Meal planning: how do you do it?

Here’s a comprehensive but simple look at how I’ve been meal planning for the past several years. Everyone is different, so take the parts that will work for your mind and life and leave the rest. I’m giving you a reference point for the areas you need to think through as you begin. This can very easily be adapted to fit your unique lifestyle and needs!

Why did I begin meal planning?

Even before being married and running a household, I remember wishing I had a system for meals. Something which could streamline my planning so the daily question of “what’s for dinner?” didn’t paralyze me. If you’re anything like me, not knowing the answer to that question can immediately bring a panicked feeling. I floundered in trying to plan for many many years and finally created this system through trial and error. Before we hop into the how to’s, let me share with you the benefits I see in why meal planning matters.

Why meal plan?

Meal planning helps you save money

When I am planning a week’s meals, I am coming at it from a fixed budget. Because of that, I look for meals that will use similar ingredients. If I buy a large tub of sour cream, I make sure it can serve many purposes and therefore making the budget stretch farther. That could look like tacos on Tuesday, breakfast burritos one morning and beef stroganoff Friday. And if there’s plenty left over, I’ll make sure I plan around that for the following week too in order to save $$ and ensure it won’t mold before I can utilize it. Without a plan, it’s easy to unnecessarily overspend and also lose money from items expiring.

And if you’re not on a budget, then meal planning will simply help you have a plan. This will save you money by not purchasing lots of unrelated items you won’t be able to use in time.

Meal planning frees up mental space

There’s nothing worse than finally coming up with a plan for supper but then realizing you’re missing that one key ingredient. Some may have a store nearby, which is great, but stopping to run to the store isn’t ideal. For many, it’s not even an option to run to the store in the midst of cooking. Having a plan and knowing you have every single thing you need to execute it is a freeing feeling that will you keep you from being unnecessarily frazzled.

Meal planning puts you in charge of the week

There are so many things we need to care for and address within the days of our week. And if we’re always feeling behind, we end up in a defensive and hectic mindset. I can’t tell you how relieving it is that I don’t have to exert much mental energy about dinners. They’re already planned and the ingredients ready in my fridge and pantry. My time can go toward the people and things that really matter and need my attention instead.

Take inventory

So now that I’ve hopefully convinced you of the importance of planning, here’s a look at how I go about it. I take an initial stock of the items I know we’re out of or low on. And then those become obvious items I add to my list. I personally write this in my weekly planner which you can see below. There are certain purchases too that I know happen every week without fail which are automatically included, such as milk and eggs. After taking note of these things, I turn to the inspiration stage.

But first, a little note about the budget…

This step can be thrown in and considered at any one of these stages but I’m going to talk about it here. If you have a weekly budget you try to follow, then it’s important to bear this in mind. When planning the week’s meals, you have the freedom to make one meal pricier and one less expensive. So if you choose the wild caught Atlantic salmon then you may want to have spaghetti or rice and beans another night to help offset. While it can feel burdensome to follow a budget at times, I’ve felt grateful for how the confines simplify my planning. I’m also able to exercise wisdom with how it’s best to spend this allotted money, often requiring creativity. And I love a good challenge.

Getting ideas

When looking for ideas, I turn to Pinterest, some trusted cookbooks and a compiled list I’ve made in the notes section of my phone. Here’s my Pinterest board with recipes I love. On Pinterest, I’ll sometimes search generally but also specifically if I know there’s a certain protein I’m wanting to include.

There have been a handful of recipes that were duds over the years but I’ve found more gems than not. If there’s a recipe that I really want to make but requires ingredients that are more expensive or unrelated to other recipes, I take note of that. I’ll often choose an extra cheap, tho still great, meal to help offset that expense like I was saying earlier.

Would really suggest making a meal ideas note in your phone of recipes you’ve made and love. Then if you’re needing inspiration, you can open that and check some off for the week.

Make your plan

Here’s the fun part where you get to pencil in 5-7 meals for your week. I primarily plan for dinners but do take time to think through breakfasts, lunches and snacks. For example, this week, I jotted down several ideas for these categories and some of them only required me buying 1-2 ingredients. Yogurt and lemons was all I needed to get so I could make lemon poppyseed muffins for a breakfast and snack.

During this step, I do not stress about which day a meal will happen on. Instead, I just jot a dinner down into each day. I’ll choose the day of which meal I want to make on that day. This way, I can choose something simple if it’s been a difficult day. Or if one seems more appropriate for a crowd, I can reserve it for the evening company is coming.

How do I handle leftovers?

In our home, my husband usually takes leftovers for his lunch and sometimes there will be enough for us too. Otherwise, we do smoothies, sandwiches, etc… But depending on your family size and schedule, you may choose for one meal to stretch two nights. And if you have that planned ahead, you can be sure to buy extra for doubling that meal. Some families also plan for eating out into their week too. If you’re eating out once per week and planning on at least one or two leftover evenings, you’ll have far less meals to plan for.

Grocery shopping

Back in 2020, I began primarily shopping online doing grocery pickup at our local Walmart. Not only was this much more convenient than bringing young kids into the store, but it streamlined my shopping and kept me on budget with greater accuracy. I love about doing delivery/pickup orders is that I can manipulate my grocery cart so much easier than if I were in store.

I’ve often put several items in my online cart that I’d like to get that week but once I’ve added all I’ll need for meals, along with household goods, there is sometimes a need to drop nonessentials. I really like that I can easily manipulate my total with an online cart, keeping to our budget goal. Sometimes, I’ve changed a meal idea to something simpler and cheaper so that some desired nonessential items can happen.

Making a meal plan doesn’t have to be complicated

I hope these tips gave you some inspiration for how easy and beneficial it is to take time to plan weekly meals. And there are so many methods you can utilize for this process. You may desire a more detailed process than I shared, or maybe less. I’ve found that once you jump in, you quickly realize what works for you and what doesn’t.

I hope and pray this blesses you and that you find yourself freed up from the pressures of last minute planning. Would also love to hear below if you have any questions or if there’s a particular tip that was helpful for you!