Meal planning will streamline your week and remove stress from your life! And it is easier than you may think! I’ve broken down my method to provide a step-by-step guide to meal planning for beginners (or seasoned pros looking for some new tricks!)

I literally cannot imagine my life without meal planning. The thought of trying to go a week without a plan makes my stomach drop a little bit. I always assumed everyone else felt the same way, and only recently discovered otherwise. I suspect that many people think meal planning is too much work, but I guarantee you the opposite is true! Not having a plan means constantly having to drum up food ideas all day every day, last minute trips to the grocery store, and running up the grocery budget. Do the work upfront, and enjoy watching your plan unfold as the week rolls on!

Because I think meal planning is so important, I’m going to give the three major takeaways from this post upfront, in the hopes of inspiring others to join me in meal planning bliss:

1. Meal planning and grocery-list-making go hand in hand!
2. Meal planning does not mean you need detailed charts for every meal of the week, or have to spend hours scanning recipes. It is simply a tool to streamline your week!
3. The main goal of meal planning is to make sure you have every meal for the upcoming week covered before you head to the grocery store, so that nothing falls through the cracks, saving you time and money!

Let’s Get Started

I meal plan one week at a time, for several reasons. One, it corresponds with the sales rotation at grocery stores, and thus also my frequency of grocery shopping. Along with that, a week provides a good length of time to check in on your perishable foods and see what you need to use up (more on that below). 

But just as importantly, a week is a manageable chunk of time to wrap my mind around. Some people meal plan a month at a time. To me, that seems overwhelming. And I probably would end up changing my mind about what I wanted to eat, and have to go back and redo it anyway! So, I highly recommend doing a week at a time, especially if you’ve never meal-planned before. 

To start, I’m going to focus on how I plan dinners, because I think that is most people’s priority, and also the area of greatest struggle.

Step One: Stock Up

Meal planning on a budget starts with having a stockpile of meat in the freezer, and staples in your pantry. Buy them when they’re on sale and save them for later. (You can read more about this in Part 2 of my series on saving money on groceries.)

Step Two: Check the Grocery Ads

Meal planning and grocery-list-making go hand in hand. Check out Part 1 of my grocery shopping series for inspiration! Each week, I make my grocery list and meal plan simultaneously (although often with many interruptions!). (Pro tip: grocery store ads typically change over on Wednesdays, so make sure the sales won’t change between when you make your list and when you actually go shopping.) 

Look through the current grocery ad, and make a “shortlist” of items that are a good deal that week.

Step Three: Figure Out What Perishable Items You Need to Use Up

Take a glance at your perishable items, and make a list (written or mental) of items that need to be used up. Determine which ones are the highest priority to be used before they go bad. 

Step Four: Bring It All Together

Now you have three categories of items:

• Perishable foods you need to use up
• Meat and pantry staples you have on hand 
• Items currently on sale at the grocery store

Think of meals that will use as many of these items as possible. Prioritize in the order listed above: Use up your perishable food, combining with other items you already have on hand, and throw in some of the sale items if applicable. Then, you should only need to purchase a few items to pull together meals for the week.

For example, a few weeks ago I had sour cream and cilantro (left over from previous meals) and queso fresco and corn tortillas (bought because they were on sale and I had digital coupons). Pair that with the ground pork and beef I had in the freezer, and the obvious answer was tacos!

Have a Backup Plan

We all know things come up unexpectedly – so I like to always have a backup plan! I keep a stash of quick, convenience-type foods around for those occasions when last minute plans are made for an evening, or chaos hits and I’m not able to start making dinner when I intended to. My go-to’s include chicken nuggets, frozen pizza, pasta and a jar of sauce, etc. Another great secret weapon is frozen leftovers from previous meals!

Having backup meals on hand prevents you from eating out unexpectedly, or having to make extra trips to the grocery store. This saves time and money, which are the main goals of meal planning!

The bonus is, the better you get at meal planning, the less you will need to resort to your backup plan!

Don’t Forget Breakfast and Lunch!

For breakfast and lunch, I don’t necessarily plan something day by day, but I make sure I have enough supplies to cover the week, with potential meals in mind. This also helps prevent eating out more than necessary, and making unplanned trips to the grocery store!

Breakfast

Buy breakfast items when they’re on sale, not when you need them! Then, each week do a quick check to make sure you have enough cereal, oatmeal, bananas, eggs, etc. to make it through the week; if not, add it to your grocery list!

Lunch

For lunch, I generally pick one meal and make sure we have enough for the week. For example, if I was doing tuna salad, I would check my inventory of bread, tuna, mayonnaise, etc., and add things to the grocery list accordingly. Don’t forget fruit and snacks!

I hope this post has been helpful and inspiring! With just a little bit of planning and work up front, you can streamline your week and make sure you stay within your grocery budget!