The Only Weekly Meal Planning Guide You’ll Ever Need
If figuring out what’s for dinner every night feels like a never-ending chore, you’re not alone. Between work, family, and everything in between, planning meals can easily fall to the bottom of your to-do list. That’s why I’ve created The Only Weekly Meal Planning Guide You’ll Ever Need—a practical, step-by-step Christian homemaking resource for building an easy, budget-friendly weekly meal plan that actually works.
In this guide, you’ll find everything from simple strategies for saving money, printable templates (see below!!), and a step-by-step approach to plan your meals. Whether you’re cooking for one or feeding a family, this guide is designed to help you save time, reduce food waste, and finally answer the dreaded “What’s for dinner?” question with confidence.
Let’s dive in and make meal planning something you actually look forward to!
Meal planning day is one of my favorite days of the week. Now you might think I’m crazy—but here’s why you should consider meal planning if you don’t already: saving time and saving money. Meal planning is a part of the week that we use to not only have more structure in our busy life, but also to save as much as we can for our financial goals. And I’ll be honest, I’m not about the “what’s for dinner?” conversation. More often than not, you’ll spend more time avoiding choosing dinner than you are actually making it.
That’s why I’m always planning two weeks in advance. It is certainly not for everyone, but we find that it works best for us. A bonus? We aren’t constantly shopping with our stomachs instead of our brains.
Easy Meal Planning Formula: 3 Trusted + 3 Themed + 1 Fun
Let’s face it—this is the hardest part of meal planning. However, I have a formula that you will love and that is easy to adapt. This works for two weeks for us, but it can easily be made for just a week or a month. I use a combination of 3 tried-and-true recipes, 3 themed recipes, and 1 fun recipe.
Picking recipes that you know and love is key to making this work. This gives you food to look forward to! More importantly, these are likely recipes that you don’t need to pull out instructions for (TIME SAVING!). We cycle them so we don’t get too tired of them, but they are ones that we wouldn’t mind having every week.
After that, I usually pick a theme for the week. For example, I’ll pick Mexican-themed dishes that I can make other meals with using the leftovers. A family favorite is Birria. I’ll make the roast one night and then we make tacos with it. Afterwards, I either pivot to quesadillas or enchiladas. Sometimes we repeat it or switch to something else then come back to the leftovers. We find that this allows us to eat something for multiple days without getting tired and save some much-needed cash.
Within this theme, I try to pick something new or make a new spin on something just to keep it interesting. I love to look through my Magnolia Home cookbooks and my husband loves to look through Joshua Weissman’s! We definitely try to have both of us contributing to planned meals so we get a say in what we eat and don’t have decision fatigue. Marriage is a team sport!
Where We Grocery Shop on a Budget (and Why Aldi Wins)
I put a lot of effort into shopping cheaply. We only have so much time before we meet Jesus, so I try to keep John 6:27 in mind when I go on my shopping trips.
It is so important when dealing with mundane tasks that we keep in mind the greater purpose: living for God. We can take pride in what we make and how our homes look, but when the trumpets sound it won’t matter at all. I always need to remind myself that I’m working not for the newest trend, but to contribute to my church and to missions supporting spreading the word.
We have to work in baby steps! My favorite grocery store is always Aldi. I will go to Aldi first and check other places like Walmart for the things that I can’t find there. I know that Aldi can be a pain if you’re looking for a quick, painless experience, but it truly is the cheapest place in our area to buy food. I always have my good bags and list and get in and out pretty quickly.
They have a lot of deals and fun home items that you don’t feel guilty for picking up! I picked up a dehumidifier last week and it truly is helping keep the stuffy feeling out of our bedrooms. Aldi also makes it easy to stay in budget by buying things that are in season. I’m planning to make a post about how I preserve seasonal items so I can use them all year without having to pay a lot to get them out of season.
How to Pick the Best Day to Meal Plan and Grocery Shop
I prefer Saturday to do all of this because I work Monday through Friday. Also, attempting to brave the grocery store without a full night’s sleep, coffee, and music in my ear? No thank you.
When you go is a trial and error decision. You have to find the right time for your schedule. If you are a Monday-Friday worker like me, Saturday is a good starting place. It’s the day that I have the most time to plan, shop, and meal prep. You, however, might have a different schedule and find Tuesdays work better. Whatever day you pick, try to keep it consistent to keep you on track!
Free Printable Weekly Meal Plan Template
So you have the big questions out of the way, how do you put it all together? Simple! I’ve made some printables for you to use and put in a place that works best for you! Feel free to do what you please with them!
