How to Set Up a Meal Planning System that Works for You

Are you ready to ditch the daily “what’s for dinner” panic? Discover your perfect meal planning system that will help you get meals on table, save time, money, and mental space. I’m even going to share my free meal planning calendars with you!

Ah, meal planning. It comes up all the time. You’ll find no shortage of blog posts, YouTube videos, and shorts showcasing elaborate meal planning systems.

But what if you just don’t have the time (or fridge storage) to meal prep for a whole week at a time? What if your family doesn’t like leftovers? How do you find a system that actually works for your family?

That’s what we’re discussing today! I’m going to share a variety of meal planning systems so that you can pick one that makes sense for your life. From detailed, three meals a day planning to much more simple systems – you’re sure to find something that fits!

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Pick Your Meal Planning Style

So, do you want a super structed plan or something a little more flexible? Do you want to plan weekly, monthly, or even less often? I’m going to list out some popular, and unpopular, meal planning ideas so you can compare them! Free printables for each of these planning styles can be found at the bottom of this post.

Monthly Meal Planning

Pretty much an extension of the previous idea, but on a monthly basis. So, if you don’t want to sit down and plan weekly, this may be a good system for you.

This system allows you to order some non-perishable groceries in bulk. If you see ahead of time you’re going to need a lot of a certain ingredient that month, go ahead and order a large quantity of it.

Most people use this type of menu calendar planning for dinner only, but if you’re feeling ambitious, go ahead and lay out all three meals. And again, you can pick what meals you want each day ahead of time or simply keep a running list of the meals you’ve chosen for the month.

Weekly Meal Planning

This is probably the most popular method of meal planning out there. You sit down once a week and plan out all your meals (or perhaps just dinner). You can buy your groceries based on the meals you want to cook for that upcoming week.

You can set up this weekly meal plan a few different ways. You can assign a specific meal to each weeknight in advance or just keep a running list of meals that you bought all the ingredients for. Then whatever you have time for that evening – cook that!

I’ll talk a little further down about how to decide if you want to pre-assign meals to certain nights or not.

Rotating Meal Plans

This is a system that can take a little bit of up front work, but once it’s done, your future meal planning days are much faster.

Essentially, you create a few different menus. This can be weekly or monthly menus, dinner only or all three meals – it’s up to you. The main thing is that you put together several, all at one time. Once those menus are done, you can rotate through them. Here’s an example:

• Week 1 – Menu One
• Week 2 – Menu Two
• Week 3 – Menu Three
• Week 4 – Back to Menu One

This allows you to keep variety in your menus without having to sit down weekly and come up with new plans.

Themed Meal Planning

We’ve all heard of Taco Tuesday by now, but you can stretch this concept throughout the entire week. Basically, you’re assigned a type of dish to a specific night of the week. This gives you some structure when you sit down to plan.

You can have pasta on Wednesday, soup on Thursday and pizza on Friday.

The fun with this type of planning is in the variety though. Don’t plan for the same type of tacos, soup and pizza every week. Mix up the recipes you use.

Minimalist Meal Planning

This one is far from your traditional meal planning systems. You’re really just creating good kitchen habits. So, you’re not going to plan out specific meals – you’re just going to make sure you have what you need to make a wide variety of homemade meals.

Having a well-stocked pantry, fridge and freezer means that you can make up tons of different meals on the fly. This means that you’ll need to check you inventory on a regular basis to see what staple ingredients are needed in order to keep your week running smoothly.

How to Make Meal Planning Work for You

So now that you know how you want to meal plan, let’s get into some of the specifics.

Know Your Family’s Needs

First things first: what is realistic in your home? Here are some questions to consider before you start:

• Do I need to plan for all of our meals, or is it primarily dinner?
• Does it make sense for my schedule and storage space to meal prep ahead of time? Or can I cook daily?
• Are there any days/night each week that I need super easy meals on because of schedules?
• Do we usually have a lot of leftovers? What night each week can we try to use up what we have for dinner.

Build Your Recipe List

I like to refer to this as a meal master list. It is basically a collection of different meals and recipes that are a good fit for my family. The free printables for a meal master list are linked at the bottom of this post.

I recommend having a good number of simple meals on here that you can use for busy nights/weeks. Pick recipes that don’t require a lot of specialty ingredients or that you can make without even referencing a recipe. Sprinkle in some fun, more labor-intensive recipes to keep things balanced and fresh.

When you sit down to make your meal plan, pull out this list. You’ll be reminded of certain dinner ideas that have been forgotten.

Lock in a Routine

Having a meal planning routine is just as important as the meal plan itself. This includes the process of reviewing/making your menu, buying groceries, and prepping (if you choose to).

Personally, I review my meal plan on Sunday evenings. I make a quick list of meals for the upcoming week. I also order my groceries to be picked up the next day while I’m running errands. Since I don’t prep ahead of time, that’s the extent of my routine. But this simple system ensures that I have everything I need to put meals on the table for the entire week.

Write it Down!

Have you ever thought about what you wanted to make for the week, went and bought groceries, and still found yourself trying to come up with something at mealtimes? I have, and it’s usually because I didn’t write down my meal plans in a good spot.

So, as you meal plan, write them down and keep them in a good location. Not on that random piece of paper that you just brain-dumped everything on (can you tell I’m speaking from experience?). I offer tons of free printable menu planning options that you can download and use. You can also write it in your planner or keep it on a dry erase menu for the family to see.

Calendars for Meal Planning

Here are links to several different meal planning printables that I shared pictures of in this post. Go grab yours today (they are FREE!).

• Monthly Calendars for Meal Planning – You’ll find a lined and unlined option in this Monthly Meal Plan Calendar.
• Weekly Menu Planners with Grocery List – This free printable also includes a section on the right side to take notes or make your grocery list. This ensures that you don’t forget an ingredient to make your meal plan come together seamlessly.
• Weekly Meal Planner
• Meal Planning Master List Printable – Store all of your favorite meal ideas in one place with this printable master list. You definitely want this list when you sit down to put together your meal plans.
• Recipe Card Printables – Need a place to write all your recipes down? Grab these printable recipe cards!
• Kitchen Inventory Printables – Keep track of what’s in your kitchen with these free printable freezer and pantry inventory sheets.