Meal planning for beginners… I wish it existed when I first learned to “cook”, if you can even call it that! (I literally set our kitchen cabinets on fire once while boiling water. Oh, how far I’ve come!)
If ever there was a time to learn how to meal plan, it’s now. Groceries are EXPENSIVE.
Eating out is even more expensive…and bad for your health.
If you are blowing your budget, throwing away science experiments and wasted food from your fridge each week, or just need to start eating at home more, then learning how to meal plan may be the answer to your kitchen (and wallet) struggles!
I’m going to walk you through the very basic steps I use to meal plan (which may vary based on my season of life).
This is a beginner’s guide to meal planning. You can make meal planning complicated, but it doesn’t have to be. You can do it with nothing more than a pen, a $0.50 notebook, and about 20 minutes of your spare time. Start saving your cash and your sanity.
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
This post contains affiliate links for your convenience (which means if you make a purchase after clicking a link, I will earn a small commission but it won’t cost you a penny more)! Read my full disclosure policy.
The Benefits of Meal Planning
Meal planning is more than just jotting down recipes; it’s a genius way of approaching your meals. The best thing about meal planning…you don’t have to get fancy with it. It’s not that hard, so if you’ve been avoiding it, I’ve got you.
- Meal planning saves time and energy: With a meal plan in place, you’ll know exactly what to cook and when, saving you time and eliminating the daily dinner dilemma.
- . Having a meal plan reduces food waste: Planning your meals means you buy only what you need and use up leftovers wisely, minimizing food waste.
- Cooking at home is healthier: Meal planning allows you to prioritize balanced and nutritious meals, helping you stay on track with your health goals.
- Meal planning saves money: MY FAVORITE REASON!! By avoiding impulse purchases and utilizing ingredients wisely, meal planning can significantly cut down your grocery bill.
How to Meal Plan for Beginners (Seriously, you’ve got this!)
If you’re new to meal planning, fear not! It’s a simple process that you can master in no time.
Follow these easy steps to get started with meal planning:
Set a schedule:
Decide on the duration of your meal plan. Weekly planning works well for most beginners.
I once lived in the middle of absolute nowhere, and so I often meal planned two weeks at a time. I’ve even done monthly meal plans.
If you are just getting started with meal planning, go easy and plan just a week. When you are planning your meals out weekly, you don’t have to get creative with what produce lasts just a few days versus a few weeks. It’s pretty easy to meal plan weekly.
Know your preferences:
Make a list of your favorite meals and consider dietary requirements or restrictions.
If you are new to meal planning, now is not the time to decide you are going to buy only healthy meals, cook everything from scratch, and start drinking green juices.
Buy the food you want to eat and know how to cook. That’s how you get started with meal planning.
Know your schedule for the week:
This step is critical. This step will determine if your meal planning fails or actually works.
Before you ever sit down to create a meal plan, write out the days of each week and list your schedule. It doesn’t have to be extensive.
Simply list out each day of the week and then next to it, give a single word or phrase to describe what’s going on that night.
Do you go straight from school pick-up to soccer practice and get home at 8 PM? That may be the night you need a heavy snack after school and a crock meal waiting for you when you get home.
Are your Saturdays spent at home hanging out with friends or family outside? Then make that your grill day.
We have a variable schedule nearly every week because of my husband’s job and my kids’ activities so I cannot skip this step!
If you need an easy meal because you will be too tired or lack the time, then make sure you have an easy meal planned (more on that later).
Here’s an example of a weekly pre-meal planning schedule:
Saturday: Nothing planned, slow meal – grocery shop
Sunday: Grill – prep freezer meals for week
Monday: Busy day – easy crockpot meal from freezer
Tuesday: Kid activity – easy meal
Wednesday: Music lesson – Freezer meal
Thursday: Kid activity – easy tacos
Friday: Pizza/Family Movie night
See, nothing fancy! This crucial step saves me so much heartache as I actually execute our meal planning week.
Create the actual menu
Plan your dinners for the week.
Eventually, if you start to master meal planning, you will plan out ALL of your meals (and snacks) but start with just your dinners. Most of us can figure out a quick breakfast or lunch.
Dinners are where most of us spend the greatest time in the kitchen. When we don’t have dinner meals planned, this is where we slip up and go out to eat, spending all our hard-earned money when we have groceries we could be using.
Pull out your cookbooks or go to that Pinterest recipe board you’ve been adding to for years. Find FIVE recipes, and start there.
I say plan for five recipes because there will be leftovers and there will be nights where you might have other plans.
Don’t try to get fancy and do all your meal planning on a computer. Also, don’t get sloppy and do it all on a post-it note.
Grab a $0.50 spiral-bound notebook from the store, and make this your meal-planning notebook. The menu goes on one page. The grocery list goes on the next page. Take the whole notebook with you to the store.
Make a shopping list
Based on your simple meal plan of five dinner recipes, create a well-organized shopping list.
I like to organize my list by how I shop in the store. For example, produce is the first set of items listed on my meal planning grocery list, in the left column. Under it, bread items (as in my store, they are located right next to produce).
In the right column, I list out all the pantry/grocery items.
On the bottom of the sheet, I list out refrigerator items on the left side and freezer items on the right side.
This method is simple, requires no printing of anything, and is easy to navigate once in the store.
Shop your pantry
Meal planning requires a bit of creativity and planning. Before you ever go to the store, take inventory of what you already have on hand. Literally walk to your pantry and look for items on your list, as if you are at the grocery store.
If you find something, mark it off. Money saved! There’s nothing worse than having duplicates of things that will take you forever to actually consume.
In fact, if you end up shopping your pantry (or freezer first), you might find out you can make a whole meal plan on what you already own. A no-spend grocery challenge is perfect for using up what you already have on hand!
Stay flexible
Life happens, and plans may change. Be open to adjustments and add a little creativity to your meal planning.
If you planned on chicken breasts but they are out, could you use chicken thighs? Probably.
The same goes if you find a crazy good deal on an item that wasn’t planned. Flip back to your menu and make the small adjustment.
“Nope, I can’t do meal planning.”
OK, if meal planning just isn’t your thing, then pay for it!
I know. It sounds crazy, but meal plans done for you are very affordable, especially when you consider the time they could save you if it doesn’t come naturally. The best part, it’s usually only about $1-2 per week. If you are giving half an hour to meal planning, that’s not a bad trade-off.
Here are my favorite two meal-planning services:
eMeals: Pick a dietary preference, and they do all the work for you. They even create a shopping list! Not sure? Check out my review on eMeals.
The Family Freezer: I LOVE these meals for busy weekday nights. They are truly dump-and-go crockpot meals, instant pot meals, and oven meals. PLUS, they are often low calorie, low on the glycemic index, and clean eating… all on top of being delicious.
Invest in the right tools for meal planning success
Not everyone is a slow cooker fan. I get it. However, they can be lifesavers for those with a busy schedule.
If you are new to meal planning and don’t think you could possibly make the time to cook, get a Crockpot. You won’t regret it.
You could also use an Instant Pot, but the Crockpot is and forever will be my favorite. Wake up, dump in the ingredients, set the timer, and go.
It is critical to have a slow cooker with a timer if you are going to be out of the house all day (or if you just forget you are cooking). Need a recommendation? Here’s my current slow cooker. I love it.
Meal planning for beginners: It doesn’t have to be complicated
Too often meal planning gets overcomplicated. It doesn’t have to be that hard.
Set an appointment with yourself for 20 minutes, grab a notebook, and find five easy recipes. That’s it.
Then, as you get more practiced and are no longer a beginner, you can always fine-tune the meal planning process.
Declutter in 10 Minutes a Day?!
Meal planning is great! I repurpose ingredients so I can keep my shoping list low and food costs down. No food waste here!