In the last few weeks we been doing an amazing thing: meal planning!
When I was basically only cooking for myself and sometimes my mom, meal planning wasn’t that important. I could make whatever I felt like at the moment and just go with it. That doesn’t work quite as well in my current situation where Kepa and I and his mom usually eat together each night. We enjoy being creative in the kitchen but meal planning greatly reduces the stress surrounding meal times.
So each weekend Kepa and I sit down and decide what we want to eat that week. We pick from the meals we make often and throw in a few that we want to make, which are usually things I’ve picked up from food blogs. I write these things down and then plan meals and my breakfasts too. Based on the meals planned I create a grocery list based on what we have and what we need.
Then I write the weekly menu on our whiteboard that hangs on the fridge. I also transfer the list from my personal meal planner to the whiteboard because Kepa’s grandma does the grocery shopping each day and she needs a list.
This whole system will probably change and evolve until it’s perfect, but so far I love it! Meal planning has made things so much easier and more efficient. It’s really great during the week for making lunches for Kepa to take to work. It also eliminates all those times when we are unsure of what to make for dinner. And it’s not a concrete plan so we can always deviate if things happen or we really want to make something else.
When I was trying to find a meal planner I couldn’t find one that I liked, so I just made my own to fit my needs and personality. I’ve used both and haven’t settled on which I like best because one is awesome for just meal planning but the other rocks for planning out my whole week. I’ll probably continue using both and maybe even create more since I’m a big fan of variety.
Here’s screenshots of what they look like (minus the amerrylife.com in the middle of course!):
Weekly Meal Planner
This first one is a weekly meal planner. It’s a little less structured. On one side you have the days of the week and can write your meal plans under there along with notes about the meals (or I suppose anything else). On the other side you have the very helpful grocery list. You can list what you have (which can help you decide on meals in the first place) and then you can list the items you need for the week’s meals.
Weekly Planner with Meal Planning
This one is what I’ve been using for all my planning for the week. I write out my to-do list (and add to it throughout the week) as well as plan my workouts and my meals. It’s great because it has everything in the same place so I know what I’m doing for the week. If I ever get busy again this will be invaluable because I’m very forgetful. Plus, I love stars, so looking at this every day makes me really happy!
You can definitely find tons of them online for free! Or email me to make you something custom! Or make your own! Even using a blank sheet of paper works – you don’t actually need anything special. I just like pretty things to look at since I’m a very visual person. ;)
If you’ve never tried meal planning before I definitely recommend it. It works so well!
Do you plan your meals? Do you have a special meal planner you use?
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{ 37 comments }
I’m loving the meal planning. It’s pretty damn awesome!
We just need to remember to make the lunches earlier, hehe :)
Love you! <3
Kepa´s last [type] ..Exposed- 1 Year On
Haha, yeah. The meal planning is really good… now we just have to get the timing down. ;)
I love you!
Meal planning is the single best thing I’ve done for myself food-wise. It’s taught me a lot!
maria @ Chasing the Now´s last [type] ..My name is…
Planning is key for me, it works well for me particularly when I live by myself; doesn’t always work but it means I do less impromptu grocery shopping which can only be a good thing :-)
D…´s last [type] ..Lost the trail
Great idea … one I shall try!
Josie´s last [type] ..“Maybe I will be able to run one day”
The meal planners are a brilliant idea. There is nothing worse than getting home from work then having to figure out what to knock up for dinner. Love your blog Mary.
Danii´s last [type] ..3 Suggestions to Help You With Weight Loss
Don’t do the writing down unless I am writing the grocery list but I am definitely a planner! :-)
Jody – Fit at 52´s last [type] ..Workouts Away from Home
I only use meal planning for dinners for my family of 4, but I write them on monthly calendars and keep them in a folder for a year. That way I can look back at what we’ve had previously so I don’t forget about some of the yummy dinners I’ve made in the past! Otherwise, I have a hard time remembering dishes we’ve enjoyed in the past.
That’s a good idea for remembering dishes. That’s one of the reasons why I looooove blogging my food. It gives me a record so I know all the things I’ve had and made. I can go back and search to find exactly what I’m wanting. :)
I have finally come up with a a system – It’s been about 18 months in the making
1) I have a Excel grid where I work on the dinner plans for the week – I do this Wednesday nights – I prefer for my husband to help me with this, but is doesn’t usually happen
2) I have a pre-printed grocery list based on the layout of the grocery store and the items we normal buy – I check off what I need and add different items. I also write the final menu plan at the bottom so I can be reminded (and this is the one I cut out and put in the fridge) – I do this Thursday evenings
3) Fridays I go grocery shopping (I have been working from home for the last 2 years but unfortunately this may change – if so, I am not sure when I will fit it in. Probably unfortunately in the evening)
To help with my menu planning, I have also done the following:
1) Each day is designated a type of food (Monday chicken, Tuesday – quick food, Wednesday – pasta, Thursday – Mexican, Asian or other ethnic non-italian, Friday – Pizza, Saturday/Sunday – grilling, more complicated time consuming recipes
2) I have a “cheat sheet” – For each of the food categories I have written down our “go to” foods, and I also have a list of the recipes in my binders/cook books of the things I want to try
That’s a pretty detailed system! We have a similar day of the week = certain type of food. My favorite is Friday night Mexican night. :)
I don’t know why I find it so hard to plan meals. Maybe because I don’t like to cook and would happily eat an apple with peanut butter for dinner if it was just me. Maybe because my kids are such picky eaters. Whatever, I don’t plan very far ahead. Makes for a lot of grocery runs.
Karen´s last [type] ..The Single Life
Yup, I do sometimes. When I’m in organization mode. I use my everyday planner.
Alexia´s last [type] ..10-10-10
Great post! It is a great idea having a weekly meal plan. I will have to do this. Hopefully I can start doing healthier meals. Thanks for the great post!!!
I meal plan, but not quite in the organized fashion that you do!
Lisa @ I’m an Okie´s last [type] ..making it better
What a great idea! We need to be better about meal planning. Often times it’s dinner time, we’re both tired and hungry and we choose easy (maybe not healthy) options.
Lisa´s last [type] ..I’ll Take a Case of Wine Please
I like meal planning but I’m terrible about actually sticking to what I’ve planned. Because I cook just for myself I don’t have to take anyone in to account, though, so I guess it’s not really a problem.
Kendra´s last [type] ..Skanky Tuesday- Spit or Swallow
Yeah when i was single and just cooking for myself I would sometimes try meal planning and then never, ever stuck to it. I just made whatever. I didn’t the big deal. But now that my family/living situation is different I’ve realized the greatness of meal planning! :)
planning definitely rocks. We do not plan our dinners currently and I have some sort of mental blockage stopping me from insisting we do this. Daily (during the week) meals are always planned and prepared ahead for easy lunch packing. Dinners on the weekend are planned only on the Saturday for that evening and Sunday. Planning for me means control and control means I’m in check. I like that. It works :)
Your planners are cute, nicely done :)
Meal planning absolutely does rock :)
I plan dinners, baking treats and exercise on a blog entry at the moment, so that I can hyperlink to the recipe sites/pages for quick reference while I’m cooking. I plan before weekly grocery shopping and make a list. I plan at least one each of a red meat, fish, chicken and vegetarian dish per week.
I really like the way you did your blue meal planner form… very pretty.
Cilla´s last [type] ..The very bottom of the gravity well
I think doing it on the blog is a good idea. I seem to need the paper form to have it right in front of my face for it to work. Maybe that’s because I spend so much time blogging anyway? Hehe.
Thank you! I like pretty things to look at. I think it honestly makes me enjoy meal planning more. :)
I am going to order both – love them!
I am a complete menu planner geek – but I start my meal plans with my sale paper – obviously if chicken is $5 bucks a pound, I won’t have chicken that week!
I also have to be creative because my husband does not eat leftovers. Except for meatloaf and fried chicken.
So over the weekend we had a rump roast on the grill – tonight I am going to make Yankee Pot Roast soup with the leftovers for my lunch, and then freeze the rest for myself later.
Thanks Mary!
Biz´s last [type] ..Perfect Scalloped Potatoes
Aw, yay! :)
Ooooh, that’s a really good idea!! I haven’t yet figured out how to shop in NZ for the best deals (they don’t have coupons!), but I could start doing that. I love that idea of starting with the sale papers. I’m just like so excited that I’ve learned something good, lol. THANK YOU!
Just curious, why does he not eat leftovers? We all love leftovers here. And all the rest of my family too. It just seems funny to me not to like letovers. I think sometimes they are almost better than the first meal!
Oh I tried to do meal planning when I was a kid. I made a calendar for the entire month and then I pulled random recipes that my mother had been wanting to try, or had tried a billion yrs ago, in random order and wrote them on the calendar. Then we were supposed to eat what was on them. It didn’t work though, because my mother would say there’s no time or my parents wouldn’t get the stuff from the store (I think they couldn’t afford all those recipies, to tell the truth!), so it failed in the end. That was probably when I was around ten or 12 or something, and I havent tried since. I admire your organization! At my house, we pretty much eat the same thing every day, so there’s not much to plan. Honestly, by the time I get home from work and gym, im hungry and don’t have time to make a whole recipe thing really. I always mean to start trying to do it on the weekends, but then I usually eat out! :) smart idea though to get some variety into your eating.
@biz & mary – I don’t like leftovers either. They never taste as good (except sometimes deserts)..i like my food fresh. Its great if you do though because you can make a big meal and save it for later meals.
merri´s last [type] ..Work at Home Day – Sorry this Blogs been Lagging
I think I’ll give this a shot once I am in charge of my own kitchen again. Right now, as I’m living with my parents it’s really hard to plan any meals as they hardly ever cook (too busy) but sometimes they do. So most of my meals end up being spontaneous using ingredients we already have at home, or I will quickly stop by the grocery store, e.g. when I want to cook meat.
Karen @ Hello Gorgeous´s last [type] ..WW Weigh-in 10
I did the whole meal plan when the kids were little. I would post the meals so they would know what we were eating. If they did not like a meal, then they could see when something they did like came along. They also learned that if they didn’t like something, it wouldn’t be long before it was time to eat again. This made the pickiness a little easier for them.
A new reader here – how have I not read your blog before – love it!
Love your blog. Love your love story with Kepa (have just discovered his awesome blog too – how is this possible, two awesome blogs I’m not reading? I have some catching up to do)
Love love love!
Rachel´s last [type] ..over troubled water- glute 11-30
I got carried away with my astonishment at not having read your blog before…but I love to meal plan too, if I had to choose 5 things that I think have helped me lose weight and get healthy it would be on the list.
Rachel´s last [type] ..over troubled water- glute 11-30
Aw, thank you! I’m glad you found us! :)
I started menu planning as one of my new year goals this year, now I don’t know what I did before, I can’t imagine not doing it every week – the huge plusses I have found -
- No stressing over what to make for dinner, or heading for takeaways because there is “nothing” in the cupboards.
- I can plan healthier meals.
- Makes grocery shopping easier and more cost effective.
- The plan goes on the fridge so the kids don’t ask 10x a day what is for dinner.
- The kids sometimes do the plan for me which is great educationally for them, and they like choosing their favourites.
Mostly, its just amazing what a difference it makes – less thinking, less stressing AND how quick it has become a good habit!
Lisa´s last [type] ..7 Months! aka Here I am
Eating on the whim definitely makes it harder to diet, that’s for sure. Losing weight is so much easier if you plan ahead! I just end up eating the same thing each week because it’s easier for me. To stay in balance, I indulge myself with a little diet soda. Probably not healthy, but it keeps me on my diet!
Rosie´s last [type] ..Sharing – Isnt it About Time
What a great idea! We need to be better about meal planning. Often times it’s dinner time, we’re both tired and hungry and we choose easy (maybe not healthy) options.
Mary, this is a great meal planning worksheet. I highly recommend anyone who wants to lose weight grab one of these worksheets from you and plan out their meals on the weekend for the week, just like you talk about here, and then make a grocery list from it and go shopping. If time is an issue you could also “bulk cook” on Sunday and freeze meals for the week. Some of my clients have seen great success with this approach. The key is being prepared (and not tossing anything into your cart that wasn’t on your list).
Susan @ Home Workouts´s last [type] ..By- 3 Effective Nutrition Tips for Weight Loss workoutsforhomecom
I’ve had a love-hate relationship with meal planning for what seems like eons. I love the idea of it … LOVE the adorable planning sheets I’ve purchased … hate going through the hassle just to have the follow-through never quite work out. Someday it will … I’m determined!
Love that you’ve done this! Such a great idea.
Sagan´s last [type] ..Resting Between Workouts
I’m REALLY bad at meal planning, I sometimes do try and never actually stick to it after a day :D
Anne@ Food Loving Polar Bear´s last [type] ..Ridiculous
Great article. I love the idea of having workouts and a to do list all on one page. I’ve tried a calendar and that just doesn’t work. Meal planning is my absolute downfall so I’ve recently joined a menu club. It’s by Gigi Centaro author of “Let’s Cook Tonight”. She offers a free trial so I thought I’d give it a shot. They are suppose to be healthy, nutritious and for the cook with little time. Perfect for me!
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