Free Printable Meal Planner
Last week, I showed you how I plan my weekly meals and workouts. Those plans are usually scribbled on scrap paper which is good. It’s good to save trees.
But…
It’s also good to have something pretty, fun, and organized. (Ahem)
So my beloved webslave Brent, (often known as Grill Hero) made me a kick ass sweet little meal planner.
Then I had an idea! Why not share it the way I would share homemade ice cream. I think I would share?
Here it is!!
A free printable meal planner.
(Just click on it to enlarge and print for personal use.)
And the best part?
It’s customizable.
The little white box where you can write your own name because YOU ARE A GIRL HERO! Yes, you are!
(Personalized things? How old am I?)
The meal planner is pretty self -explanatory.
“Lunch” and “Dinner” Boxes
To be honest, most of my lunches are leftovers from the previous day. Is that lazy?
A “Breakfast Things” Box.
I pretty much rotate through 2-4 different breakfasts so I just list those things in the box to remind me what I have on hand.
“Snack Things” Box
Again, I list snacks so I have an easy go to place to remind me of what I have for snacks. Also I will jot down new ideas or if I want to make a special breakfast in this box.
“Understudies”Box
These are the back up meals in case the “lead characters” don’t make it onto the table. I usually have at least one super-easy-little-work-required meal in the freezer ready to go for the days “I just don’t feel like it.” Chili, Trader Joe’s meatballs, and broccoli are a few things that I keep in the freezer for last minute meals. I’ll often double recipes and freeze half to put on the “understudy” list.
Here is our family’s mostly finished meal plan for this week.
Oh the wonderfully organized madness of it all!!!
WHY I PLAN?
1. Save money – I’ve been planning meals for so long now that I can’t imagine not planning. On that rare occasion, I don’t plan I overspend and buy food that we don’t need.
2. Save time – There are a lot of things I’d rather be doing than wandering around the store figuring out what I should make for dinner that week. Things like be on the internet.
3. Nourishment – Make sure there are nourishing foods on hand for my family.
(We got a few pounds Rainier cherries in our CSA box yesterday. They may or may not already be gone.)
How I Plan?
Step One – I check to see what I already have in freezer, refrigerator and pantry. I buy a lot in bulk so there is always something.
Step Two – I write down my staples eggs, butter, Ezekiel bread, cottage cheese, yogurt, ect.
Step Three* – I see what is coming in this week’s CSA box and plan around what is in the box.
Step Four – I look at my schedule for the week. Are there nights the Crock Pot would make my life easier? Is there a more mellow evening where I will have time to experiment and play in the kitchen?
Step Five – I check for variety. We like to get a variety of protein sources. Actually, this week is pretty limited. If we didn’t belong to a CSA I would do the same with fruits and veggies. I also try to plan a vegetarian night or two to cut costs. I switch things around as needed.
* If I didn’t belong to a CSA I’d look to see what was on sale and plan around those foods.
Just wanted to share my cool little meal planner because you’re awesome and I like you!
If you plan meals how do you do it? Do you like Rainier cherries?
Hugs and High Fives,
Jenn
Keep up with my kettlebell workouts, real food recipes, and more in one of three ways! 1. Sign up to have posts emailed to your inbox. 2. Subscribe to the RSS Feed or 3. “like” Girl Heroes on Facebook. Simple dimple!
Journey with our family on the road at New School Nomads as we travel fulltime in RV through the United States!
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Cool! I’m totally printing one.
Also, with this font, if I try and make a smiley face- it looks like this:
Which is kinda like a drunk smiley.
THen again- I didn’t take into account that there was an emoticon for it. So now my clever comment makes me look like a dumb ass.
Naw I get it!! And besides the emoticon smiley looks like he has a few too many anyway. 😀
Okay, you and I plan meals pretty much identically! LOVE the plan. Is it okay if I link to it in my next meal planning post?
Every time I read your blog I can’t help but notice how similar we are in regards to taste and planning. Of course, you can link to this.
Oh, I love this! I usually plan our meals out also, but this form is way cuter than what I usually use! Can’t wait to put it on my fridge
Thanks!
Me too, I usually use wrinkled papers with food stains on them. :-/
Btw and totally unrelated – I told Brent about when I fell off the bed and he laughed almost as much as we did!
Behind a great “Girl Hero” is a great “Grill Hero”. So cute! Are those going to be available for purchase? They’d also be great with an “Iron Vigor” header to give to your Trainees!
He he!! No you can click it and print it out! I’m generous like that! 😉 Oooh great idea for a kettlebell one to give to my clients! I’m definitely going to add that to my webslave’s to-do list!
Left-overs for lunch is smart not lazy (can you tell I do the same thing myself- so humble). There’s only so much of us and our time to go around. I usually make enough at dinner to last for lunch — unless DH gets to it. The last time he finished off the L.O.’s, I treated myself to my favorite Thai restaurant.
I love your planner, it’s more fun than mine. I couldn’t “get it” — when I clicked on it, a gray blank page appeared. It could be something on my end with my computer Very cute, though … nice job!
Thanks!! I’m not sure what was going on with the planner. :-/
That is exactly what I do with dinner and sometimes I get on certain people’s case when they eat LOs that are intended for lunch. Thai food…good idea!
I am SUCH a sucker for things like this. I know that I’m on my non-counting kick right now, but I haven’t yet decided if I’m going to do some loose tracking for my trip tomorrow. It’s 10 days which is enough time to do some serious damage. So I printed out two of your sheets and I will most likely use it. Even if it’s just to track my workouts! So excited.
I’m not a planner as in plan for the whole week, but I like to look ahead a meal or two. We always have pretty much the same groceries each week which I suppose is boring. Ever since your last post though I’ve been like a freezer nazi telling derek that we have to use up x,y, z from the freezer, and guess what, he’s listening and playing along! So thank you for the influence.
I love seeing your responses to your commenters but they are hidden unless you click on them=- I presume that’s to keep things more clean looking in the comments section? Just wanted to mention it for what it’s worth
“freezer nazi” He he!!! I hope Derek doesn’t get annoyed by any influence I may have had on your regime. 😉
That’s sweet you like to see my replies in the comments. Not sure if there is any reason why they are hidden. It’s just how my webslave did it and I try to not ask too many questions.
This is neat! I’m thinking I’ll have it laminated, stick some magnets on the back, and hang it on the fridge with a dry erase marker so I can reuse it. Or at least just use it in the first place, lol.