Menu Planning

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How menu planning saves me tons each month on groceries, plus get your own free printable weekly menu planner.

I have been menu planning for years now. Sometimes I slack and don’t do it and then I hate myself for overspending on groceries and letting things go to waste in my pantry. In the past, I have planned for a month of meals, for grocery shopping and pantry stocking purposes, but I find here lately it is much easier to plan each week separately.

I have used some meal planning services and apps and have LOVED them. Allrecipes is a great place to make a list of your favorites and drag and drop them to a weekly menu plan you can name and generate a shopping list. Super easy! I have also used emeals by Dave Ramsey and absolutely loved it. You can select your menus by breakfast, lunch or dinner and you can even select the type of cuisine. There are some really great recipes on there and again you get a shopping list to make things easy. You can try for FREE through this link.

Since I like to use what I have on hand and my kids are pretty particular, I decided to go back to making my own menu plans. I can use what I have in my well-stocked pantry and my freezer and it only takes a few minutes to make. Now that my kids are bigger I think I will implement my mother-in-law’s trick for when my husband was young called “pick-a-meal”, where each person in the house gets to do just that … pick one meal for one weeknight. 

Life happens and I just don’t end up cooking certain things on certain nights. I do still like to buy bulk once-a-month and keep certain things on hand. I also really love Amazon Subscribe and Save for dry goods like trash bags, toilet paper, paper towels, etc. It makes grocery trips much shorter and there is always enough. I want to make as few stops as possible getting the kids in and out of the car. This helps me to make the bones of the meal plan and then fill in the gaps with fresh foods that are on special, or growing in the garden at that time.

dry goods

The easiest way to do this I find is to write it down “old school style” where I can hang it on my fridge and see it. You can get your own printable menu plan template here. You can laminate and use with a dry erase marker, or print a new one each week. Be sure to include lots of fresh vegetables in your menu plan. Also, if you are busy, or have young kids like me make sure you have some EASY meals that come together in a flash. You’ll probably want some frozen/quick options too as a backup. 

This little habit has saved me tons on food I would’ve wasted and keeps me from buying things I don’t need at the time. I can check the sale flyers to make my menu plans and buy accordingly. A little time can really be a lifesaver on hectic days when life gets busy, but you’ll be prepared come dinner time, and when it comes time to budget. 

Download your printable weekly menu planner now.