Easy Meal Planning – w/Free Printables

Who else LOATHES planning their meals for the coming week in order to make the grocery list? I am usually muttering to myself,  “I’d rather we just don’t eat”. Okay, you caught me. I’m usually screaming something about ___ing hating this part of my “job”. But, to make it a bit easier, I do have a plan.

 I used to have a 6 week rotating meal plan, but that became very difficult to stick to when schedules are changing on a weekly basis due to activities, functions, etc. Instead, I made a general lists of ideas that I can pull from for each specific week. Here is where I start with my easy meal planning:

Click HERE or on image for free printable!

This is my dinner plan for the week that I fill out before planning groceries. I write in all the days, look at our schedule for the coming week, and figure at what speed I need each meal to be. I then consult my list of go-to Fast, Medium, and Slow meals. Speed is based on how long to prepare that evening. For example, crock pot meals can be prepped and ready to transfer and turn on – in morning if gone all day, or some in afternoon if you’re home then. Those meals are ready to serve up when we need to eat. Something in the medium category may also count on prep at an earlier time, but we still need to give cooking time in the evening. Here are some examples of what I have. You can base this on what your family eats and your budget. Beware, if you do refer to mine, it isn’t always the healthiest. Sometimes it’s just fast and cheap. If there is an affordable healthier option, we usually will go with that. Any foods listed in blue can be clicked on for the recipe I’ve already posted. More will follow in future posts.

FAST

Soup
Frozen Pizza
Crock Pot Chicken & Mushrooms
Hot Pockets
Canned Stew
Big A Salad w/Chicken
Pasta Salad w/Chicken
Lunchmeat Sandwiches
 Crock Pot Honey Garlic Pork Roast
Crock Pot Meatball Hoagies
Lunchmeat Wraps
Crock Pot Beef Roast
Crock Pot Italian Chicken
Viola
Crockpot Kielbasa & Sauerkraut
Crockpot Meatloaf

MEDIUM

Grilled Cheese & Tomato Soup
Spaghetti
Bean Burritos
Chili
Quesadillas (Cheese or Chicken)
Frozen Lasagne
Egg & Tuna Salad Sandwiches
Cheese Coneys
Hot Dogs & Mac n Cheese
Brinner – French Toast
Brinner – Grits & Toast
Fried Egg Sandwiches

SLOW

Brinner – Pancakes
Brinner – Grits,Eggs & Bacon
Meatloaf
Tacos – Hard or Soft
English Muffin Pizza
Burgers
Stuffed Peppers
Chicken Stir Fry
Batman Pie
Spaghetti Casserole with Marinara and Cheesy White Sauce
Lentil Rice Casserole
Pork Chops
Chicken Caprese
Chicken Casserole

I have also made a free printable for this if you want to fill in your own family choices. Click HERE or on the image.

For breakfast and lunch, I base it on a Monday-Friday school day plan, with packed lunches for the school kids. Here is an example of a week’s plan. I have others in the rotation. Note that each day there may be a back-up plan: packaged peanut butter crackers, a banana, and a yogurt tube, for example. Nobody’s perfect, crap happens, and sometimes I need something super quick on hand. Some days that could be a lunchables,too. If you are a perfect mom, I may not be the meal planner for you. 🙂

And,of course, HERE’s a blank one for you!

Lastly, we have the weekend. Breakfast and lunch are a little different here. Again, I see what’s going on and pull from these ideas based on that. Most on the list are about speed. Some are for a special treat at the end of a hard week.

BREAKFAST

 Banana Bread
 Chocolate or Blueberry Waffles
Cinnamon Rolls
Muffins
“Special” Cereal
Pancakes – Daddy’s
Pancakes – Frozen
French Toast
Egg Sandwiches
Eggs  & Grits
Oatmeal
Donuts
Bakery Muffins
Breakfast Casserole
Mush, Eggs, & Bacon
Biscuits & Gravy
Toaster Strudel
Pop Tarts
Breakfast Sandwiches
Bagels & Cream Cheese

LUNCH

Lunchables
PBJ Sandwiches
Anything off of Weekly Menu
Bologna Sandwiches
Lunchmeat Sandwiches
Breakfast Sandwiches
Grilled Cheese
Cheese Sandwiches
Hot Pockets
Egg & Tuna Salad Sandwiches
Corn Dogs
Frozen Pancakes
Bagels & Cream Cheese
PBJ on Bagels

Click HERE for this printable to fill in.

That’s it! That’s how I come up with our household’s meal plan for the week. It’s a super simple method that you can adapt to your family, and hopefully save yourself a little stress on this so you can use it for more important stuff. Like figuring out if that’s part of a crayon in the dog’s poop, or if she has a horrible disease that’s turning it purple. You’re welcome.

Click HERE to go to the home page and see all of my categories. Something for everybody.  😉