Planning menus doesn’t have to be complicated. This simple method will work whether you’re a meat-and-potatoes kind of eater or a vegetarian, planning meals for one week or one month, etc.

STEP 1: LIST YOUR MAIN DISHES

The first thing you want to do is list your main dishes. The best way I’ve found to do this is to come up with several categories they fit into – fish, egg, chicken/turkey, beef, meatless, crockpot, etc. Use whatever categories work best for you.  (I’ve made a form available that you may find helpful.)  Divide a piece of paper into as many columns as you have categories (or download the Main Dish form) and title each column. Now just list all of your recipes.  This is, theoretically, the easiest part of the process.

Get my Master Main Dish template.

For me, it’s the hardest because I’m so choosy when it comes to recipes. They have to be relatively quick or conducive to preparation ahead of time, healthy or adaptable as such, AND we have to like them. That’s a pretty tall order! If you like, you can make a note next to each recipe title of where it’s found – an abbreviation of the cookbook name and the page number, for instance. When I made my list, I listed our tried-and-true recipes in ink, then added those recipes we’d LIKE to have in pencil. That way I’ll know what I need to be looking for and how those new recipes will fit into the rest of our options.

STEP 2: CREATE A MEAL CALENDAR

That sounds somewhat mysterious and complicated. What we’re looking at here is a guideline for which meals to eat on which nights. For example, Monday might be fish or eggs, Tuesday might be beef, Wednesday might be meatless, etc. You can double up on these if you want/need to. For example, if you have twice as many chicken recipes as anything else, you might want to have two chicken nights.  If you have two very sparse categories, you might want to combine them into one night. The reason for this is to make sure that you aren’t eating the same thing 7 nights in a row. It will help you make sure you mix things up a little. Other options for certain nights are eating out, trying a new recipe, leftovers, etc. Just decide what your plan is for each day of the week.

STEP 3: FILL IN THE CALENDAR

Now, using your meal calendar as your guide and your main dish list as your source, add main dishes to the calendar on the appropriate days. You can do this for a short or as long a period of time as you like. I recommend coming up with one (if you’re doing a month at a time) or a few (if you’re doing a week at a time) and saving them. Then you can go back later and create additional plans. Save those, too. There’s no need to go through this process all over again every time.

STEP 4: (optional) FLESH OUT MENUS

If you’re inclined to forget what goes well with certain meals, forget to buy ingredients for appropriate side dishes, etc., you can list vegetables and other side dishes with each main dish on your calendar. You may also wish to include
breakfast and/or lunch plans.

That’s it! Now all you need to do when it’s time to shop for groceries is look over your calendar to see what’s on the menu and make your list.

ADDITIONAL TIPS:

Here’s what I’ve done. (I’m not quite finished yet.) I make my menus and shop for groceries every four weeks. I’m planning to make up several months (I’ve started with one.) worth of menu calendars like I was just describing. For each of those, I plan to make a shopping list that includes all the ingredients needed for every recipe on the list.

I also plan to type up each recipe on its own page, along with what preparations can be made in advance, what needs to be done the day it’s going to be served, what side dishes go well with it, etc. Then I’m going to package all of those things in a duotang folder. (Those folders that have the metal paper fasteners built in.)