Super Secret Freebie Page

If you haven’t already listened to it, Episode 2 of the Keeping My Sanity podcast talks about how I meal plan. It may be a good overview for you.

Thanks so much for signing up to receive the free meal plan! You are now viewing a super-secret page that you’ll never be able to find without the link I sent you. I personally use this template every month. I hope you will find it as useful as I do! So here you go. This is what you are here for.

Download Fillable Meal Plan Download

I’ve also filled out one week as a sample plan, taken right out of one of mine. Go ahead and download that. Every recipe on that sample is already on my website and you can find those links at the bottom of this page.

Meal Plan Tutorial

You may get the template and know what you’re doing. Off to the races with you, and happy meal planning! If you want to see exactly how I do it, stick around.

There are three fillable sections on the sheet, the Month, Date Number, and the Calendar Square. The Calendar Square has five lines to type in.

Step 1: Fill in the month name.

Step 2: Fill in each number by clicking in the top left of the Calendar Square. Note: Be sure you’re starting your month on the right day to avoid the frustrations I’ve created before. the form is built so you can press ‘TAB’ and move to the next box to make this go more quickly.

Step 3 (optional): From here, it really depends on how you want to do things. I like to go to the National Day Calendar to see what we can ‘celebrate’ with a fun recipe. This keeps things exciting.

I don’t put every day on my meal plan, but the ones I like I put on Line 1 of my Calendar Square.

Step 4: Breakfast. My breakfast always goes on Line 2, even if I don’t fill in a special day on Line 1. It just keeps my rows consistent and my OCD at bay.

Step 5: I put lunch on Line 3. Don’t be too worried that you need a specific plan. We keep lunch simple. Honestly, we do PB&J for the boys about 80% of the time. The other 20% is leftovers.

Step 6: You’re probably catching on to a pattern here. Supper lives on Line 4 of my plan. (Again, I have a 1-week demo meal plan with all of the recipes linked out below.)

Step 7: But what about Line 5?! Sometimes my recipes get wordy, and it’s nice having some more space to move into. Sometimes, I throw a special dessert in to celebrate a National Day, or give more sugar to the boys.

Step 8: Print it out and hang it is a prominent place. I’ve found if I keep it on my computer desktop, I look at exactly zero times during the month. I’m a paper-loving girl, and having the meal plan handy on the fridge keeps me on schedule.

The Real Fun

Ok, so you’re finally done with the first month (or week, or two weeks). The next month is simple! Use the competed plan and take 30 minutes to find a few new recipes from your recipe box or Pinterest board. Swap out some breakfasts and lunches from the completed calendar and shuffle things around so the family doesn’t catch onto what you’re doing.

Wasn’t that easy?