Weekly Dinner Menu Planner PDF

I love seeing how others plan their meals. I use something similar: http://cecimadden.com/2011/09/30/simple-meal-planning-grocery-shopping-list/, that includes a shopping list based on the meal I've planned.

I'll admit that most weeks I simply fill this out in my head, but it at least gives me a framework for thinking about what to make/buy. Good luck with your meal planning!

Thanks for this Ali. I have a combo menu planner/shopping list that I found a while ago. It really helps me to have everything in one place, and shop the store sales when planning the week's meals. But I LOVE your section about "new foods". My girls are on the spectrum and we are having the hardest time getting them out of the french fries/pizza/PB&J phase. I've been making two dinners...something for me and hubs, something for them. usually they're interrelated...but it definitely involves more planning for me. And frustration because more often than not, the food ends up in the trash. :)

thanks SO much for sharing this ali! it's awesome & you're the best!

Thanks Ali!!

I would like to second what Camilla Blue said...something about the way you design things really brings it home, lol! I've tried I don't know how many times to do this, and I think your format may be just what I needed.

My older son is 11 and pretty much just eats various combinations of cheese and bread (pizza, mac & cheese, quesadillas, tacos with just cheese, etc.) Having a space for "new food" will really help me be better about having him at least try something different each meal. Excellent addition to the planner!!

I grew up eating around a family dinner table and my boys have too. It's all about traditions for me...security, something they can count on: no matter what their day has been like, they know they will be eating with people who love them. :)

Thanks Ali. I've been trying out a lot of recipes from Pinterest. I've had mostly good results.

Thanks for sharing the menu planner! My son has sensory issues, so "new" foods are a struggle here as well. But he is trying more things on a regular basis. So like the new category. :)

I think I actually pinned one of the recipes you had pinned yesterday. A wrap with hummus that looked good :)

Thanks so much for this... I actually woke up this morning with the goal of getting back into my weekly menu planning, so this is perfect!

I found a few things helped with my boys when they went through phases like that... one was getting them more involved in the cooking and grocery shopping. I found when they were part of the process, rather than just sitting at the table and having something put in front of them, they were much more likely to at least want to try new foods. The other thing that really helped in terms of vegetables, was to have them help me garden. I still remember the summer my oldest grew green beans for the first time... insisted that we have them every single night while they were in season... my husband and I were pretty sick of green beans, but he never was! Also, we had a great pediatrician who was always full of helpful advice and one of the best things he used to tell me was "kids will not starve themselves", so if they are hungry they will eat what you give them... you don't need to make them special meals. I stuck with that (even with my middle son who was always underweight) and now my teenage boys are all great eaters who will try anything and love to cook.

Jamie Oliver's Meals in Minutes cookbook has been providing inspiration for our dinners this year. Each meal includes a main dish, side dishes, and some desserts. I'm determined to try them all, but not in order, to take advantage of seasonal produce. I choose several a week, use my All Out Of grocery list to detail what I need, and we're set for the week. Although this has been working very well for us, it would overwhelm some kids. But if your family is open to trying new recipes, I highly recommend it.

This is great! Thanks! We are a super busy family with a pretty picky son. We make it a priority (so my kids don't even know it's an option to do otherwise) to wait to eat until everyone who is home is at the table. We used to be good at planning meals and need to get better at it since it saves money. My son is 12 and we used to do the separate dinner thing, but now he has to sit and try something plus his veggie or fruit before he can make himself a pb & j. I used to jump for joy when he would try a new type of candy...he still only picks candy from a pinata that he will eat. We don't do many sauces (other than spaghetti) since he doesn't care for them but he has really increased his foods....keep working at it you are doing great things for your family!

Hi again Ali,

I have a question for you or any of your readers that could help. My biggest concern about our menus is my 10 yr.old son and his not likeing "meals" as he calls them. He's happiest with only 2 foods on his plate. He is a snacker/grazer has no real interest in food. This started about the age of 4 I think and just keeps getting worse.

I thought that by now like most of his friends he'd be eating everything in sight. That's what I heard boys did, my son does not though. My hubby and his 3 brothers were already into food by this age and constantly eating and always hungry I'm told.

So do any of you have sons like this or any advise? Thanks so much.

Ali I also wondered how does Simon do when eating out or at your parent's house?

This is a great post today, I've enjoyed reading all the comments.

Ali... thanks so much for the printable, it's awesome! I have been planning our meals a month in advance now for about six months - right down to the healthy recesses for our six year old and snacks for our 20 month old.
Two months ago, my husband started back on a fitness and nutrition routine that means his meals are drastically different from ours, so I'm now managing two menus while trying to keep our sit down and eat together time.
In order to make it all work for me, I not only plan one month in advance, but I cook our meat once a month. At the beginning of the month, I precook all of our chicken, ground beef/turkey, etc... basically all the meats. Then I vacuum seal them packaged in portions according to the planned meals. Hubby's chicken, steaks, etc get sealed in 6 oz. individual portions and ours get packaged according to the meal plan and labelled with the date. So if it's going to be fajitas, I'll actually slice up the chicken and throw the seasoning in with it.
It usually takes me two evenings to do this cooking, then one more afternoon to bake homemade granola, healthy muffins, etc. for the 6 yo's recesses. He's allergic to artificial color + there is a nut and egg allergy in his class so recess planning takes some effort.
Anyway, the point (to make a short story long, lol) was that this precooking and baking that takes me three afternoons/evenings at the beginning of the month, reduces my actual meal prep time to about 15-20 minutes per meal and that is honestly the only way I am able to accomplish two healthy meal plans + allergy accomodations. It might be something to give thought to!

Thank you for the menu planner. I too always sit to make a menu for the week because, as you know and we all are, very busy with life. I hoped this year I could be more organized but so far...nope. Look forward to see how this plans out.

I feel as though you have read my mind. One of the "organization" things (my OLW) I have been wanting to do is sit down and plan out our meals. I find it more difficult to wing it through the week- there is just so much going on. This is just what I needed to hopefully get started. Thanks so much for sharing!!

Thanks so much for sharing this! I've also tried off and on to plan meals and have never found a system that works well for me. I've always loved your clean and simple style and this simple sheet may be just what I need. Thanks again!

I remember when my son Steven was younger and for about 6 months his dinner diet was cooked peas, that was all he would eat. Fast forward a few years and we have peas nearly every single night for dinner, that way he will try most new things. There are some where he just flat out refuses to try them and others he has to have his say about how gross it is and that he doesnt want to eat it. Like Simon over time Steven has got better at trying new things but there are always the ones that he loves and would eat everyday if I let him. I have been meal planning for a couple of years now and its sooo good. I have a laminated meal planner on the inside door of my pantry. It good to know what I need to cook and its a visual for my boys to see what we will be having that night. Sum meals that have leftovers I freeze and have those for my dinners when the boys are at their dads.Having a meal plan helps keep the food shopping bill down as well.

Great idea. It seems like a daily struggle to come up with dinner. A harder struggle to find something new that doesn't take loads of time.

I have really been in a rut lately with meals and menu-planning
so thank you for the fabulous download.
I printed 10 copies and saved it to my desktop so it's easily accessible. I'm thinking of putting the print-outs on a clipboard in the kitchen - I need this kind of thing in-my-face or I will forget to make it a priority. I'm not a fan of the 4:30 panic that I get when I haven't planned anything - this will help me avoid that.
Thanks again!!
P.S. I'm also thinking that completed sheets will be cool to add to Project Life here and there - fun to look back on what we ate - might even add comments about what the hits were : )

There was a great book published about 30 years ago, called "The Sidetracked Sisters Clean Up In The Kitchen" (or something like that). They introduced a fantastic menu planning system where you list all of the main dishes your family eats, then all at once, plan side dishes, etc. You write these menus out on 3x5 cards and store them in your recipe box, filed by main dish ingredient (beef, chicken, fish, etc). So, when you go to plan your weekly menus, you just pick out 6-7 different cards and you have the entire menu planned immediately. I also include the ingredients needed for the meal on the back of the card, so I just have to transfer those to my grocery list.

The book is really fantastic, but unfortunately its out of print. I'm sure you can find copies of it on eBay though....

this would be a great insert to include in project life :)