How to Meal Plan for an Entire Month
There is a dreaded phrase that haunts every household.
It is… What’s for dinner?
It snaps us into our responsibility of providing, you know, actual food, to our family and selves. It takes precious brainpower to figure something out to eat that “sounds good.” It takes time, money, and resources to get the actual ingredients or pick up takeout. Then there’s the work of making the food. And then you have to develop thick skin when your kids declare your offering vomitrocious and spit it out right in front of you.
Rough stuff.
Can you relate to my pain?
As a person passionate about operational processes, I have been trying to crack the code of meal planning for years. After trying several things, I have come up with a system that transforms dinner from the worst part of the day to a time I actually look forward to.
When applied, this process can make the day-to-day go baby smooth by saving time, energy, and money, and allowing you to make healthier eating choices (since you will no longer be living at Little Caesar’s.)
The best part? You can do this for the entire month, so you only need to meal plan once for 30ish days!
Ready to dive in?
How to Meal Plan for a Month - the Process
The last week (usually the last Sunday) of a month, plan out meals for the entire next month.
I only plan 4 meals each week to leave room for leftovers, family dinners, takeout/and or date nights. I pick a different meal for each planned day of the month because I enjoy variety and trying new recipes. You of course can do whatever fits your taste, preferences, and budget.
On the first-ish day of the month, head to the grocery store or use a grocery delivery service (I use either Instacart or Walmart+) to shop for all the nonperishable ingredients you will need for the meals for the month (as well as the perishable items needed for the first week of the month).
Unsponsored side note, grocery delivery has simplified my life SO MUCH. I used to pick up groceries, but where I live there was often a huge wait (One time I waited for almost an hour at Smith’s - not kidding), and with two small children in the car, $100 bucks for unlimited delivery was 100% worth it for me.
They bring it all to my doorstep so I don’t have to haul everything from the store to the car and from the car to my house with little ones underfoot.
I also love being able to see what my cost will be online before checking out. When I am at the grocery store, I always end up spending way more than I would online because I am a lot more vulnerable to my whims, current cravings, mood, etc.
Having someone else pick out my produce has been mostly a good experience. I definitely have gotten some produce that wasn’t on the great side, so I usually get less risky fruits and vegetables - bananas, carrots, lettuce, salad kits, cucumbers, cauliflower, apples, basically not blueberries or grapes.
If I have the time, sometimes I do prefer stopping by the grocery store to pick out the produce myself (and try to put blinders on my eyes so I only stay in the produce aisle), but most of the time I’d rather just eat whatever produce they pick out and save myself the effort.
If grocery shopping is your scene, no prob! Do whatever is going to work best for your life.
Each Sunday, review the list of meals for the upcoming week and order any of the perishable items needed, along with any staples (milk, eggs, bread, etc) for that week.
If you prefer to do the shopping yourself, simply make yourself a shopping list. Many grocery stores now have their own app in which you can actually create a shopping list. The shopping list will often show you where an item is located within the store, which is a great feature.
I usually set the grocery order to come Monday morning from 9-10 am.
Each night, pull out any foods that will need to be thawed for the next day.
I typically don’t prep much beyond that (keep in mind my meals are pretty simple) until I’m actually ready to cook. However, if you’re feeling fancy you could chop up some veggies, or get the meat marinated. Whatever will make your life the easiest.
How to Choose a Month’s Worth of Meals
I used to agonize over picking super healthy meals and at this point in my life, that is just too much work and you know what would happen? My good intentions would paralyze me and we would end up with a box of Little Caesar’s. So now my philosophy is to just plan meals that I think my family will enjoy, have fruit & veggie sides, and try to make the plants the biggest portion.
Side note about that. One time while I was working in the corporate wellness scene, I attended a wellness convention. I happened to sit next to a registered dietician. The presenter displayed a traditional lasagna recipe and asked the audience to come up with a way to substitute ingredients to make it a healthier meal. The registered dietician raised her hand and said, I’d eat the lasagna as is in a smaller portion and increase the vegetables. Boom shaka-laka. That’s some good common sense right there.
To give you some ideas, here is a sample of a month’s worth of meal planning chez Ashlee:
Week 1:
Slow Cooker Crack Chicken Chili (I leave out the bacon, I find it doesn’t affect the flavor and I prefer it less greasy)
Pink Sauce Pasta with Sausage or Chicken
Breakfast for Dinner
Week 2:
Tacos
Chicken Teriyaki
Week 3:
Grilled Drumsticks
Week 4:
BBQ Chicken
Salmon
New Recipe
Well friend, there you have it. Now you are equipped with the tools to always have a plan for your meals so that you can know what’s for dinner each day while minimizing stress and maximizing enjoyment.
Because after all, eating is an important and beautiful part of life and should be pleasant!
If you want more meal option ideas, check out my free list of 55 healthy meals & snacks, complete with recipe links!
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