How To Meal Plan + Free Printables
I have to confess, several years ago I had no idea how to meal plan. I would usually get off work, run to the grocery store, pick up what I thought looked good, plus some extra stuff we probably didn’t need and then head home.
Most of the time, I would get home and find out I forgot something and have to drive all the way back to the store. I, of course, realize now what a waste of time, not to mention money that was!
Here’s how I meal plan and shop now…
- Check the cabinets on Thursday or Friday to see what we have and what kind of meals I can make with what we have. I also make sure we have our usual staple ingredients and make a list of what we are out of.
- Do a quick check online to see what’s on sale, and then I make a list of what I’m going to make for the week and write a list of the ingredients we need.
I use the Weekly Meal Planner to write down our meals for the week, and the Grocery List to write down the items we need.
The Pantry Staples list comes in handy to help remember any basic items we might be out of, and I use the Family Favorite Dinner page to write down our favorite meals and ones that I like to keep in rotation.
The Recipe Cards are great to jot down any new recipes you want to try or ones you don’t want to forget!
Most of the shopping for the next week is then usually done on Sunday with a couple of quick runs throughout the week for a few things we might need.
I’m still not an extreme couponer, but I do like to check coupons.com to see if there are any coupons I can print for items we need.
Meal planning really does save time and overall money from buying wasted items at the store or from buying extra items you don’t need.
Do you meal plan for the week?
For recipe ideas don’t forget to check the recipe index!
Click on the links below to print the page/s you need using standard 8.5 by 11-inch paper.
