Meal Planning Printables – Free Meal Planning Kit

Meal Planning Printables are here to stop your struggle and save you time as you plan your dinners each week. One of the things most women (or men in some cases) despise doing each week is meal planning.

It’s such a basic task yet maybe because it is so menial it feels so painful to complete? I can spend hours pinning new meals on Pinterest and then still be lost as to what to make.

Tired of the Meal Planning Struggle? 

I’m not going to sugar-coat it – meal planning makes me want to rip my eyeballs out of my head. Every other week, we have the same conversation in my house:

me: what do you want to eat this week?

husband: I don’t know. Whatever you want.

me: But I want to know what you want to eat. So what do you want to eat?

husband: Whatever is fine with me. It doesn’t matter.

Yes. It. Does. Matter. Because just like my wonderful husband, I hate to make decisions about dinner. It’s boring.

I don’t know about you, but I’d much rather be watching some This is Us or House Hunters (I mean, I need to see what million-dollar house the hipster couple with no jobs to speak of pick this week).

But instead, I used to spend each evening frantically trying to prepare a last-minute meal with what I have on hand because I forgot to plan it ahead and purchase what I need.

Saving Time and Sanity

After ripping my hair out on one too many occasions, I decided to get serious about my meal planning. In doing so, I created these meal planning printables to make my life easier.

Plan 2 Weeks at a Time

In my house, I dislike meal planning so much that I plan my meals out for two weeks at a time. I found that it actually takes me a lot of time both shopping and planning if I just plan two weeks of meals at the same time.

And honestly, planning out your meals a month at a time might be just as easy because you could repeat the meals from the first two weeks of the month.

Thanks to my two-week method, I only need to do a big grocery shop every other week (which makes me oh so happy). On the off week, we swing by the store for produce, more bread, and milk.

My friend Sarah, at Super Savvy Sarah does a big bulk shop every 3 months – now that’s dedication. It’s super impressive. Maybe her method would work for you, too!

Tips for Using the Meal Planning Printables

• Plan your meals out for two or more weeks at a time
• When meal planning, keep your “meals we eat” and “meals to try” printables by your side. This way, you can quickly pull a meal that you already know your family likes or one you’ve been wanting to try.
• Make sure to cross off any meals that you try and don’t like.
• Take your ready-made list for grocery shopping or transfer your list to an app on your phone (I use the Wegmans app because it’s amazing and keeps track of what I purchase).
• Keep your completed list near the kitchen so you can easily see it. It will help remind you of what you need to pull out of the freezer for that evening.

Are you ready to make meal planning less painful? Then continue below!

 

Meal Planning Printables

What’s Included in the Meal Planning Bundle?

• monthly calendar (this makes meal planning SO much easier).
• meals we eat planner
• meals we want to try planner
• weekly meal planning tool which comes in four styles
  • Meal plan for the week and lined shopping list space
  • Meal plan for the week and blank shopping list space (to use with sticky notes)
  • Meal plan for the week and a space for notes (this can be used to write notes about the recipe such as take chicken out the night before – or – to remind yourself if someone won’t be home or you have an activity that day).
  • Dinner, breakfast, and lunch meal plans for the week

Examples of All of the Meal Planning Printables 

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. I am also an affiliate for the HP ink program. Click here to read more. 

Notes on Using the Free Family Binder Printables

• To download this set of files or any of the files from our family binder, you need to sign up to receive your free members-only password. Click here to sign up.
• They come in Letter size, A5, and Classic Happy Planner.
• Have a mini HP? Print the A5’s at 79%.
• They’re available in Monday-Sunday or Sunday-Saturday format. Personally, I prefer the Monday-Sunday format.
• If you print the letter size, I suggest getting a 1 or 1 1/2 inch binder.
• Print the weekly sheets every week OR laminate them and use a dry erase marker.
• Print on cardstock for added durability. (this is my favorite from Amazon)
• I know, ink can get expensive, so invest in an HP printer that has instant ink and you can print until your heart is content! Click here to use my referral and earn 1 free month! 
• If your planner inserts are smaller, use a paper cutter for easier cutting (or this one).
• PRINT FOR ANY SIZE PLANNER! Use this tutorial.

Looking for more family binder inserts? Click here to see everything that’s available!

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