4 Easy Ways to Create a Healthy Meal Plan

Meal planning doesn’t have to be super time consuming or complicated. Here are 4 Easy Ways to Create a Weekly Meal Plan that just about anyone can do.

If you have been living a frugal lifestyle or are embarking on one, you have probably heard it said more than once that one of the most effective ways to save money on your food budget is to meal plan. It can be something daunting to take on if you have never done it and that often leads many people to not even start. The good news is, meal planning doesn’t have to be super time consuming or complicated. Here are 4 Easy Ways to Create a Weekly Meal Plan that just about anyone can do.

4 Easy Ways to Create a Weekly Meal Plan

Look up already made meal plans. There are so many already made meal plans online with recipes included. All the work is essentially done for you when it comes to planning. The best part is, for any kind of special diet (like gluten free), allergy, or skill level out there, there’s surely a meal plan out there that has already been planned. One way I like to plan meals is to figure out what protein I want to make that week based on what is on sale and then I go from there. If you want to try that, here are some sample meal plans for different kinds of protein, including non-meat sources:

Prep-Ahead Meal Plan with Roast and Ham

Prep-Ahead Meal Plan with Shredded Chicken, Rice and Beans

Prep-Ahead Meal Plan with Cubed Pork, Meatballs and Beans

Prep-Ahead Meal Plan Using Cubed Chicken, Rice and Beans

Do batch-cooking that makes sense for your family. Batch-cooking has simplified my meal planning in a huge way. I just do some batch-cooking on a day where I will be home most of the day and cook various sources of protein and chop veggies for the week ahead. It makes it so easy to just assemble and go later in the week! Check out how to create a meal plan with batch cooking.

Start with just the main meal: dinner. Before jumping in feet first for all meals, why not get the hang of doing it for your main one each day? Plan on just dinner for now until you get the hang of it and can move onto more complicated meal plans. Many people find that all they really need to plan for is dinner anyway because of their family’s lifestyle. Keep it easy!

Keep a spreadsheet of meal ideas and just move things around. So I am not wondering what to make each week, I like to keep a spreadsheet on my computer or even a Pinterest Board for just my meal planning recipes or ideas. I gathered up about 50 recipes over time and just rotate them so we are not eating the same thing too often. If your family doesn’t mind lots of repeats, you could keep your spreadsheet much smaller.

Are you looking for ways to save money? Check out these 52 small changes that will help you save more money this year. Don’t forget to Join the Facebook group to keep yourself accountable and discover more ideas for saving money.