Creating a weekly meal plan
by Erin Doland on
In my mind, there are two types of meals: utilitarian and everything else. Utilitarian meals are weekday lunches and dinners when my top priority is supplying my body nutrients for survival. Everything else meals are dinner parties and meals prepared when I have leisurely Saturday afternoons to craft a gourmet plate.
The utilitarian meals, the ones that often begin with phrases such as “What’s for dinner?” and “I’m starving, let’s see what we have in the kitchen,” are where disorganization can work against you. If you don’t have an organized meal plan, it can be easier to head to a fast food joint than to create a nutritious meal at home.
To help with meal planning organization, I created a Meal Plan worksheet (links to the worksheet at the end of this article). To use it, I start most Saturday mornings with a cup of coffee, a stack of cookbooks, and a pad of post-it notes. I flip through my cookbooks, flagging all of the recipes I want to use for the week.
My next task is to put an “X” on the worksheet through any of the meals that I know will be eaten out of the house for friends’ birthdays or whatever is lined up on our calendar. Then, I match up recipes I’ve marked in the cookbooks with openings on the schedule. If any of the items need preparation hours or days beforehand, I’ll list those under the “Prep for Tomorrow” section to help with managing my time. (For example, dough for homemade pizza crusts needs to be made 24 hours in advance of use … so if I want pizza tomorrow, I have to make the dough today.) Also, having at least two snacks listed on the worksheet ensures that I’ve got healthy snack choices available.
When matching recipes with meals, I’ll review the recipe and write down any ingredients on the grocery list section of the worksheet. This helps me plan out what I need from the store and my local farmer’s market. Sometimes, I’ll make two grocery lists for a mini-run on Wednesday night to get fresh produce.
Creating a meal plan takes a little time when it is written, but ultimately saves time and stress during the week. You also may find that a meal plan helps you to eat better and completely eliminate fast food from your diet.
The Unclutterer Meal Plan:
- As an Excel spreadsheet template
- As a PDF
111 Comments for “Creating a weekly meal plan”
posted by Alison Scott on
I’ve used Leanne Ely’s ‘Menu Mailers’ — the website is www.savingdinner.com — for several years now. Leanne gives you a list of six dinners (for either six or two people), together with recipes, suggestions for side dishes and a shopping list for all of the above. There are several different menus (vegetarian, kosher, low carb) but we just use the regular one. She also offers lunch and snack choices which I read over for ideas but don’t follow directly.
I work out when I need my groceries to be delivered, then a couple of days earlier I log onto the supermarket site and pull up three webpages: the weekly menu mailer, my ‘saved trolley’ of the items we buy every week, and our household wiki page where we note things we’re runnning out of. I then add all the things we need to the cart, make any necessary substitutions (for weird US food products, or things we just don’t like) on a printout of the menu mailer (with notes in case my husband is cooking that night’s meal), order the groceries, and leave the menu in the kitchen. As there are four of us but the recipes are for six, the leftovers provide most of our weekday lunches as well. The groceries are then delivered at some convenient time (for us, late on a weekday evening) and, even though we choose a relatively expensive grocery service, this is much cheaper than going to the shops.
But the bottom line is this; total elapsed time for menu planning and shopping for our family of four, per week, is typically thirty minutes.
posted by Kris on
I love this idea but it would never work in our house.
Canned organic beans, lots of whole grain pastas, frozen spinach and broccoli, fresh onions, frozen chicken breasts and tons of great spices …. that’s what gets us through the week.
posted by Chief Family Officer on
I already menu plan but the worksheet will make things that much easier. Thanks!
posted by SI on
What a great idea! I usually try to plan the meals for the week, but all of the meal ideas, grocery lists, etc, usually get strewn all over various index cards and post-its, and it never quite works the way it’s supposed to.
This helps alot – thanks.
posted by Karen on
I have a double duty meal plan worksheet – the top half of the page is a list of what’s in my freezer, and the bottom half has a calendar. (I keep it on my computer and print it out every week or two.) That way, I can take advantage of stuff I already have on hand.
posted by Karen on
Another great idea, it seems the part I always leave out is the prep for tomorrow. I use a PDA/smartphone. Is anyone aware of a program that would allow me to dump this right into my calendar? Thanks.
posted by Patrick on
“For example, dough for homemade pizza crusts needs to be made 24 hours in advance of use”
??? It takes about 30 minutes to mix the dough, an hour or two for it to rise, and then another 10 minutes to roll it out and top it. Where do the other 21 hours come from? If anything, keeping the dough in the fridge that long makes it more difficult to work with.
posted by Springpeeper on
A few years ago I made up a meal planning sheet (that looks eerily like this one) and forced myself to plan the meals for the week and to shop for the required ingredients.
It was the single most significant thing I’ve ever done in terms of home/personal organization. No more standing in front of the open fridge at 6 pm muttering “What am I gonna to make for supper?”
I’d previously attempted to make meal plans for a whole month at a time, but it was only the weekly planning that worked because it was flexible. If I don’t feel like cooking Tuesday’s meal on Tuesday, I can “trade” with Thursday because we already have the ingredients. If we should eat out unexpectedly, that evening’s meal just gets put into next week’s schedule, while the ingredients are still fresh.
My meal plan sheet goes one step further: I have boxes for “What’s happening today” and “What’s happening this evening” for each day. These get filled in first, since our activities often dictate what kind of a meal we’ll be having, for example, if someone has to be somewhere by 7 pm, I don’t plan a meal that has to bake for an hour.
This weekly meal planning sheet is an idea that really works and I highly recommend it!
posted by Erin Doland on
@Patrick — I use Peter Reinhart’s Neo-Neopolitan dough recipe from his American Pie cookbook. It is the best dough recipe I’ve ever made, and it takes a minimum of eight hours for perfection.
posted by Springpeeper on
Patrick:
This idea assumes that you work outside of the home and have no choice but to start dinner only when you get home late in the afternoon. Unless you are comfortable with having dinner around 9 pm (not an option for families with young kids), then you would need to prepare things like pizza dough the evening before – “24 hours in advance” is just another way of saying “the day before”.
posted by PJ Doland on
Since Erin started using that recipe, I don’t eat other pizza. It just seems wrong.
posted by Yolanda on
I am on day 4 of my first meal planned week. I like the chart a lot and will definitely use it. i have always loved the spontaneity of seeing what I had in the fridge and whipping up something accordingly, but that really only works well if I have done a large grocery trip within the previous days. Usually, I’d come up with an idea, discover I was either out of something, or my meat was frozen (I hate microwave defrosting), and wind up making the same dishes over and over again (or eating out). This week, we have eaten something new and different every night and I’ve felt organized and in control dinner.
I’ll add that if anyone is new to cooking, or intimidated by it, I really like the Grocery Bag section in each Every Day Food magazine. It gives you five days worth of meals, a shopping list, and a pantry list and each of the five meals can be made in around 30 minutes.
Oh, and if you’re only cooking for one or two eaters (like I am), you can always cut any recipe you’re working with in half; or freeze the leftovers and work the reheating into your meal plans for upcoming weeks.
posted by NancyV908 on
I agree that the weekly meal plan is an incredible time and stress saver. The only downside (which I am willing to live with) is that it can be a more expensive way to shop, since the ingredients you’ve put on your list won’t always match what’s on sale. I suppose the next level of organization is to make the list with the store circular in hand (which doesn’t work for me because of my shopping schedule & the circular’s schedule don’t match ). I plan only dinners, first looking at the calendar to see what days we may have activities, then checking what I have in my freezer (a list would make this easier; I am not so good about that anymore), then consulting recipes & making the menu. I do this the night before I shop, & add anything I need to my list.
To be honest, I find the process of planning 7 meals an ordeal; my picky family makes it hard to find 7 things that will actually get eaten, or at least partially eaten. (I refuse to make special meals for the kids.) But it is soooooo worth it–once that’s done, all I do is open my kitchen cabinet (where I post my menu) & see what I have to do to get dinner ready. I work part-time, but even when I was home all day, this system was still a huge help.
posted by Org Junkie on
Menu planning has been a lifesaver for me. Check out Menu Plan Monday each week for lots of great menu ideas and recipes. Over 200 ladies are participating, it’s fun!
Laura
posted by Mary on
We have a similar Saturday morning routine. However, we also clean the fridge first – it doesn’t take long because we do it every Saturday morning. It helps us reduce waste – we can see if there’s anything left from the week that would make a good weekend lunch. It goes hand in hand with making our menus and weekly shopping list. Our fridge is less cluttered now (we plan meals to use the last of the whatever) since we are using the food we buy.
posted by Patrick on
“This idea assumes that you work outside of the home and have no choice but to start dinner only when you get home late in the afternoon. Unless you are comfortable with having dinner around 9 pm (not an option for families with young kids), then you would need to prepare things like pizza dough the evening before.”
I see where you’re all coming from. I guess I didn’t consider that this might apply more to families with children. I work 9-5 in an office, like many people, but I can still manage to have a pizza out of the oven by 8pm, which works well enough for my wife and I, or any guests we may have. I’m not familiar with Reinhart’s recipe, and I’ve never seen a recipe that called for a resting period that long, so you’ll have to forgive my ignorance in that department. I’ve heard it is very good though, so I’ll be sure to check it out. I guess I was also confused by the statement that you NEED to prepare it that far ahead, when it really depends on the individual’s situation and/or recipe.
posted by Kristy on
My household consists of two adults (one vegetarian, one vegan), both of whom work and are graduate students. We are very busy. On Saturdays or Sundays, we cook two large meals and eat them all week. For example, last weekend I made a huge tofu/vegetable/rice noodle stir fry with peanut sauce and two pans of spinach lasagna. Between these main courses, fresh produce for salads, and a few frozen burritos, we each have lunch and dinner at home (or from a pail) through Thursday. Friday, we might forage the kitchen, pull out something leftover from the freezer, or go out. This has worked quite nicely for months now.
posted by Avlor on
I love having a menu planned. I usually plan for 2 weeks at a time (just suppers, a few snacks, and a few non cereal breakfasts), and do the shopping as much as possible for those two weeks.
I converted from paper to putting my recipes in an electronic filing system/personal info manager.
-I just copy the recipes I want into that week’s list and print.
-From there I make my grocery list.
posted by Erin Doland on
@Mary — Great idea to start the meal planning process with a refrigerator cleaning! I do that, too, but didn’t think of it as part of the process until you mentioned it. Really terrific!!
posted by Christine on
As a single person, I often default to eating out (expensive and caloric) or buying frozen meals. I’ve thought about making ahead and freezing…anyone do that? I have a horrendous time planning meals for myself.
posted by Jasi on
Awesome! Simple but effective. Wtg, Erin.
posted by Tiara on
My family eats out a lot. It’s really hurting our budget. But I don’t want to go cold turkey. We have social lives and some nights we just grab food out with our friends. So, (as part of my new years resolution) I plan three meals a week on Sunday nights, and head to the store. We have extra meal ideas (our 3-4 standard recipes) in the freezer, if we need more than 3 a week.
I only go to the store once a week, I get everything I need that one time, and I have the food when I’m ready to make it. That gives us the flexibility to go out when we feel like it, but also to have the meal ingredients ready when we’re staying home.
I also only cook from a couple of cookbooks, both boasting 30 minutes or less recipes. On my shopping list, I write the name of the book and the page number above the ingredients I need. I then keep the list near the stove, so if I’m too busy to cook, my husband can easily find the recipe and take over!
Maybe someday I’ll get to the point of writing out my meail plans per day, but right now, our moods rule what we make (for instance, last night it was cold and rainy and the salad pita I had planned didn’t sound as good as the warm meatball soup).
By the way, when I started doing this, I found a lot of online meal planners, some for free. Just google menu planning.
posted by LJ on
I do meal planning as well (www.simpleproductivityb.....ing-meals/), but I also incorporate freezer cooking (www.simpleproductivityb.....r-cooking/) as a big part of it.
I work outside the home, and between these two methods, I find time to get meals on the table most nights. When we eat out, it’s because we want to, not because there are no other choices for a timely meal. And I also rely on my crockpot to ease cooking, and having leftovers to limit the amount of cooking I do daily.
I recommend that everyone take a look at SavingDinner (savingdinner.com). She has tons of recipes, for all portion sizes, meal types (vegetarian, low carb, etc), as well as the freezer stuff. Everything comes with shopping lists and serving suggestions. Great food, very little work.
posted by Josephine on
I have been pouring over cookbooks and doing lots of cooking at home lately. Funny that this posting appeared just as I was thinking that I should set Sunday morning or afternoon aside to prep meals for the week.
To simplify meal planning, I came up with was “Josie’s Pantry”, a list of items that I should always have in the cupboard or fridge should I need to prepare a meal in a pinch. Doing so has saved me additional trips to the grocery store and I always have the necessary ingredients to cook a meal. (I realize more seasoned cooks don’t have this problem, but I used to eat out A LOT and typically had an empty fridge, so this is new for me. This can also be of help to newer cooks.)
posted by Lori on
My system is like Josephine’s: I keep my pantry stocked with staples and have a dozen or so easy go-to meals in my repertoire that are based on what’s always in the pantry. I almost always cook enough to ensure leftovers. These two tactics give us the flexibility we need with our crazy, ever changing schedules.
posted by Michele on
This is a great post, and I’ve learned a lot reading the comments as well. I can’t believe that I am just learning to menu plan now! It saves time and money and we have more tasty meals without the cost and calories of a restaurant. I am slowly working up to cooking more meals, and we always have rice, beans and veggies ready to microwave for the nights when I don’t cook (we’re both vegan). These are our “go to” foods that can be a fast meal.
posted by VeggieChick on
I’m kinda young, so I live with my parents. I’m a vegan, though, while the rest of my family’s … not… So I tend to cook all my meals anyways. I should try doing this, though it’d cut down on my bike-rides [I ride my bike to the grocery store], and probably would make me use more bags. I’m sure I could figure out a way to fix that, though. Probably two-three trips a week, on my bike, instead of one right before I’m going to cook.
Of course, since I’m the only one who eats my food ['What's that weird vegan food?'], I can cheat and cook one or two bigs things of soup or something at the beginning of the week, and eat that for the rest of the time.
posted by Ethel on
We ran into some issues with meal planning: We couldn’t afford it, and it was too time-intensive. The worst situation was when we planned a meal, but didn’t have time to cook it – for days – and ended up throwing out the ingredients. Instead, we plan “everything else” meals at our leisure.
“Nutrition” dinners we pre-prep and store either in the freezer or, if they only use dried ingredients, on a shelf with a date. We keep a stash of pre-made food on hand that just needs to be thrown in an oven or crockpot and heated to the right temperature for the right length of time. For breakfast and lunch, we do really simple, low-prep foods or convenience foods: Fresh fruit, toast, steamed veggies, cheese, sliced meat, and similar fare – all ala carte. We try to keep several weeks of food on-hand s