I am constantly working on this! Another week of meals, or to be honest, how about just another day of meals. There are some weeks I am on top of my game, ya'll, and my meal planning is on point! And then there are weeks I am dragging through the day with my brain in a fog, feeling overwhelmed with other demands and the meal planning & prepping goes right out the window. Either the most unique dish will come out of whatever leftovers I have in the refrigerator or take-out it will be!
Here is my latest breakdown to help me organize my meal planning & grocery list.
Print double-sided and you're ready to go!
****It's also editable in Word if you'd like to add/save ingredients to your grocery list that you always purchase.
HOW I USE IT
I work best when I can see what I'm working with. I'm a visual learner, all the way.
There are 3 sections:
Meal List, Grocery List, & Meal Plan
There are two sides to the printout. Depending on how your brain works, choose which side works best for you.
This is meant to be written all over, torn up, folded, saved, thrown out, whatever you need. Use it up!
1. The Meal List
I like to use this section first and just list off the meals I want to eat that week. Dinners, snacks, etc. Don't think too hard. Keep it simple. What sounds good to you?
BOTH sides have the Meal List. You can tear this section off or fold it back to see from the other side.
This is a great brain dumping area for you to list out all the meals & snacks you would like to eat throughout the week. Don't think too hard. Keep it simple.
Don't worry about organizing or assigning the meals to a day yet, unless you have a rhythm and this comes naturally for you to do at the same time.
I find that planning out dinners is my biggest area of focus, lunch would come in second, & breakfast is the easiest most consistent meal throughout the week.
IDEA: I like to plan on 3-4 dinner meal options. At least 2 of those meals would include enough for leftovers. And then 1-2 meals eating out per week.
TIP: Plan those leftover nights on the days you might be the busiest with little time to come home & cook.
TIP: Tear off and keep this thin section as a reference for meals that you've done before. You may appreciate having it when planning your meals for the next week.
2. The Meal Plan
This section is where I lay it out & organize my meals. I'm able to look ahead each day and see what's coming. Is there any meat I need to pull out the night before? Do I want to pre-cut any veggies before I leave for work?
Save the Meal Plan section & stick it to your refrigerator for easy referral throughout your week.
3. The Grocery List
After you have listed out the meals you'd like for the week, fill in any ingredients you still need to purchase.
As you can see the meals listed from your Meal List, simply fill in the ingredients you'll need into each section or category of your Grocery List.
I tried to organized the ingredients into sections according to how you might go through your grocery store. I'm a visual learner & seeing the grocery store as I'm making my lists helps me out tremendously.
Have a great day! And no matter what meal you sit down with tonight, enjoy it around a table with the people you love.
Feel free to comment, message me, & share with others.
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