Highlight meals using similar ingredients If you want to take this list this one step further, brainstorm a few lunch ideas and side dish options to pair with your main dishes. This number gives you a variety of meals to choose from as well as space to repeat a few of your all-time favorites. These don’t have to be elaborate meals! Pizza and pancakes totally count. Grab a blank sheet of paper and write down about 20 favorite dinner ideas. Make a list of your family’s favorite dishes Especially if I had to use their recipes, not my tried-and-true ones.įYI: Plan to Eat uses your own recipes to meal plan, but I also didn’t feel like typing all of them into a database when they’re already organized inside my Recipe Binder!ġ. In the past, I felt frustrated using these services because I didn’t like other people telling me what to eat and when. I studied what companies like Once a Month Meals and eMeals were doing and considered replicating their system using my own recipes. No matter what I did, I couldn’t find my rhythm. From winging it to jotting down random meals on a sticky note to assigning theme days and investing in done-for-you meal plan services.

The truth is, I’ve tried just about every meal plan strategy out there to help me fall in love with meal planning. You would think that because I’m a planner by nature (my bullet journal is consistently by my side and Google Calendar lives permanently as an open browser tab) I wouldn’t mind this weekly chore. Every time Sunday evening rolls around, I sigh.

Free printable meal planner with snacks