Simple Meal Plan | Meal Planning for Beginners
Learn how I meal plan for my family and how having a simple meal plan makes dinner time so much more enjoyable. If you’re new to meal planning, this meal plan for beginners is perfect for you!
Gathering around the table is one of the most important parts of our day. It’s when we get to let go of the cares of what’s going on in the world and enjoy a meal with one another as we chat about things both big and small. Meal planning makes this time even more enjoyable.
What you need?
The things I grab for simple meal planning is a short list. I grab my meal planning sheet (grab yours here), a cookbook that looks inspiring, and my computer for fast recipe searches.
Simple Meal Planning
I like to keep my meal planning simple so it doesn’t feel like a hard task. I jot down what my obligations are (dance, piano, soccer, meetings, etc.) under each day so I know what kind of meal I need to fix- quick meal, one that can sit on the stove for hours, an elaborate meal since I won’t be going anywhere… you get the idea.
Then, I grab my cookbook and computer and get to planning. I use my cookbook for inspiration if I’m stuck and my computer for when I know I have an ingredient, such as pork chops, and need a specific recipe. My favorite online resource for this is pinterest.
My favorite cookbooks
Simple Meal Planning Tips
- Themed Meals- If you have trouble figuring out what to fix, set themes for the day. Some theme ideas are: Casserole Monday, Taco Tuesday, Budget Meal Wednesday, Soup Thursday, and Pizza Friday. Having themes eliminates a lot of other meals and helps you to focus on a certain type of meal or dish.
- Recycle your Meal Plans- Don’t throw your meal planning sheets away! Keep them and use them again when you are either busy or can’t figure out what to fix. There have been many times that I have pulled out an old meal planning printable and reused those exact meals. Then, all you have to do is grab the groceries!
Here’s a video of my Step-by-Step Meal Planning Process
Simple Recipes we love
What we eat in a week + recipes!
Pin it for later
Thank you for hanging out with me today! I hope this simple meal planning post was helpful.
