Meal Planning Guide: PLAN - SHOP - COOK - EAT

Set yourself up for mealtime success by being realistic and prepared. This simple Meal Planning Guide will show you how. Free Printable!

Preparing meals for you and your family, day after day, can be a daunting task. You have to plan the meals, shop for the food you need, cook the meals, eat the meals, (clean-up after the meals), and then repeat over and over again! Don’t stress! You can absolutely do this!

Yes… there is some thought and effort required to get dinner on the table every night. But, mealtime will actually become less stressful and more enjoyable when you’re in control and organized.

Set yourself up for mealtime success by being realistic and prepared! Below you will find a printable guide with tips to inspire you to get organized so you can plan, shop, cook, eat, and repeat with ease! Continue reading for even more info on each step…

PLAN

I’m one of those people who likes to organize and plan stuff… whether it’s meals, a to-do list, or a vacation itinerary! Being organized and having a plan in place, for anything in life, helps me feel more in control and therefore, more relaxed. Of course, my plans do fall apart sometimes, but that’s okay. I’ve learned to go with the flow.

I have found that taking time to “meal plan” is the key to enjoying mealtime success. Planning ahead provides you with a guide to help you shop, cook and eat your way through each week, while also saving some money, saving time, wasting less food, and even eating more healthy.

It’s ideal to devote an hour or so once in a while (I do it once a month) to planning your meals ahead as much as possible. To simplify, I only plan meals for dinner. I have a rotation of breakfast and lunch meals and I make sure the ingredients are always on hand. (See Master Grocery List)

To get started and set yourself up for easy meal planning, I find it’s helpful to have 3 Essential Tools:

Homemade Cookbook and/or List of Recipes
Calendar
Master Grocery List

1. Homemade Cookbook and List of Recipes

In order to plan meals, you first need some recipes! Once you’ve accumulated a bunch of successful recipes, you need a convenient place to store them!

I use a basic 3-ring binder to create a Homemade Cookbook. To keep my binder organized I use page dividers with tabs for each category. Of course, you could also choose to store your recipes on the computer (or another device) within bookmarks or files. Pinterest is a great tool to find, organize and store recipes!

F.Y.I, these are the categories I use to keep my recipes organized and easy to find:

Whether you keep your favorite recipes organized in a binder, or on a computer, it’s extremely helpful to also have a List of Recipes, or Table of Contents, to refer to when planning meals. This list contains all of the successful recipes in my cookbook, organized by category.

It took me a little time initially to type this out… but it was worth it. It saves a lot of time when I want to plan meals because I don’t have to search around for recipes. I simply refer to this list. I’ll choose a variety of recipes from different categories to balance out my meals.

I store this list in a pocket folder. A few times a year I edit and update my List of Recipes with new recipes, etc.

2. Calendar

As I plan meals I write them down on a Calendar (devoted just to meals) while taking into account activities, appointments and other responsibilities that may interfere with my cooking time. Be realistic with your plan!

I fill in my Calendar with recipes from my cookbook and the stack of new recipes that I’ve pulled from the web, magazines, or other cookbooks. Use my free Weekly Meal Planning Template to assist with this process!

I keep this Calendar in a pocket folder, together with my List of Recipes. You could also post the calendar on the refrigerator for everyone to see! If you prefer to keep a calendar on your phone, tablet, or computer, that will work too.

3. Master Grocery List

A plan will help make grocery shopping much easier and my Master Grocery List actually has a plan already built into it! Since I follow a set plan for breakfast, lunch, and snacks (see my Rotation), I use this Master Grocery List to keep an inventory of everything I need.

When I’m ready to make a shopping list, I simply scan this Master Grocery List for any items I need to buy to cover breakfast, lunch and snacks. I add the items I need to make the recipes I’ve planned for the week, and I’m ready to shop! I store this list in my pocket folder as well.

A Homemade Cookbook and/or List of Recipes, Calendar, and Master Grocery List are the 3 essential tools that help me plan meals with ease! Sure there are apps and websites that can help with all of this, but this simple system works for me. The key is to keep your plan/recipes accessible, organized, and easy to keep track of so you can plug them into your calendar and know exactly what you need to buy at the grocery store!

SHOP

Before you head to the store… make a shopping list! (Much easier with a PLAN!) I’ve never been very good at figuring out what I need on the fly at the store, so I always prepare a list ahead of time. For me, shopping is more relaxing when I have a list. You’ll also save money, only buy what you need, get in and out fast, and set yourself up for success come mealtime.

To make it even easier I actually write my list in the order in which I go down each aisle since I’m so familiar with the layout of the grocery stores I shop at. Nowadays you don’t even have to go to the store! There are lots of online grocery shopping services that allow you to order groceries online to pick-up at the store or have delivered to your home.

I do my shopping once a week (Mondays) at my local Publix. Additionally, every other week I will stop into other stores (rotating between them). These include Trader Joes, Whole Foods, Target, and Costco Wholesale. I have favorite items that I like to get at each store. The variety of stores helps keep shopping interesting!

Check out my lists of “Favorite Groceries” from each store!

Since I’m mostly purchasing the same items week after week, shopping is pretty quick. I’ve already taken the time to read food labels and know which brands/items I prefer. Still, I’m always on the lookout for new, healthy products and great sales. It’s easy to get overwhelmed (an average store sells over 45,000 products). The key is to try and stay focused on your list, goals, and budget!

COOK

Since I have a plan, this step is generally enjoyable. I wouldn’t go so far as to say that I love to cook! But, preparing meals at home is something that I need/want to do, so I just do it. I consider myself to be a “decent” cook. Most of the time I’m just proud of myself for making the effort!

The definition of a cook is someone who prepares meals for eating. It can be as simple as making a sandwich or as complex as making pasta from scratch. I tend to stick to the simple stuff! Take a look at a few more things that I like to do…

Cooking Tips and Tricks

1. Turn the music up! Music really can set the mood… whether I need motivation or to just relax. So, I often have my music on when I’m in the kitchen.

2. I like how cooking at home allows me to be in control of what is in my food. For example, I rarely add salt to my food (except when baking) and I always reduce the amount of sugar a recipe calls for.

3. Since I keep my meals simple, I’m usually in the kitchen for 30 minutes max at a time. I love my kitchen, but I don’t want to spend all day there!

4. Generally, I stick to recipes that are familiar to me. Even better, I love preparing meals when I don’t even have to “read” a recipe. However, at least a few times a month I do like to try something new. I know a recipe is a keeper when it’s quick, tasty and (mostly) healthy.

5. First thing in the morning I quickly review the plan for the day and do whatever I can ahead of time. It’s especially important to know if something needs to marinate or thaw.

6. I try to prepare as much as I can right after I return from the grocery store. For example, fruit or veggies that need to be washed or cut-up, snack mixes that I distribute into containers for the week or prepping yogurt parfaits for breakfast. I find that if I don’t take the time to get some of this prep done right away, I’ll get busy and never come back to do it! If I know I’m not going to have the time then I may take advantage of the pre-cut, ready-to-go items at the grocery store.

7. I always prepare lunches the day before so they are ready to grab and go when everyone is heading out in the morning.

8. Being prepared with the right tools and ingredients is key to success. I always read every step of the recipe before starting to ensure I have everything I need. I get everything out on the counter so that I’m ready to go.

9. Making a meal with 2 or more components, and having it all come together at the same time to serve, can sometimes be a challenge. With experience, this does get easier. Unless it’s a major holiday, I’m usually just dealing with 3 components at the most (protein, vegetable, grain). I find that as long as I read through the recipe(s) first, how long it takes to prepare and cook, I can figure out when to begin each step. If I start with the longest step first and keep going with the rest, then I usually have success. I especially like to bake or roast because while that is in the oven you can be working on something else. Cooking is definitely a great way to improve your time management skills!

10. The most common obstacle, when it comes to cooking, is lack of time. Also, it’s not always easy to muster the energy to cook a meal at the end of the day. So, to give myself a break, I will intentionally plan some super simple No-Cook Meals for busy times. I also keep a few frozen meals on hand for back-up. Breakfast for dinner comes in handy too! Once in a while, we will resort to take-out but I do try to limit that to only once a week (preferably on the weekend)! Instead of stressing out, I try to just go with the flow and do the best I can with the time I have.

Whether you prepare meals at home 3 times a day, once a day, or once a week… be safe, relax, and enjoy! Cooking is an adventure… lots of trial (and sometimes error), but always worth it in the end!

EAT

Enjoy your food!

REPEAT

Start the process all over again. (Unless you have a personal chef at your beck and call and you can skip steps 1-3!!) The good news is that after a few months you will have a collection of meal plans which you can use over and over again in a rotation!

Technically there is one more step in the process… CLEAN-UP. “Ugh”. When deciding on a new recipe I take into account Prep Time, Cook Time and Clean-Up Time (how many pots and pans, etc. am I going to use?). I try to keep clean up to a minimum, clean as I go, and just get it done. I can’t relax at the end of the day until I have a clean kitchen. Most nights I’m done in less than 10 minutes, especially if I’ve kept up with it during the day. There’s always the “I cook, You Clean” method too (that means you… kids and husband!).