week nailed down, then you can move onto the next step.
Put Breakfast & Lunch On Autopilot
When you’re just starting out with meal planning, another great tip is to put breakfast and lunch on autopilot. Choose 2-3 things that your family enjoys for breakfast and for lunch that you can purchase to have on hand to cover those meals. Perhaps you’ll also plan to make enough food at dinnertime to have leftovers for lunch the next day a few times a week.
So, for instance, maybe your family enjoys eggs for breakfast, granola bars, or cereal. Stock up on 2-3 options to make breakfast simple and easy, and then do the same thing with lunchtime. Now, we can focus on dinner.
Focus On Dinnertime
Putting breakfast and lunch on autopilot, frees you up to be more creative and focus your attention, time, and budget on dinnertime. You may want to start your weekly meal plan by filling in certain days that you know your family already enjoys…things like Taco Tuesday and Pizza on Friday Nights.
Then it will be easy to fill in the rest of your calendar. Those days that are less busy, maybe try a new recipe or a tried and true family favorite. Then, those days that are a little more hectic, perhaps plan on your favorite carry-out or a quick and easy meal service. Let’s talk about these options now.
Make A List Of Your Family’s Favorite Go-To Quick & Easy Meals
To make meal planning even easier, create a list of your family’s favorite go-to meals. You can use this FREE PRINTABLE I made for you to create this list. These should be quick and easy and be your top hits! These are those recipes that your family will gobble up, and the meals that you are able to whip up like a pro.
Once you have been meal planning for a while, you may be able to expand this go-to list to include seasonal meals as well. You may end up having a go-to list of favorite fall meals, winter meals, and fresh & simple spring and summer meals.
These go-to meals can be used to fill in those days when you have more time to cook, or if they’re simple enough, you can fill them in on those days when you’re pressed for time. Remember this is your meal plan, and it has to be flexible and able to fit with your life.
Fill In The Rest With New Recipes &/Or A Meal Delivery Service Depending On Your Schedule
Perhaps for your meal plan you’d like to add a day when you try a new recipe. This can be especially helpful if you’re still building your arsenal of family favorites. I like to find new recipes on Pinterest.
Another amazing idea to make meal planning super simple is to try a meal delivery service like Home Chef. Simply go on their website, sign up, and begin choosing your gourmet meals that are delivered fresh to your doorstep. Home Chef sends everything you need to make amazing meals for you already prepped and ready to go. They also send you the recipe cards for your chosen meals so you can recreate them if your family has a favorite…yet another way to build your recipe repertoire. (Click here to save $80 off your first 4 boxes. Enjoy!)
Save Your Seasonal Meal Plans In Your Home Base Binder To Reference Back To
Once you get into a good routine, and you’ve created some weekly meal plans that you love, save them in your Home Base Binder. What is a Home Base Binder? This is a notebook where you store all of your important documents, family calendar, and now your meal plans. This acts as an epic resource for you and your family to help your home run more smoothly. Then season after season, you can revisit your binder to see what your meal plans were the year before cutting down on the time you spend planning for years to come. Use this FREE PRINTABLE to keep track of your monthly meal plans.
Related Post: Irish Comfort Food Recipes Perfect For St. Patrick’s Day
Here’s A Sample Meal Plan…
So, let’s say you’ve decided that your family loves Tacos on Tuesdays, Pizza on Friday nights, and a pasta dish once a week as well. Then add in date night on Saturday, and going out with the kids to a restaurant on Sunday after visiting the park or going to church. Now, you only have 2 nights to really plan for, right?
Here’s what this meal plan might look like based on recipes your family enjoys,
- Monday- Baked Spaghetti and Garlic Bread with a Side Salad
- Tuesday- Tacos served with Corn Cake, Mexican Rice, &/or Refried Beans
- Wednesday-
- Thursday-
- Friday- Pizza Picnic
- Saturday- Date Night out for Mom & Dad (and something simple and easy for the kids like dinosaur nuggets, Mac ‘n cheese, and ice cream??? wait, count me in too!)
- Sunday- Dinner Out
Now, based on that schedule we only need to worry about Wednesday and Thursday. Depending on what your family’s schedule looks like, you could try a new recipe one of those nights, or cook one of your favorite meals from your arsenal of goodness. Or, if you want to take the thinking out of it, order 2 meals that week for your family from Home Chef.
Every week may look a little bit different, or some of these days may stay the same. It completely depends on your lifestyle.
Another Meal Planning Tip To Consider…
Another thing you may want to consider when beginning to meal plan, is to think about what meats you enjoy in your home. You may want to plan on a certain number of chicken recipes, beef dishes, maybe a fish as well throughout the week, and perhaps even choosing a do a vegetarian meal too. This way of thinking may come in handy particularly if you’re trying to eat more at home and eat healthier.
Here’s how a meal plan using this technique might work…
- Monday- Roast Chicken, Roasted Asparagus, and Mashed Potatoes
- Tuesday- Chicken Enchiladas (using leftover roasted chicken from the night before)
- Wednesday- Baked Spaghetti for our Vegetarian Day
- Thursday- Salmon served with roasted veggies and steamed rice
- Friday- Pizza
- Saturday- Steak or Beef Pot Roast, potatoes, and carrots
- Sunday- Carry Out
Meal Planning On A Budget
If you are starting to meal plan because you’re watching your finances…then welcome to the club! You can use all of the above techniques except add in an extra step. When you plan out your meals for the week and then are looking to fill in the leftover days with recipes or go-to meals, shop according to your local grocery store’s ad. Plan meals accordingly, and you’ll be saving money on your food budget in no time.
Another Note: Every week plan on baking one sweet treat, like chocolate chip cookies or brownies. Also, purchase a few snack items. These could be fresh fruit, a salty snack (like chips or pretzels), or something sweet. Don’t overfill your pantry with items that will never get eaten in time. Focus on minimalism and freshness in order to save money and meal planning appropriately.
I hope these tips sincerely help you plan healthy mealtimes for your family and take the stress out of this weekly chore. What’s a recipe that your family loves to devour? Please share it with us in the comments below. Enjoy!
