Do you struggle with meal planning? Do you prepare meals for your family or just yourself? Whether you are cooking for one or more, meal planning is a skill that takes practice be learned. Even if you know how to plan and shop in advance, it still requires something precious and costly – your time.
To help you out with your planning, here is a sample meal plan, with shopping list, for a family of four. You can of course, adjust it to your own tastes and preferences, but feel free to use this whenever you want. Hopefully it will save you some time, because the major planning is already done for you.
The entire cost of the week’s worth of food is under $132 and will feed two adults and two kids under five years. The meal plan also meets all the MyPlate recommendations. Plus, the links to the recipes are included with each day.
Sunday Recipes: Apple Raisin Oatmeal, Lentil Soup, Chicken and Broccoli Pie, Peanut Butter Banana Nuggets, and Fruit Chewy Cookies
Monday Recipes: Apple Raisin Bran Muffins, Beef Pot Roast and leftovers
Tuesday Recipes: Tuna Salad Sandwiches, Baked Potato Primavera and leftovers
Wednesday Recipes: Jiffy Oatmeal Bars and leftovers
Thursday Recipes: Fish and Vegetables in Foil, Mini Meatloaves and leftovers
Friday Recipes: Vegetables with Pasta and leftovers
Saturday Recipes: All leftovers
Here is the printable meal plan for the week, as well as the grocery-shopping list:
Meal planning and grocery-shopping in advance is something we can all practice and get better at doing. It can ultimately save us time and money. Plus, it can provide our families with better nutrition so that we can go through our busy weeks, fully nourished.
If you like this sample menu and want to see more, let us know!