I’m going to tell you something you don’t want to hear, but you’ll thank me later. Meal planning truly is a game-changer. It will help you save money, say goodbye to the “what’s for dinner” daily stress, and feed your family more well-balanced meals. Now I’m not talking color-coded calendars, neat schedules, or meal prepping all your meals on Sunday. THIS type of planning has actually saved me time and energy. And BONUS, I’ve gotten to where this type of meal planning only takes me about 20-30 minutes a week. So what’s the secret? Here’s a step-by-step guide with all my best tips.

✅1 – Review Calendar

Choose your planning day (mine is Sunday). Sit down and look at your calendar for the upcoming week. Make note of:

• Days you’ll be working or away from home
• Kid activities (practices, parties, school events)
• Appointments or errands
• Anything else that might affect meal prep, energy, or time

Have some extra time one day? Make note that it might be a good night to try a new dinner recipe! Extra busy week? You’ll probably need more tried-and-true, quick meals for the week.

✅2 – Food Scan

Next, do a 5-minute scan of the fridge, freezer, and pantry.
When I do this, I ask myself:

• Are there foods I need to use up before they go bad?
• What proteins or veggies are lingering in the freezer?
• Am I out of any staples (milk, bread, eggs, diet coke/sanity… )?

This keeps me from overbuying, wasting food, or forgetting that frozen Costco meal that’s been sitting in the bottom of the freezer for 2 months. I find that I can typically create a full dinner or two out of ingredients we already have on hand (or maybe only need some fresh produce to add to it).

✅3 – Meal Plan

Yes — write it down.
Grab a sticky note, planner, or the Notes app on your phone and plug in meals for the week. Here’s the “unfiltered” part – I DO NOT plan out every meal for every day. That’s time-consuming, and I know there’s no way that when the chaos of the week happens I’ll follow that plan perfectly. Here’s what I DO plan for. I make a list of:

• 5-6 dinners (again, remember what your week will look like and what meals are actually going to be reasonable)
  • Plan to have leftovers, boxed mac and cheese, or eat out the other 1-2 nights
• 2-3 lunches you can rotate for the week. For me this looks like:
  • Dinner Leftovers
  • Turkey or Tuna Sandwich
• 2-3 Breakfasts you can rotate for the week.
  • TIP: On a less busy morning make a big batch of pancakes and throw the leftovers in the fridge or freezer to heat up later in the week. Here’s a link to my favorite Lemon Protein Pancakes.
• 1-2 Snacks to have on hand for myself and my kids.

Now you have a solid plan to save you from last-minute drive thru regrets (because they’re already planned in 😁) and unnecessary mental energy.

✅4 – Grocery List

Where the rubber meets the road. Steps 1-3 are the prep work that, if done well, make step 4 easy breezy. Make your grocery list while in the kitchen, so you can easily check for any ingredients if needed.

BONUS Tips:

• Make a running list of staple ingredients as you run out of them through the week. This helps make step 2 even quicker!
• Don’t sleep on grocery pick-up. This has been a lifesaver when it comes to trying to keep to our budget. AND saves me from walking through the grocery store pushing a cart with screaming toddlers (they’re trapped in their car seats instead).
• Have a Pinterest board full of easy meal ideas. This is my go-to when I suddenly forget what I’ve been feeding my family for the last 6 years. Did you know you can follow me on Pinterest? Click here!

It’s not about perfection!

You don’t need to schedule a weeks worth of Pinterest perfect meals, or schedule every second of every day. This routine is about setting a foundation to help you show up better throughout the week – for yourself and your family.

Overwhelmed? Just start small. Check the fridge and plan a few meals. You’ll be surprised at how much mental space it frees up.

Do you have a weekly planning rhythm? Or are you winging it and hoping for the best? Let me know in the comments — and feel free to steal my method!

Save this checklist to help you remember the steps!