Meal planning has many benefits, with helping to keep your family’s budget on track and using up food before it spoils being just a couple. I try very hard to plan out our family’s weekly meals each weekend. I often involve the kids too and ask them to pick a few of the meals. I’ve also gone beyond planning just our dinners to planning all three of our daily meals for the entire week! It might seem like a lot, but it really doesn’t take that long. Plus, meal planning helps our family use our two-week grocery purchase effectively – less waste! Here’s our family’s weekly meal plan for this week; it’s nothing fancy, but it definitely works!
Sample Weekly Meal Plan
Breakfast
- Monday: grilled cheese sandwiches & apples
- Tuesday: blueberry waffles, sausage links & apples
- Wednesday: bagels, bacon & apples
- Thursday: cereal & apples
- Friday: cinnamon toast waffles, cheese & apples
- Saturday: cereal
- Sunday: scrambled eggs & toast
Lunch
- Monday: sandwiches
- Tuesday: DIY pizza
- Wednesday: chicken nugget wraps
- Thursday: deli meat, cheese & crackers
- Friday: chicken nuggets & carrots
- Saturday: eating out
- Sunday: chicken nuggets with mac & cheese
Dinner
- Monday: pork stir fry penne
- Tuesday: turkey tacos
- Wednesday: turkey spaghetti
- Thursday: beef & broccoli with white rice
- Friday: leftover day!
- Saturday: eating out
- Sunday: Puerto Rican carne molida with white rice
Create Your Own Weekly Meal Plan!
Want to try creating a weekly meal plan for your family? Print our free weekly meal plan template! We have two to choose from:
- Weekly Meal Plan with Grocery List [PDF file]
- Weekly Meal Plan with Kids’ Chore List [PDF file]
Simply click to download the PDF file and print to fill in with your family’s choices!
Meal Planning Tips and Ideas
For even more meal planning tips, ideas, and sample menus, check out our previous articles!
- Sample 2-Week Menu Plan: 14 days of dinner ideas
- Stir-fry, lasagna, soup, and more. Dinner menu plan for 7 days.
- Why meal planning provides peace of mind
- Planning your family’s dinner menu + sample menu
- Sample meal plan for 7 days of Puerto Rican food
- 7 day meal plan with BBQ chicken, salmon, and more
- Sample meal plan with pork burgers, chicken parmesan, and more
- Simple meal plan with chicken noodle soup, teriyaki meatballs, and more
- 7 day low-carb menu plan
- Turkey sausage penne, Puerto Rican stewed chicken, and other easy recipes! Simple meal plan for your family.
What is your family eating this week? Share your weekly meal plan ideas with us!
All photos © Melanie Edwards/modernmami™
Thank you! I have a “kinda meal plan.” This will definitely put it into perspective.
You’re so welcome! Hope you’re able to finalize your meal plan a little better from now on.
I’m the one making food in our house, and I’m always running out of ideas! I’ve been searching for something like this today, thanks a lot for putting this together you have no idea how useful this is for me. All the best to you!
Same here! It gets hard to continually come up with meal ideas. Best to you as well!