Month 6 in my quest to plan our meals monthly. It is going extremely well! I’ll share a few successes below, it for regular people leading regular lives this system has Werked!!!
One of the questions I get asked most often is, “How do you keep up with meal planning?” The truth is, my system isn’t complicated. It’s built around a few simple tools that help me stay organized, reduce food waste, and make sure my family has nourishing meals throughout the month.
The entire process takes me about 15–25 minutes each week, and a cup of tea 🫖 or a smoothie is considered essential equipment.
Tools in my system:
- Microsoft Excel worksheet
- Paprika 2 Recipe App
- Our family digital calendar
- Apple Reminders (where I keep my running grocery list)
- A couple library cookbooks for inspo
- A cup of tea 🫖😊
My Husband and I have a personal family commitment that we cook majority of our meals at home. Taking the time to sit down, and meal plan our very busy months are always worth the time investment. This will continue through 2026!
I wrote this post 👇🏾 in the beginning of the year, check this out if you want to know how my quest began.
🙋🏾♀️ The System
👩🏽💻 Step 1: Create a Monthly Meal Plan in Excel
I use a Microsoft Excel worksheet to map out an entire month of breakfasts, lunches, snacks, and dinners. This is typically Saturday mornings.
Having the month planned out helps me see the big picture and prevents the daily “What’s for dinner?” scramble. I also include special meals and seasonal favorites throughout the month.
One tradition I especially love is planning a Sunday dessert. Sometimes it’s homemade, and sometimes it’s a treat from a local bakery. Either way, it makes Sunday dinner feel a little more special and gives our family something to look forward to.
📲 Step 2: Use Paprika to Organize Recipes
The real hero of my meal-planning system is the Paprika Recipe App.
Every recipe I love is stored in Paprika and organized by category. Soups have a category. Breakfasts have a category. One pot meals have a category. Even Snacks have a category!
When it’s time to build my monthly plan, I simply open the appropriate category and choose recipes that fit our schedule and the season.
No stacks of papers.
No searching Pinterest for recipes I’ve already made.
No wondering where I saved that recipe from three years ago. 👀 (not looking at you… but looking at you…)
Everything is in one place.
Step 3: Check the Family Calendar Before Planning
This step is non-negotiable.
Before I plan a single meal, I review our family’s digital calendar.
With two working parents and a busy teenager, our schedule are intense. I look for:
- Marching band events
- School activities
- Sports and extracurriculars
- Work meetings
- Travel
- Holidays/Birthdays (yes Juneteenth meals for the Juneteenth holiday 🙂
This step is super important to ensure, I’m not making a 5-course meal on a night when I have a late work meeting and my son has an evening activity. Let’s not play around with our peace ✌🏾….
Some nights call for a homemade soup. Other nights call for sandwhiches and survival 🙃.
Planning meals around real life is one of the biggest keys to making meal planning sustainable.
Step 4: Build My Grocery List in Apple Reminders
Once the weekly plan is finalized, I create my grocery list in Apple Reminders.
This may be my favorite free tool.
Apple’s AI automatically organizes my grocery list by section, grouping items into categories like:
- Produce
- Dairy
- Frozen Foods
- Bakery
- Pantry
🏃🏽♀️ This means I’m not zig-zagging across the grocery store trying to find everything on my list.
It’s efficient.
It’s simple.
And best of all…
We love FREE.
📚 Step 5: Borrow Inspiration from the Library
When dinner starts feeling drab…., I head to one of my favorite places, the library.
A few cookbooks can completely refresh my creativity in the kitchen. I often discover new flavor combinations, seasonal recipes, and cooking techniques without spending a dime.
Libraries are one of the most underrated meal-planning resources available.
Results Say:🤔
1. Right now I have a week’s worth of lunches ready to go in the freezer…
2. I know what I will make for dinner Friday next month!!
3. I can also tell you what I had for breakfast weeks ago 😄.
The result is 🧖🏾♀️:
Less stress
Fewer takeout emergencies
Better use of our grocery budget
More time to enjoy meals together
And in a season where everyone seems busy, that’s a gift worth making time for. 💯
Happy Eating!
J
Would you like a free copy of my Meal Plan template? You know what to do… hit the Subscribe button and I’ll get it right over to you! 😃
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