Meal planning is a chore. I blog about meal planning and I still find it tedious and mind-numbing at times. That’s why I created this printable meal plan with meal ideas for you guys.
Printable Meal Planner With Meal Ideas
This printable meal plan is in landscape will fill the whole page when you print it. Breaking down the grocery store by departments has always made it easier to shop.
I also included a section to jot down breakfast, lunch and snacks. Even if you buy the same stuff every week, I find it helpful to have that space sometimes.
Grab your copy here! Or tap on the image below.
Basic Meal Planning Principles
Different seasons of life call for different things. Sometimes we are really prioritizing our eating habits and we dedicate more time to meal planning, grocery shopping and meal prepping.
Other times we just want to not eat out for the fifth night in a row. That’s where my printable meal plan comes in handy. It’s basic but effective.
My printable meal plan is one with few ingredients, doesn’t have you cooking every night and requires very little chopping. (What is with some recipes having you chop stuff for 30 minutes?!!)
I’ve linked up my recipes in this meal plan but feel free to swap them out for something similar of you have an old standby. The point is just to have a go-to meal plan in your back pocket for busy weeks when you just don’t feel like meal planning.
Meal Ideas for Your Basic Meal Plan
- ▪Crockpot Meal that yields leftovers
- ▪Sandwich Night
- ▪Breakfast for Dinner
- ▪Leftovers
- ▪Freezer Section Freezer Meal
- ▪Easy Casserole
- ▪Take-out or Leftovers
Okay so that’s the template you can use to make your own meal plan. Below I’ll give you my version of it complete with links to recipes and a shopping list.
Crockpot Meal
A crockpot meal is easy and requires very little effort on your part. There are only certain things that make good crockpot meals though so choose one that your family loves because we’ll be using the leftovers for another night.
Sandwich Night
Sandwich night is next. Make wraps to fancy it up or griled cheese sandwiches. Or serve PB&J’s.
This printable meal plan is about getting your family fed without going through the drive-thru every night. It doesn’t have to be gourmet!
Breakfast for Dinner
Again, this can be as fancy or basic as you want. You can simply scramble some eggs, make some toast and cut up some cantaloupe and call it a day. Or you can take it a step further and make French toast and sausage.
A fun thing to make that’s pretty simple are breakfasts sandwiches that are made with toaster waffles instead of bagels or English muffins!
Leftovers
Okay so by this night the leftovers will seem new again so serve them up! Feel free to freshen it up with a new side dish or keep it as is like I usually do but buy a dessert and let this be a treat night.
No cooking but the family still looks forward to it! Just think outside the box a little bit.
Freezer Section Freezer Meal
FSFM’s are just meals that you get from the freezer section as opposed to making them yourself. The most basic being a frozen pizza.
More complex ones are turning frozen Frontera Chicken into burrito bowls. Those don’t require a ton of work but it’s more than a frozen pizza.
Two other favorites in the UM household are Trader Joe’s Mandarin Chicken or broccoli cheese chicken kievs. Both served with steam-in-bag broccoli and steamed rice.
Easy Casserole
Easy casserole’s are great for basic meal plans because they are technically homemade but they don’t require a ton of real cooking. They usually involve dumping a few things in a baking dish, topping it with cheese and tossing it in the oven.
They are satisfying and crowd-pleasing. It’s great to have a few of these in your back pocket. I usually pair it with a bagged salad kit to balance it out but keep it easy.
Take-out or Leftovers
My family gets take-out once a week so I like to include this in the printable meal plan. We budget it in and only buy groceries for 6 dinners. That way we don’t waste food.
However, if you are in a season of life where you are trying to save money, I add Leftovers as an option. The easy casserole should yield enough food to have a second night.
If you do go the take-out route and you are still trying to save money, plan it on a night that kids eat free. In my area there are a bunch of restaurants that let kids eat free on Mondays and Tuesdays.
You can also look out for coupons and deals. We have a local pizza place that does $10 extra large pizzas on Mondays. That’s a great way to eat out on a budget.
My Basic Meal Plan
- ▪Crockpot Chicken Chili & Tortilla Chips
- ▪Turkey Avocado BLT Wraps & Chips
- ▪Scrambled Eggs, Toast & Cantaloupe
- ▪Leftover Crockpot Chili with Cornbread
- ▪Trader Joe’s Mandarin Chicken, Broccoli & Rice
- ▪Ravioli Lasagna Bake & Bagged Caesar Salad
- ▪Take-out
Keep it Simple
So there you have it, my real life meal plan. It doesn’t require a ton of cooking or prep work. Most meals can be made in 30 minutes or less and the ones that can’t require very little work. Don’t think that you have to cook 7 nights a week to effectively meal plan. Plan what works best for your family and don’t look back.
Taran is a self-proclaimed undomestic mom. She thrives as a stay-at-home-mom by consistently carving out time for herself and practicing realistic self-care. As a busy mom of 3, she knows that if mama ain’t happy, nobody’s happy! With a focus on how SAHMs can carve out time for themselves everyday, she teaches fellow SAHMs how they can do the same.
[…] and dip your toe into meal planning? Check out my post on getting started with meal planning or my Real Life Meal Plan post that gives you a basic meal plan template that anyone can […]