• Home
  • The Shop
  • Meet Amanda Sue
  • Contact
  • Legalities
  • Freebie Library!
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest

Miss Sue Living

  • create
    • DIY
    • Printables
  • bake
    • Recipes
    • Menu Plans
  • educate
    • Motherhood
    • Homeschooling
  • decorate
    • home decor
    • Household management

By misssueliving

How to Easily Create a Weekly Menu Plan

Filed Under: bake, Household management, Menu Plans, Printables, Recipes, Uncategorized

Like what you're reading? Please share with a friend!

  • Share2
  • Tweet

Creating a weekly menu plan is not a new concept. I am a proponent for meal planning. Monthly meal planning is my thing, but when you are new to meal planning it can seem overwhelming to plan a whole month of meals! If you have yet to try out menu planning let me be your guide to creating an easy weekly menu plan. 

How to Easily Create a Weekly Menu Plan + FREE Printable

When I first started meal planning I would plan one week at a time. Taking time once a week to plan our dinner meals was definitely doable even with a busy schedule. Having a weekly menu plan eliminated one thing off my to-do list and kept me sane.  😉  You, too, can stay sane and easily create a weekly menu plan that works with your family and schedule.

Grab the Weekly Menu Plan Printable in the Freebie Library by filling in the form below.

Make A List of Meals

When it’s time to meal plan get out your recipe box, cookbooks and phone. I use my phone to look at the recipes I have pinned to my Pinterest food board. Choose 4 or 5 recipes to add to your menu list for the week. I like to choose 4 meals I know my family likes and also try one new recipe each week. Make sure to include a quick meal and possibly a crock-pot meal in your week. I’m sure you have a busy schedule just like I do and having a couple easy dinner meals will help you out on those really busy evenings!

How to Easily Create a Weekly Menu Plan + FREE Printable

This post contains affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

My go-to cookbook is from fellow blogger Lisa Leake at 100 Days of Real Food. Check out her newest cookbook 100 Days of Real Food Fast & Fabulous for yummy and quick real food recipes. 

Make A Grocery List

After you have your Weekly Menu Plan filled out it’s time to make the shopping list. Look at the ingredient list for each meal you will be making that week. Do a quick check of your pantry, fridge and freezer for the items you have and add any ingredients you still need to your grocery list. I like to keep my Weekly Menu Plan on the side of my refrigerator. Then I can quickly add any items to my list and my family can see the meal choices for the week. 

Having your shopping list done and ready will save you time. No more last minute “Quick I need to make a grocery list!” scenarios.  Your list will be ready and you won’t forget any ingredients you need for your recipes. On occasion, even with a list, I may still forget an item. Sometimes grocery shopping with kids can be a bit distracting.  🙂

How to Easily Create a Weekly Menu Plan + FREE Printable

Why I Do It This Way

You may notice that I only choose 5 recipes for the week. This is to leave room for evenings when our family may eat out or a night to eat leftovers. We don’t want to waste money on ingredients or waste food. So by only planning out 5 recipes for the week you will eliminate waste in your wallet and pantry. 

Also, I don’t like to assign any meal to a particular day.  I like to have some freedom to choose what meal I feel like making that day.  I may give a family member the choice of picking out what we are having for dinner that night and have that person help me make it.  Just this evening my 8 year old son helped me make our spaghetti dinner. He felt accomplished and I was happy to have the help!

These cookbooks are my favorite to help during menu planning! 

Insider Tip

Don’t throw away your Weekly Menu Plan at the end of the week! You worked hard to create that meal list. As you begin to create weekly menu plans save them in a folder or binder. You can reuse an old Weekly Menu Plan once you have 6-8 of them made.  Put them in a rotation. Continue to try out a new recipe each week and add it to your meal list. By saving the weekly menu plans you will be creating a recipe master list you know your family loves!

How to Easily Create a Weekly Menu Plan + FREE Printable

I’ve made the Weekly Menu Plan even easier with this free printable. There is space to write in 5 dinner ideas along with side dish ideas. Fill in the handy shopping list on the side and just clip and go shopping. Each week your menu plan will stay super organized and you won’t break a sweat.  

Meal planning doesn’t need to be hard. Even if you have tried meal planning before and didn’t enjoy it – please give it a try again. See how this two step meal plan can relieve some stress in your day!

Have you tried meal planning before? Do you like to specify a specific meal for the day of the week? Let me know in the comments below. 

 

Like what you're reading? Please share with a friend!

  • Share2
  • Tweet

Don’t miss out!

« Daily Tips to Keep Your Home Tidy
How to Overcome the Feeling of Weariness »

Welcome

Hey friends, I'm Amanda Sue. Glad you've stopped in to chat. I enjoy helping moms streamline everyday living so that they can reduce stress and make more room for joy. Creating, baking and educating from home is my passion and I want to share the results with you! Like to read more about my journey? Click Here

Lets Be Social

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

Printable

Looking For Something?

Categories

Be Inspired

Copyright

Sharing is encouraged but please keep in mind that all text and images on the site are property of Miss Sue Living. You may use one or two images provided that a link back to my original post is included. Please do not remove any watermarks, edit or crop any of my images with out first obtaining written permission from me. All free printables offered are for personal use only.
  • About
  • Contact
  • Legalities
  • The Shop
Your moment is here! Congratulations high school g Your moment is here! Congratulations high school graduate 🎓
#homeschoolgraduate #2025graduate🎓 #2025grad #h #homeschoolgraduate #2025graduate🎓 #2025grad #highschoolgraduate #highschoolgraduation
Summer is around the corner and we will have many Summer is around the corner and we will have many opportunities to spend time outdoors and participate in activities.
.
But one thing activity that can become a hot topic in our house - Screen time.
.
It can be a hard thing to navigate.
.
To help minimize the screen time battle I’ve got a Summer Schedule that will get myself and my kids moving and active.
.
There will be allowance for screen time, but it won’t consume our day.
.
How much time do you allow your kiddos on screens in summer?
.
*Link in Bio to grab the free printable*
.
.
.
.
#screentimelimits #screentimerules #screentimeforkids #summerscreentime #summerscreentimetips #summerschedule #summerschedules #screentimechecklist #summerroutine #screenfreekids
This is my favorite Valentines Day tradition I do This is my favorite Valentines Day tradition I do for my kiddos.
.
It’s so simple, but they look forward to it each year. 
A countdown to #valentinesday 💕
.
It started with post it notes and then I wanted to make it cute and easier to execute. So I came up with 14 fun prompts to help me express my love for each kiddo.
.
Every night leading up to Valentine’s Day I tape a heart to their bedroom door. But you could put them in a lunchbox, car or bathroom mirror!
.
Comment “love” to grab the love notes ❤️ 
.
#lovenotes #loveisintheair #vday #valentines #kidsvalentines #valentinenote #vday2024 #vdaygiftideas #kidsvday
🍎This weekend we went to one of my favorite pla 🍎This weekend we went to one of my favorite places to conclude my birthday celebrations. @apple_annies is such a fun family activity and everyone always finds their perfect pumpkin.
.
Honestly, we debated going this year as the cost of gas is higher right now. It's a 2 hour drive for us. But my hubby knows how much I enjoy going. It's my little taste of fall in the desert. 
.
So we made it happen by cutting out a few things like:
▪️packing our own lunches & snacks
▪️walking instead of taking the tractor ride
▪️only buying one pumpkin each
▪️taking a family picture in the apple orchard, but not picking apples
.
Even though we didn't do "all the things" at the orchard this time we made the best memories. It's about having fun with those we love and care about, no matter how small or simple.
.
Grab the free Family Fall Bucket List (link in bio) and plan to make some memories with your family! SWIPE to see ➡️
.
Do you have a favorite fall activity? Share in the comments below ⬇️🍂
.
.
#fallbucketlist #familyfallactivities #kidsfallactivities #fallfun #fallfun🍁 #pumpkinpatch #applepicking #appleorchard #familyfunday
I remember starting school after Labor Day in WA s I remember starting school after Labor Day in WA state.
.
Here in AZ they start school in July! Still can’t get used to the modified year round schedule here.
.
Thankful for homeschooling my kiddos so we can start later than public school. I like to start our school year mid August and we skip a fall break.
.
When did you start school growing up? July, August or September? Tell me in the comments below ⬇️
.
Grab the free printable First Day of School signs in my bio ✏️
.
#firstdayofschool #firstdayofhomeschool #kidsbacktoschool #schooltime
She’s 16! Celebrating this girls milestone birth She’s 16! Celebrating this girls milestone birthday today. 
We are so pround of the beautiful young lady you have become. 
.
#sweetsixteen #sweet16 #birthdayvibes  #happybirthdaytoyou
It’s our first week back to homeschooling! I sta It’s our first week back to homeschooling! I started homeschooling out of necessity as we couldn’t afford to send my oldest to preschool.
.
Surly I could teach her the shapes, colors and ABC’s!
.
Well it turns out I really enjoyed teaching my kids and here we are twelve years later!
.
Captured our traditional First Day of School photos.
Grab the free printable in my bio.
.
Drop a 😊 if your kiddos are back in school!
.
#firstdayofschool #firstdayofschool2023 #printable #kidsbacktoschool #schooltime #backtohomeschool #backtohomeschooling
☀️ All the summer planning happening today! ☀️ 
.
Swimming, Vacation Bible School, staycation and plenty of downtime are on our list of summer activities.
.
I’m getting our summer calendar setup with color coding for each kiddos activity. This keeps us organized and also prevents me from overfilling our days.
.
I’m also hanging up our #summerbucketlist in the kitchen. This bucket list has some of our families favorite activities 😎🍉⛱️
.
What is your favorite summer family activity? Tell me in the comments ⬇️⬇️
.
🔗Link in bio for all these printables 🔗
.
.
.
.
#familysummerfun #summerfun☀️ #summerfunforkids #summerschedule #bucketlistprintable #kidssummeractivities #kidssummerfun

Copyright © 2025 · Captivating Theme On Genesis Framework ·