How to Meal Plan: Saving Time, Money, and Your Sanity

“Honey, what’s for dinner?” Those words strike fear into the heart of any new mom. Seriously. What is it about figuring out what to make for dinner that is so difficult? Maybe you’ve heard about meal planning before. You know you probably should do it because it sounds good in theory, but where on earth do you begin? Have no fear! I’m here to teach you how to meal plan and show you that it’s not as hard as you may think.

What is meal planning anyway?

At the risk of stating the obvious, meal planning is planning out your family’s meals (duh). I know you probably understand the basic concept, but in order to learn how to meal plan efficiently, we have to go a little deeper.

I started meal planning almost three years ago.

My husband and I didn’t have kids yet, and we ate out a lot. And by eat out, I mean we got a lot of take-out because we’re both homebodies and prefer a quiet night of pizza and Netflix to a fancy restaurant. Regardless, we didn’t cook more than a couple times a week, partly because I could never figure out what I wanted to make, and partly because I was tired. After a long day of work, the last thing I wanted to do was come up with a delicious (and healthy, ugh) meal.

But at the end of 2015, I started a new job that paid less than my previous one (but didn’t suck the life out of me). Since our finances took a hit, I knew we needed to cut down on our eating-out habit. But I still dreaded trying to figure out what to make for dinner every night. Our grocery trips were done pretty willy-nilly and we basically just bought whatever sounded good at the time. The problem with this is that when it came time to cook, I either didn’t have everything I needed, or was too tired to do a lot of prep.

So I decided to figure out how to meal plan. I can’t recall if I did any research, but it basically was a trial-and-error process. And once I found my groove, I never looked back. Meal planning is one of the biggest time and money saving habits I could have ever developed. And as a gal who is obsessed with being organized, it was right up my alley.

Types of meal planning

I’m sure there are more, but for me there are basically two types of meal planning: weekly and monthly.

Monthly meal planning

Some moms are super duper organized and can plan out their family’s meals for an entire month. I am in awe of these moms. There is nothing I’d love more than to not have to think about what to make for dinner for an entire month. But planning the whole month takes a lot more time, and you have to be pretty committed to your menu.

Weekly meal planning

I’m just not quite at the super-duper-organized-mom level yet to plan our meals monthly. And honestly, I think part of it is because I’m lazy. Maybe not lazy, just not that committed to the process. But I am committed to weekly meal planning! I usually take some time on Friday morning to plan for the following week.

How to meal plan

Alright, now that you know a little about what meal planning is, let’s get on to the good stuff: how to actually do it.

Make a plan

As I said, I usually sit down for a few minutes on Fridays and meal plan for the following week. Many planners have a meal-planning section built right in. Mu favorite is the Living Well Planner, because it has a section for meal planning on each weekly spread. If your planner doesn’t have a section for meal planning, just write it somewhere on each day, or the entire week in the notes section.

I break down the days into breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Most of the time, we have leftovers from the night before for lunch. Breakfasts are more flexible because our mornings are a little chaotic. Since we are a low-carb family, I generally just make eggs and a breakfast meat because it’s quick and easy (and on those rushed mornings, it’s yogurt and berries!).

Generally, I focus most on dinners.

In my planner, the week starts on Monday, so that’s where I start my meal planning. Because of our schedule, I plan meals for Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays. On Thursdays, we have a potluck-style Bible study at our house, so I plan for that as well. Fridays are generally our eating out days, which we budget for. I don’t meal plan for Saturdays because we usually have something going on. We have family dinner at my mom’s house every Sunday, and everyone brings something, so I plan for that as well.

As I make my meal plan, I keep in mind the activities we have going on for the week. For example, if we have activities that take us out of the house most of the day, I plan a slow-cooker meal or something that won’t take much time. The days I’m home all day, I know I have time for something a little more involved. This is why it’s a good idea to meal plan using your planner; your schedule is already right there in front of you!

If you’re tired of making the same recipes every week, here is a great opportunity to spend some time on Pinterest (and it’s legitimate time, too!). Try something new, but don’t attempt something too complicated, or you’ll end up giving up on it before you even start (I know from experience).

Take a peek in your pantry

Once you plan your meals, it’s time to make your grocery list. Figure out what you need for each meal, and check your pantry for the ingredients. My planner has a spot for a grocery list in the meal planning section. Some planners have a list section on the weekly spread, which I actually prefer.

I’m going to share a little secret with you: I very rarely go to the grocery store. Say what? You heard me right. I started using Walmart Grocery Pick-up, and y’all, it has changed my life. All you have to do is download the app, pick the groceries you want, pay in the app, schedule a pick-up time, drive down to the store and wait in the designated parking spot, and they bring your groceries to your car! What?? I hate (hate) going to Walmart, and now I don’t even have to go inside! I realize this sounds lazy, but as a fellow mom, you know how hard it is to take a baby into the store and get everything you need before he starts throwing a fit. So, if your Walmart does it, I highly encourage you to try the grocery pick-up.

We save so much money since I learned how to meal plan. Gone are the days where we wander aimlessly through the grocery store aisles picking whatever sounds good at the moment. Since I know exactly what I need for each meal, I know exactly what I need from the store. We no longer waste money on junk and only get the necessities.

Implementation

Okay, once you make your meal plan and get the groceries, your next step is to actually implement the master meal plan! I used to be super strict about it (“No, we can’t have tacos on Monday because I scheduled them for Tuesday!”), but now I allow some wiggle room. Sometimes I schedule a meal for Monday and then something unexpected happens and I need something quick. Then, I just swap that meal with one later in the week. Easy!

I also keep a few things on hand for those days. You know the ones I’m talking about. Those days when nothing goes as planned, you get absolutely nothing done (or so it feels like), and the last thing you want to do is cook dinner. Those are the days I break out the hot dogs from the freezer and just let it go. My family won’t die from one unhealthy meal. Just saying.

Okay mama, now that you know how to meal plan, get to work! I promise it will make your life so much easier, and save you a ton of money. The few minutes it takes to get organized is nothing compared to trying to figure out what to make for dinner every night.

What’s your biggest frustration when it comes to learning how to meal plan? Let us know in the comments!