Family Meal Planning
I’ve been asked time and time again how I plan meals for my family, and ways to make the process as stress-free as possible. So today, I’m dusting off the blog to finally share that process with my friends and perhaps old readers ;)
Now, keep in mind that I have a tendency to ramble, and I want to fit in all the details to cover any questions. Ultimately, though, if you can make this a practice in your home, it only takes one night a MONTH to really sit down and plan, and then a few minutes once a week.
Here are the basics of the process:
Once a month: At the end of the month plan out dinners (and only dinners!) for the next month. This can be time-consuming if you let yourself get distracted, but by creating a master list of your family’s favorite meals, it shouldn’t take more than an hour.
Weekly: sit down for a few minutes and simply fill in the planned dinners, and rotate through your family’s usual breakfasts and lunches.
Grocery shop: I order from Kroger and have it delivered each week.
Prep fruits and veggies for the week and store them appropriately to keep them fresh and easy to grab, and pull out any frozen meat that will need to be thaw.
I’ve been using this process for probably 3+ years and made my own meal planning sheets that I print off and fill out. My brain just works better in this process if I physically write it out myself and erase and move things as I need throughout the month/week. I actually keep mine on the front of our fridge so I can glance at it quickly and so can everyone else in my house.
However, it would be very easy to use this template on your computer and view from there.
If you visit that link, you’ll see the tabs of each version on the bottom of the page. My monthly template, weekly template, and then examples of how I fill out each one.
Now, how I decide on what to fill in?
This is where you start to take your family’s preferences into account. Once a week I do Mexican, pasta, chicken, and takeout. I’ve also had phases of pizza once a week, or a frozen Trader Joe’s meal. A soup? Seafood? Veggie based? Beef? Breakfast for dinner? Takeout twice (or more?) a week? Whatever your family likes and creates some variety or makes life easier!
When I fill it in for the week, I take into account our plans. If we have late afternoon plans, I wouldn’t schedule a meal that takes a lot of time and effort. And when possible, I do some of the chopping and prep work during the boys’ nap/quiet time, but you do that whenever it’s best for you. Start of the week? End of the day for tomorrow? Whatever! So schedule out your meals in a way that realistically suits your life.
What recipes do I pull from?
I pull from a mixture of family recipes and favorites I’ve acquired from the internet. I throw in a new recipe probably a couple times each month and that gives us a larger library to rotate through (or not if it was a fail haha). Take the season into account - cozy fall recipes, bright spring recipes, etc…
Down below is a master list of our favorite recipes that we rotate through, but I highly encourage you to do this for your home to make the process of meal planning seamless.
If they’re linked, you’ll find a recipe. Over time, I’ll start adding my family recipes to the blog so you can have a link to those as well :)
Breakfasts
Scrambled eggs, bacon, hash
Over easy eggs, toast, sausage
Avocado toast, yogurt
Breakfast burritos
Breakfast sandwiches on English muffins or croissants
Bagels with preferred toppings
Soft boiled egg, toast, sausage
Pancakes (homemade or boxed)
Fresh waffles
Frozen waffles, yogurt
Banana pancakes
Muffins (banana, blueberry, bran)
Scones (lemon blueberry, orange cherry, cherry almond)
Finnish pancakes
Dutch babies
Brioche french toast
Crepes
Cinnamon rolls (easy version or overnight)
Trader Joe’s frozen croissants, yogurt
Peanut butter toast
Cereal
Oatmeal (cinnamon apple, PB banana)
Egg-in-a-hole, bacon
Hashbrown bake
Quiche (bacon asparagus)
Lunches
Leftovers :)
Salami sandwich on croissant
Tuna on croissant
Paninis
Ham and cheese sandwiches
PBJ
Chicken wraps
Grain bowls
Mac n cheese (boxed or frozen)
Quesadillas (with leftover tacos)
Mini frozen tacos from TJs
Egg salad
Potstickers and fried rice
Chicken nuggets
Snack lunch/charcuterie
Grilled cheese and tomato soup
Chicken salad sandwich on croissant
Hot dogs, beans
*I always serve sandwiches with cut fruit and veggies and maybe some chips
Dinners
PASTA
Spaghetti and meatballs
Ravioli
Chicken Alfredo
Pesto pasta
Carbonara
Lasagna
CHICKEN
Chicken pot pie
Chicken divan
Chicken, mushroom sauce, rice, veggie
Chicken, rice, broccoli casserole
Olive garden chicken, potatoes, veg
Grilled tenderized chicken sandwiches on French bread
MEXICAN
Chicken burrito bowls
Taco salad
Ground beef tacos
Birria tacos
Nachos
Tostadas
Mexican pizzas
Fish tacos
Mexican lasagna
SEAFOOD
Seafood boil
Breaded pan fried cod
SOUP
Tortilla soup
Ramen
Chili
OTHER
Meatloaf
Breakfast for dinner
Pizza
Pizza sandwiches
Veggie pizza
Steak and potatoes
Pot roast, carrots, mashed potatoes
Burgers, fries, veggies
Hot dogs, beans, salad
Brats, salad, Mac n cheese
Pasties
Butter chicken and naan/paranthas
Sushi
Mediterranean chicken kabobs with taziki, pitas, hummus and rice
Roasted veggies and sausage
SIDES
Broccoli salad
Roasted veggies (broccoli or root)
Corn bread
Corn on the cob
Pasta salad
Salad
Cottage fries
Cottage cheese (for the boys)
Scalloped potatoes
Roasted potatoes
Rice
Spanish rice
Refried beans
Potato wedges
Mashed potatoes
Grilled summer veggies
Any veggies
Fried rice
Frozen 3 min rice
Frozen french/waffle/sweet potato fries
Garlic bread
I sincerely hope this is something that is helpful to you. Whether or not you use any of this exactly the way I do, maybe you’ve walked away from this post with some ideas. Do you have any other questions for me? Leave me a comment, email me, or shoot me a message on Instagram. I’m happy to help :)
