8 Week Meal Planner Tool

Step 1

The first step is to build a list of your favourite go-to dishes

• • Make your lists with the protein as the key ingredient – so chicken, fish, pork, beef, vegetarian or other
  • Don’t forget to list pizza night, eating out and other fun foodie events you like to do
  • You can also list snacks, side dishes, brunches, and desserts if you want to refer to those as ideas
  • We did this as a family even though the kids were young, it was nice for them to have an input into the plan

Now you can flag those meals that are freezer-friendly to make a double batch and ones that you can make enough for lunches.

For example

• • If you make a lasagna, make 2 large lasagnas and freeze one. Then the one that you cook that night can be used for some hearty lunches during the week.

• • Or maybe you are going to marinate a triple batch of pork chops, BBQ one meal, and freeze the other 2 so they can be defrosted and cooked quickly with a quick salad to be ready in 20 minutes start to finish.

List Example

Step 2

Now you are going to create a framework for your meal plan over 7 days and decide what main ingredients you will use each week.

For example

• You may choose to have 2 meals with chicken and one 1 with beef, pork, fish, vegetarian, and other for a total of 7 meals in a week.

Step 3

List your family activities so you know on what days you have to plan easy dinners.

Step 4

Now you are going to build out your plan week by week using your main ingredient framework, family recipes and activity schedule as a reference.

• • Take it 1 week at a time using your main ingredient outline and activity chart to help you
  • Try to have one meal a week that uses the Freezer column – cook or use
  • Plan your double-up days on a day where your schedule is pretty clear
  • Work until you have 8 weeks completed

Step 5

You can now create a rotating index card stack. I liked to have my meal plan on the fridge where everyone could see it.

• • Make an index card for each week
  • Stick a magnet to the back of each card
  • Stack the cards up in week order – 1 to 8
  • Once the week is past, move the top card to the back

Extra Tips

• Plan your shopping days to ensure you have all the ingredients to hand
• Keep it simple to start with – I focused on Dinner, freezer, and lunches to get me going and added in baking and weekend treats later
• Refer to your planner when making your shopping list
• Go shopping with a list – it makes sure you buy exactly what you need and is a budget-friendly way to shop