With the fall season almost here (my favourite!), back to school and routine, I thought what better time to get back into my meal planning. I LOVE planning out my weekly suppers and sitting down to figure out my grocery list each week (I can’t be the only one, am I?!). So I thought it would be great for me to share with you an easy way to plan your meals and help with your grocery list too!
Each week I like to figure out what activities we have that week and plan our meals around them so that way we are not trying to figure out what to eat last minute. It’s helpful because not only does it guide you for what to eat, but it also helps with your grocery shopping (and it saves you money by planning!).
Here’s what I like to do each week. I use this menu plan (I prefer lines but we have both of them for you as an option so you can choose!) and I plan out our week. I write at the top what activities we have that week so I know if we are going to be rushed and need a quick dinner idea (like this week our boys have skating on Wednesday and then we have a birthday party for our oldest on Saturday).
My grocery list is on the pink sticky note (I know there are apps for this, but personally I prefer to write everything down and take my sticky note with me…call me old fashioned I know!). With my grocery list, I transfer over anything at the bottom of the planner and then I have areas of the grocery store – fruits, veggies, meats and then everything else in the middle of the store 🙂
With the meal planner, what you can do is write the meal at the top of the list and then in the middle, write what ingredients it needs. If it’s an easier meal like pork chops and rice, obviously you wouldn’t need to write out the ingredients. However if it’s a more difficult menu item like lasagna, then you can write everything out that you need for that recipe. Then at the bottom, there is a handy section for what needs to go on your grocery list (this is where you check your pantry and fridge first to see what items you have). Then transfer over your grocery list items to your grocery list.
I also thought it would be helpful for you to give you some supper and meal plan ideas!! Here are a few of our favourites (NOTE: I will be blog posting some of these in the next couple of months…if you have a preference, leave a comment or email me at cassie@curiositybox.ca).
Meal Plan Ideas:
- Lasagna
- Pork Tenderloin with mashed potatoes
- Pork Chops with rice and a veggie
- Chicken Fajitas
- Tacos (chicken or beef or fish)
- Nachos (beef or chicken)
- Quesadilla
- Spaghetti with garlic toast and caesar salad
- Chicken Alfredo Pasta (LOVE THIS ONE!!)
- Stuffed Chicken with mini potatoes and bbq’d veggies
- Meat loaf and scalloped potatoes and cauliflower
- Sheppards’ Pie
- Chili
- Chicken or beef kabobs
- Hamburgers with home made french fries
- Homemade macaroni and cheese with salad
- Homemade pizzas
- Taco Salad – find the recipe HERE
- Meatballs with rice or meatball subs
- Chicken Enchiladas
- Cabbage Rolls
- Pork Chops with rice and corn
I love trying new recipes too so I will be sure to post some more soon!
So here is the FREE Printable that you can click on and print. As I said before, there is a version with lines and a version without.
Happy meal planning 🙂