Easy Meal Planning – Including Printable Meal Prep Worksheets
Meal planning is something that everyone should get in the habit of regularly doing.
However, many of us are struggling with where to even begin. If this is you, then stick with us as we dive deep into the world of Meal Planning. But wait, there’s more; stay tuned to the end for your special offer!
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So, let’s start off easy; what actually is meal planning?
Meal planning is taking the time each week to sit down and plan out what you and/or your family are eating for the week, fortnight or month. You look at what groceries you currently have and then need to make up your weekly menu. Some people only use it for dinners; others use it to plan their entire meal, including breakfast, lunch and dinner, and any snack allowances for the day. It is entirely up to you as to what you think is necessary to meal plan out.
Who can do meal planning?
Anyone! Whether you are a single person, a small family, or a large family, anyone can benefit from meal planning.
Well, tell me, What are the benefits of meal prepping?
Here we delve into the reasons why you need to start your journey into organizing your meals.
1, Save money
If you worked out how much money you spend on food and fast food each month, you might just surprise yourself. If you also worked out how much money gets lost with food going off or expiring, you may also be just as shocked. Meal planning ensures that you are only buying what is required. You set your food budget, and then when you do your grocery shopping, you only get what is on the list, nothing else.
2, No stress in trying to figure out what to have for dinner.
How many of you get to 4pm and haven’t even thought of dinner? Or, you haven’t pulled out something in time, so then you resort to spending more money on takeout. Meal planning means that you do not need to think about what’s for dinner until it’s time to get the prep started. You then have everything already in your fridge, and it doesn’t take long to put it together.
3, Effective way to incorporate healthy meals into your week.
It is always a good idea to ensure you are eating a well-balanced diet with variety. Meal planning helps you not revert to pulling out that pizza night after night; it ensures you have healthy meals planned with variety, so you know you are eating well for the week. Creating delicious meals also ensures your kids are healthy eating too.
4, Less food waste.
As well as saving money, it also helps to reduce the amount of food that just ends up in the trash.
5, Portion control.
How often do you notice yourself making so much dinner and then filling your plate up until it’s overflowing?
Meal planning helps to ensure you keep to a good portion ratio. This is especially useful if you are watching your weight or tracking your food intake.
6, Saves time.
Believe it or not, meal planning can help save you time. Initially, when you first set up your meal plan routine, it will take a while, but each week will become easier and quicker. Once you know your system, you can have all your meal plans and easy recipes sorted for the week in no time. You are then not spending countless hours each day and night trying to figure out what to have for dinner or continuously running to the store.
7, A great way to get the whole family involved.
As you have already done the meal plan, it can become easier to start involving your family in helping. If you have older kids, get them to check the meal plan daily and start any prep work for you. As you will be organized when going to the grocery store, get your kids to help find each item and place it in the trolley.
How do I start my meal planning journey?
This is where the fun starts! Great idea to start and simplify your meal planning.
Before we start, to help you, We have got a 15 piece meal planning kit. This is all your need to get your meal planning journey started!
Our 15 Piece Meal Planner Template Kit comes with:
- 5 Different style weekly planners – that you can print out and place in a frame (not included). Use a whiteboard marker on the frame and then each week write out your menu for the entire week and place it in a handy spot in your kitchen. At the end of the week, simply wipe out and start again.
- Pantry record keeper
- Refrigerator record keeper
- Freezer record keeper – keep track of freezer meals
- Grocery list
- Meal Planning Menu Ideas
- Meal Planning Menu Ideas Template for you to add your own favorite dishes
- Recipe Template
It is available as a Digital Editable Printable Templates on Canva and a PDF Printable meal plan that you can print out and add to your favorite binder. No dates have been added, so you can print them at any time of the year. You can easily join Canva for free here https://www.canva.com/join/rkg-gxl-lyl <—- (Highlight, copy and paste this URL)
But wait, theirs more!
We are offering a special offer only to our readers. We are offering a WHOPPING 60% off our 15 piece meal planner Kit using the code ECD60.
So, what are you waiting for?
It’s a meal prepper’s best friend
Click here to get your 15 Piece meal planner kit now!
How to Meal Plan
1, Inventory your Fridge, Freezer, and Pantry.
Using our handy inventory guides, go through every area of your kitchen and make a list of everything you need to use up. From this list, you will start figuring out what meals you can make up with all or most of the ingredients you have on hand. This also provides a wonderful opportunity to give your food items a rotation. Remember new items towards the back and older items towards the front.
Keeping track of your inventory lists will also help to determine what supermarket items you need to purchase.
2, Check your local supermarket store mailouts and online specials for the week/month.
Check what is on sale this coming week at your local supermarkets. Look at their online website and weekly mail-out specials. This will also help get your list of ingredients together for each night’s meal.
3, Now, looking at ALL your ingredients in the freezer, pantry, and fridge, you can start to compile your menus.
Browse through your recipe book or check out the range of different meal ideas online and start producing your weekly menu. Look at what you have on in the upcoming week and make sure to account for any future family gatherings and birthday parties to ensure you have enough food.
4, Compile your shopping list
We have placed together a shopping list template for you to record all your shopping items on.
5, Go grocery shopping
Whether you go shopping online or in-store always, only buy what is on your list – this is how you save a ton of money!
6, Fill out your weekly planner template
Add all menu ideas to your meal prep sheet ready for the week. Amongst our meal planning kit, you will find 5 different templates to use. Use the one that best suits your family situation. Plan for a leftover night (or 2) so you can use up any leftovers from the previous nights; this will help with wastage.
7, Each night, refer to your weekly menu planner for dinner
Meal Planning Tips!
- Place your meal plan menu where everyone in the family can see it.
- Use an alarm on your phone to remind you to take the meat out of the freezer.
- Make extra that you can freeze for quick and easy go-to meals.
- Add your favorite recipes to a notebook. We have included a master template for you to write your own recipes on and file them in a kitchen recipe binder book or recipe box.
- The important thing is to stick to the same time and day of the week to review your meal plan and make up your following week’s one. Add an appointment to your phone calendar to commit to. Sunday afternoon planning often works well, or perhaps do Saturday afternoon planning and order your groceries for Sunday. Do what works best for you and your family.
- Consider making up 2 weeks or a whole month worth of meals and then alternate each week.
- If you have time during the day, consider making up parts of your meal. This way, when it comes to evening meal times, you only need to reheat a few things or cook a couple of items to finish off dinner.
- Head on social media and join a Facebook group to get a range of menu ideas and delicious recipes.
- Invest in a Slow Cooker or an Instant Pot – Instant Pots cook meals fast and save you time. This is a must-have in every household!
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Click on Image to get your Instant Pot - Find simple meal ideas that you like and give yourself a couple of cheat days with a frozen lasagna or TV dinners. Make the most time-consuming meals on days you know won’t be hectic.
- Get your family members involved! It can make all the difference when it comes to dinner time
Have you got any meal Planning Tips?
We would love to know them – list them below in the comments!
Happy meal Planning
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