Printable Weekly Meal Planner
Meal planning zaps so much of my mental energy sometimes. Finding ways to simplify the process and get my whole family on board makes my life so much easier. This printable weekly meal planner helps you create a meal plan that will make your whole week go smoother.
Meal planning is a struggle sometimes. I go through phases where I love it and phases where it is the bane of my existence. No matter where I’m at, though, meal planning always makes my life easier.
I try to sit down on Monday morning and create a plan for the week. It’s a challenge to set that time aside sometimes but it makes such a huge difference in our week (use this printable grocery list to make the process even easier).
With 8 people going 8 different directions, having a plan in place means we aren’t throwing dinner together at the last minute or, worse, I’m not cooking only to find out that everyone just microwaved something on their own.
How to Use this Meal Planner
The goal of meal planning is to simplify your life and help your family eat healthier meals. I notice such a huge difference in my own family on the nights when we are able to sit down and have dinner together versus the nights when we are all scrambling and eating whatever we feel like.
Meal planning can take so much stress off your plate but before you jump in, here are a few ways that it can make your life even easier:
Reuse your meal plans. It saves me so much time when I plan out my meals for the week BUT what if you didn’t have to do that every single week. Save your completed meal plans and reuse them on a rotating schedule or just throw one into the mix when you have a busy week and don’t have any time to create a new meal plan. I keep my meal plans in a binder by season (because no one wants soup in the middle of winter) so they are ready to grab and go when I’m short on time (or mental energy) that week.
Assign each family member one meal a week. This one thing has simplified my meal planning so much. Assign each member of your family (yes, even the young ones) a day of the week to be in charge of dinner. Post this meal plan somewhere visible and have them fill in their menu for the day plus add any grocery items they need to the list. We have been doing this off and on for years and it has been amazing. Even my 8-year-old can make a mean grilled cheese sandwich and I love that they have been learning important life skills while helping to take things off my plate.
Have themed dinner nights. Sometimes you can just have too many choices in your life. Having themed dinner nights helps everyone know what to expect and really simplifies the process of deciding what to cook for dinner. My family needs to get back to this a bit more but we’ve had Taco Tuesday on on a regular basis for years. Other theme night ideas include Italian night, Asian night, pizza night, new recipe night, family favorite night, etc.
