Free Printable Meal Planning Calendars (Monthly or Weekly)
Plan an entire month of meals for your family using these free meal planning calendar printables!
Meal planning is a must around here. Anytime I don’t meal plan, we end up with more food waste than I care to admit, end up eating fast food and our grocery budget is usually way over.
I think most of you will probably say something similar happens in your house.
So today, I’ve put together another free printable calendar that can assist you in your meal planning tasks. You can grab your cute monthly meal planner down below. I’m also going to share some of my favorite menu planning tips. And I’ll share some links to several different options for free planner printables!
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Weekly Meal Planner VS Monthly Meal Planners
You may be trying to decide between using a weekly menu planner or a monthly one. Personally, I find both to be beneficial.
First, I like to use a monthly calendar to create a big picture view of the month by coming up with a number of meal ideas to rotate through for dinner time. I use a “loop planning” system, where I come up with simple meals that I can repeat a couple times each month. I’ve found this to be just enough variety for my family.
Of course, this is just how I use a monthly meal planning calendar. You can use it to go into more detail if you choose. And I’ve left plenty of space on each day to do so!
After that, I’ll use a weekly planner to go more into more detail and create a shopping list for the grocery store. The weekly process is where I’ll plan our all of our daily meals, including a snacks section. As a busy mom with an always changing schedule, I’ve found things like breakfast, lunch, and snacks are better if I evaluate on a weekly basis versus monthly.
You can grab a coordinating free printable weekly meal planner in this post. It includes enough space for your grocery lists, to-do list, or the new recipes you want to try!
How to Use a Monthly Meal Planning Calendar
How you use your free meal plan calendar really comes down to one thing – how much time you want to spend planning up front.
You can plan out delicious meals for all three meals, plus snacks. Or simply plan out your family’s dinner ideas.
With the free downloads found in this post, you’ll get two calendar options. One has lined days, perfect for planning multiple meals. The second option has blank squares, so you can customize for your unique needs. Oh, and the planners are undated. So, download once and use over and over!
Click Here to Get Your Monthly Meal Planner Template!
Meal Planning Favorites
Who said meal planning has to be boring? Seriously though, I’ve found that having a couple of fun planning supplies can really help make mundane tasks more enjoyable. Maybe that’s just the planning nerd in me, but either way, I’m going to share!
- Planner Pens – I love having good colored pens to write with. My personal favorite right now are these Mr. Pen gel pens. I love the matte color and how smooth they write.
- Highlighters – Colorful highlighters are fun and practical when menu planning. You can color code different meals or days of the week with these Mr. Pen colored highlighters.
Benefits of Meal Planning
We all know that meal planning is a good idea – but what is it exactly that makes if beneficial? Here’s a few of the perks of meal planning!
Decision fatigue no more!
Planning out an entire week or month of easy meals ahead of time is a great way to cut down on those on-the-spot decisions. I don’t know about you, but there have been many days that I feel like all I think about is what to cook! But with meal planning, you sit down once, and it’s done.
You’re so financially savvy…
There are so many financial benefits to using a meal planner. You can bulk buy ingredients, stop ordering takeout as much, and it cuts down on food waste!
Start experimenting!
For the best results when meal planning, you should probably stick to meals you know most days of the week. But you also have the freedom to use a day or two for new recipes! Pick an evening that you don’t have much going on to try those more complex recipes you’ve found, or the latest trendy recipe on social media.
