Joy Lynn

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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:

  1. 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.

  2. Weekly: sit down for a few minutes and simply fill in the planned dinners, and rotate through your family’s usual breakfasts and lunches.

  3. Grocery shop: I order from Kroger and have it delivered each week.

  4. 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)

  • Orange rolls

  • 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

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

SEAFOOD

SOUP

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

  • Sloppy joes

  • Roasted veggies and sausage

SIDES

  • Farro pomegranate salad

  • 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

  • Cucumber, tomato, chickpea salad

  • 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 :)