If you’re looking for ways to become more organised when it comes to the family meals, you’ll love this free Weekly Meal Planner and Shopping List! You can download it for free now and start to plan family meals immediately.
What is Meal Planning?
Meal planning is deciding on and planning ahead the meals you and your family will eat. You should know the basics to ensure that you can customise the plan to benefit the health and well-being of the family.
You can then use that plan to craft a shopping list to buy only the exact ingredients you need to prepare those meals.
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If you found this valuable, you will love learning to meal plan the easy way with me!
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Written in collaboration with Foxtel’s Lifestyle.
What are the Benefits of Family Meal Planning?
Planning your family’s meals ahead of time will help you:
- Spend less time wondering what to cook
- Stay organised
- Feel less stressed
- Make healthier choices
- Waste less food
- Waste less money
- Have more time for other more productive tasks
Related: Free Printable Meal Planner Stickers
Related: 4 Easy Ways to Save Time Cooking + FREE Meal Planning eBook
I use a weekly menu planner as much as possible but sometimes I don’t make the effort to. The result of that is that we do the opposite to the above – it’s bad for our waistlines and our bank balance.
I’m also guilty of making the same meals repeatedly – which does get a bit boring. When I lay out all my meals in the planner, I start to think of different dinner ideas for more variety. That’s why it is important to explore different recipes to surprise the family.
If you’re stuck in a rut thinking of meal ideas, you can watch food shows from Foxtel’s Lifestyle for some inspiration. The Great Australian Bake Off (perfect for baking enthusiasts!), Rachel Allen Home Cooking and River Cottage Australia are just a few recent ones that can inspire you to be more inventive at family meal times.
All you need is a little research and planning to get those dishes on the screen right to your dining table. On the weeks I do plan, I feel so much more organised. I decide on a Sunday what meals the family will eat for the next week, leaving a little flexibility on the days we have social engagements such as eating out.
Then I use the meal ideas to create a Shopping List of the ingredients and either order online or pop to the supermarket.
It’s so much quicker to shop when I know exactly what I’m ordering and we waste so much less food this way too.
You can’t Meal Plan in your head though, it must be on paper. It’s just too hard to translate what’s in your head to a shopping list and a plan that you’ll actually stick to.
Related: Ultimate Guide To Meal Planning For Beginners + Free Meal Planner
Free Meal Planning Printable
Download my Free Family Weekly Meal Planner with Grocery list here from my Resource Library + you’ll get weekly tips and tricks on other time and money-saving hacks for busy mums too:
It’s a simple meal plan with grocery list attached that you can print out each week. Alternatively, to save money, you can laminate it and just use a wipe-off marker!
Let me know your favourite recipes and meal planning ideas and if you use my printable meal planner too!
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I hope my Free Weekly Meal Planner and Shopping List help you stay organised!