2 Stylish & Free Printable Meal Planner with Grocery List PDFs ~ Save Money & Cut Stress

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Food has never been so expensive! If there was ever a year to master meal planning this is it. And our free printable meal planner with grocery list pdfs will definitely help you get control of your grocery budget and food prep time. We’ve created for you two free printable planners:

• First, a Stylish Weekly Meal Planner with Grocery List that is so pretty – you’ll proudly hang it on your fridge.
• And second, a Simple Free Printable Weekly Menu Planner that organizes your grocery list by areas of the store to save even more time!

by Robin

What’s so great about meal planning?

There are so many reasons to plan your meals and your grocery shopping:

1. Save money! After our mortgage, food shopping is the next biggest budget line. And it keeps getting bigger. By planning your meals you’ll waste less food and use sale items so much better.
2. You’ll save so much time once you get organized (keep reading – it’s easier than you think!).
3. Cut your stress by having one less thing on your mind. Having supper planned always gives us peace to face the rest of the day’s challenges.
4. You’ll eat better. You’ll turn to less healthy convenience foods and take out less often.

We are getting back into more intentional meal planning. We tend to slip away from it occasionally and we all suffer.

I should know better – I taught this stuff regularly when I was a Registered Dietitian!  

I’ll be on top of it for weeks and months – and then my resolve peters out.  I suffer for it – and my family suffers too!  We don’t eat nearly as well and I am definitely more stressed out. Having a plan calms me – NOT having a plan electrifies my anxiety.

And it’s not hard at all.

Here’s the real key to Meal Planning:

Just. Get. Started.

How do I make a meal plan and grocery list? Here’s my Quick-start guide to Master Meal Planning:

1. Just do it. Just start.

Don’t overthink this.

2. Print one of these free printable meal planners.

It really doesn’t matter which one – they’re all great – just pick any one that you like the look of.

• If you’re out of ink – don’t let that stop you! Grab a sheet of paper and write the days of the week down the side. Tada! Free meal planner!

3. Pull out your Master List.  

This is key! If you do just one thing have it be starting your own Meal Plan Master List!

If you don’t know what this is – check out this post. It’s a great first step that will save you time and headaches later.

4. Consult your calendar.

Which days are busiest? Start there – pencil in your quickest meal to prep.

Which days do you have more time?

Which days are you away from home? Etc.

5. Explore your fridge & freezer.

What’s in there that needs used up?  Pick a meal that will prevent this food from going to waste.

6. Write down your meal ideas. 

Be realistic! Sure you’d like to try that new amazing recipe from that magazine – we all do –  but will you? Start by sticking with your tried and true go-to meals.

Also, give yourself some grace; not every day is a “from scratch” kind of day. If it’s an especially crazy day, write in a frozen meal that you’ll heat up when needed. That’s perfectly fine.

7. Add ingredients to your grocery list that you’ll need.

8. Bam! You’ve got a plan.

Pro Tip:
Treat yo’ future self and save this plan. Tuck your weekly plans away somewhere and pull them out to help you make decisions next time.
Better yet, repeat the exact same plan again in a few weeks.

Choose from Our Two free printable meal planner with grocery list Printables…

1. Colorful free weekly meal planner with grocery

This one is just so pretty – it could be displayed proudly on your fridge.

It has a spot for a cut-away grocery list and space to plan Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner and Snacks

2. Simple free meal planner with grocery list printable

This printable is more simple in design. But, the download comes in 5 different colours, or just print it in black and save on ink.

We tend to keep our menu planning simple, we just formally plan our dinners – so this one works for us.

Another great feature of this one is the separate spots for groceries laid out by areas in the store. Another time saver!

You can find lots more printable meal planners to choose from right here: 25+ Free Printable Meal Planner pdfs: Get Dinner on the Table With Way Less Hassle

We have more super helpful free printables for you to make meals easier:

• Free Kitchen Conversion Chart Printable ~ a Handy Cheat Sheet to Solve Cooking Problems Quickly
• Save Money and Time with this Genius Grocery List Printable (Free!)

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