A Meal Plan Will Change Your Life

Ok, so that may be a bit of an exaggeration about meal planning.

But also maybe not? Because it really is amazing. Just go right ahead and print out the free printable. You are going to want it! 

First, why should you make a weekly meal plan? 

To put it simply:

• Save money on your food budget (If you are not budgeting check out why here!)
• No more mealtime stress
• Save time and energy by having a plan
• Easier Grocery Shopping
• Less Food waste
• Eat better. Yes, even on a budget!

Save that Budget

As a mom on a budget, the most helpful thing I can do is meal plan. By putting in the work at the start of the week and planning out our meals I save overall so much time, money and energy! 

When my husband was in his masters before kids we were faced with a rather large monthly education line item on our monthly budget. We were determined to go through his program debt free (which we did!) and it’s what really made us buckle down financially. Learn more about how meal planning saved our budget here!

Meal planning cut down our grocery bill for the month by more than half. PLUS we were eating better, less stressed about food, trying new things and not living in grocery bill guilt. 

I stopped meal planning when I had my oldest (why I don’t know since i love it so much!). But a while after my second was born I knew I needed to revamp my old ways. 

Meal planning is Mom Magic 

Now as a mom…Oh man, did i think i loved meal planning before! It’s literally one of the best things I can do to make my week better. Even if I meal plan poorly or make strange combinations when I write it out. 

No more 5:30pm stress about what is for dinner or pulling out the frozen chicken nuggets again in desperation (which are tasty! I just used to have guilt about another night of premade food and now it’s a planned treat for all of us!). 

Meal planning does not have to be fancy or overwhelming. I personally spend about 20 minutes each week meal planning. That can be less if I am trying to keep things simple. If I want to try something new I may spend more time flipping through a cookbook. 

I stick to a very simple meal plan and I share it with you here! Join my newsletter to get a free PDF sent right to your email! Print out a bunch of copies. Grab a clip for your fridge and start making your life that much more stress free! 

How to Meal Plan 

Meal planning well is not simply just writing down what it is you are going to eat. It’s taking into account what you currently have on hand, what is going on in the life of your family, when you are going to be shopping and how much money you want to spend. 

To start meal planning in a way that it save you time, money, stress and all the other good things from it you have to actually put in the work to write the plan out well.

Meal Planning How to:

1. Start by writing down any events or activities you have going on that will impact your meals this week underneath that day. You are not looking to write out your whole calendar, just the basics to help you plan! For example: If you know your husband will be late getting home one night you might focus on an Instant Pot Meal for dinner to make things easier. 
2. Next, take an actual look at your fridge, freezer and pantry. We all think we know what’s in there but there may be things you are forgetting about! Get eyes on what you are already working with!
3. Write down the leftovers that are in your fridge and any produce/meat/product that needs to be used up before it goes bad. Example: 1 pepper, 1/2 a container of greek yogurt or 1 cup spinach. By naming even the small things you can work them into your work and not waste so much food!
4. Decide what you want to be spending and meal plan with this in mind. 
5. Any goals this week with your meals? Maybe you want to be eating healthier, or trying to get more protein in. Write that reminder at the top so that you stay on track while planning. 
6. Start writing out your meals and writing in your plan (Tips for this below!)
7. Name your backup meal and snacks. By naming this you will save the stress on weeks where things simply do not follow plan A.
8. Write down your grocery list while meal planning. By doing so you know that it’s complete and will find it easier to not go off script at the store (and saving money by being intentional to your budget! 

Tips for writing and picking your meals: 

• Plan each part of the meal.This one is huge. If you just write “Lasagna” when the meal comes you may either forget about cooking a vegetable side or find that you didn’t grocery shop for one. 
• Use up the leftovers/produce already in your fridge at the start of your week. Example: Have a ¼ of a cabbage left-make a slaw for tacos the first night! Don’t let that food go to waste! 
• Pick meals that go together and share ingredients. If you are having bacon for breakfast on Saturday make sure you finish up the package in your planning. With something like Potato Soup on Tuesday night! 
• Make theme nights if you need inspiration! Pasta night, Salad Sundays, Breakfast for dinner night, frozen pizza Fridays, Grilling night, ect. 
• Cook in bulk! Save even more time by cooking extra that you will use later in your meal plan. For example, bake a few chicken breasts for tacos on Monday night AND have the chicken cooked for BBQ Chicken Pizzas on Tuesday.
• If you are good with repetition, have the same things for each breakfast or lunch! I always have eggs and toast or Banana Egg Pancakes (If you don’t know about these yet get ready to love your new breakfast staple!) for breakfast. Leftovers are every lunch for us as well. Meaning breakfast and lunch are a breeze for me to plan! 
• If you want to be trying out new recipes, pick one or two days a week where you try something new! Pick the recipes you want to try out while meal planning. 
• Dont meal plan a meal while you are hungry. You may find it gets out of control when all you can think about is chips (I love chips). 

Biggest Tip:

Stick to it! This is key! You did the work earlier in the week, don’t change things up, run to the store or stress out about it. Simply follow the plan. 

Every week I post what my meal plan is for my family that next week. Not a theory thing or just something to look nice on my fridge. What we will actually be eating! I post it out weekly for people to follow along with or get inspiration from!

Start meal planning, sisters. Let it change your week!