I'm looking for ideas on how to do a weekly meal plan. I spend too much time running to the store several times a week getting what I need for dinner. I'm sure I'm not the only one out there with this problem. If I could learn to plan I'd have more time to exercise.
Can anyone give me some suggestions or tools to learn how to do this?
I'm planning for a family of four.

Meal Planning Help!

Arizona Daily Star Wednesday 19 July 2000 Edition
Meal plan helps busy parents

Initially, it will take time to create your notebook, but it will be worth the effort. You will have easy, quick, nutritious meals available each day or week.

By Diana Koenig


Q: Every night I am faced with the dilemma of what to fix for dinner.

It is hard to plan meals and prepare them while driving children from one activity to another.

I need an easy solution.

A: Our busy lives make it difficult to plan and prepare the evening meal every day.

When you are taxi service from school to sporting events and then you have an evening meeting to attend, it is easy to rely on fast food as an alternative to home cooking.

A written plan you have prepared ahead of time is a great tool to help you serve nutritious meals to your family.

Use a three-ring notebook with a plastic insert on the front cover.

Type or write "Simple Meals Planned by (insert your name)."

Put your personalized paper in the plastic insert of your notebook. Add paper to your notebook.

At the top of the first page write "Meal 1."

On the top of the second piece of paper write "Meal 2" and continue until you have completed 10 meals.

Start with Meal 1 and write down the name of each food item that you plan to prepare.

If it includes a recipe, make a notation next to the item and include the name of the cookbook with the page number.

Continue with the other meal plans until you have completed 10.

If you would like more variety, you can add other meal plans at a later date.

Your notebook can continue to grow as you have time to create new plans.

You could purchase cookbooks that already have meal plans, but your customized plan will please your family's taste buds.

Choose meals that are easy to prepare and foods your family will enjoy.

Plan balanced meals, including an item from each major food group.

One problem with fast foods is that the fruit and vegetable food group is ignored.

If you need to include a green vegetable and if broccoli is not popular, choose another vegetable, such as green beans.

Initially, it will take time to create your notebook, but it will be worth the effort.

You will have easy, quick, nutritious meals available each day.

Your meal plan is designed primarily for use on the days you do not have time to play the roll of gourmet cook.

Do not let your meal plan notebook be a substitute for the days you choose to put on your gourmet hat and prepare a new food dish.

It is important to introduce your family to new foods.

When you have completed your meal plan notebook, look at your weekly schedule and write the meal number on your calendar or daytimer.

Before you go to the grocery store, look at which meal plans you will be using during the week, so you can purchase the necessary ingredients.

Some meals can be prepared ahead of time and frozen, such as lasagna.

You will need to make a notation on your calendar to thaw the lasagna in the refrigerator ahead of time.

The author stated, “We have a couple of popular meal plans at our house:

Meal 1

Sloppy Joes

Brown 2 pounds of hamburger, drain and add ketchup and barbecue sauce. Serve on hamburger buns.


French fries

Baked in the oven.


Green beans

Frozen or canned. Cook on the stove or microwave.


Watermelon slices

(This is a fast meal to prepare, and everyone in the family enjoys it.)

Meal 2

Upside-down pizza

1 pound hamburger

1 medium onion

1 (15 2/3-ounce) jar spaghetti sauce

2/3 cup sliced mushrooms (optional)

6-ounce can black olives sliced and drained (optional)

1 (6-ounce) package shredded mozzarella

2 large eggs

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 cup flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

Brown hamburger and add onion. Drain juice and add spaghetti sauce, mushrooms and olives.

Heat until it bubbles, then pour into ungreased 9-by-13-inch pan.

Sprinkle mozzarella on top.

In blender, whirl eggs, milk, oil, flour, and salt until smooth.

Evenly pour over mozzarella, then sprinkle Parmesan. Bake 25 minutes, uncovered at 400 degrees until crust is puffed and brown.


Lettuce salad

You can buy a bag of your favorite prepared salad.

The notebook idea sounds great. I have a folder with a collection of WW recipes I want to try. When I find recipes everyone likes I can add it to the notebook.

There is some great advice on www.flylady.net- under "Food for Thought" for menu planning. Another good site is www.organizedhome.com look under "Get Organized" on the left hand side of the main page and click on "In the Kitchen" this site has great tools for menu planning, stocking your pantry & freezer and once a month cooking.

It takes some time to put it together but menu planning is well worth it - it is so much easier to know what you are having and take the fixings out of the freezer in the morning rather than getting home at 5 p.m. and wondering what is for dinner.

A slow cooker is a great investment. You can cook overnight, put the item in the fridge that morning and all you have to do is reheat when you get home at night

What I did was make a list of the foods that my DH and I like to eat most of the time.i.e. boneless chicken, steak, pork chops, hamburger, what types of veggies, grains, breakfast items, lunch items, drinks and snacks etc.

I then made menus for 1 week which included breakfast, lunch, and dinner as well as healthy snacks. Then I looked for my favourite WW friendly recipes and my cookbooks and planned regular meals and one new recipe per week.

From the menu I made a grocery list including the ingredients for my new recipe.

I did this on the computer and saved it so that I could use it as a template and just insert any changes and save them as a new menu. This means that I now have 4 weeks worth of menus to play with that already has the points values figured out.

I also made a master grocery list to go along with each menu which I print out and take to the grocery store with me. It saves me time and money at the grocery store too.

It took me about 2 weeks to get it all done and set up but it has been a great system and I use my menus all the time.

For me it was hard to get my meal planning started so here is an example of what mine looks like:

Day 3-Wednesday *based on 22 pts/day

Breakfast:
1 cup high fiber cereal with 3/4 cup non fat milk 3 pts
1 cup fresh strawberries 1 pt
1 cup coffee with 2 tbs cream and 1 tsp sugar 1 pt

Snack:
1 granny smith apple 1 pt
1- 8 oz glass of Crystal Light, diet soda or water 0 pts

Lunch:
Greek Salad (SBD book pg. 137) 7 pts
1 can of V-8 2 pts

Snack:
Sugar free, non-fat yogourt 1 pt
1- 8oz glass of Crystal light or water 0 pt

Dinner:
Meatloaf (SBD book pg. 221) 4 pts
steamed asparagus 0 pts
mushrooms sauteed in 1tsp olive oil 1 pt
sliced tomato salad with herbs 0 pts

Dessert or snack:
1 fresh pear 1 pt
1 oz low fat cheese 1 pt

TOTAL POINTS FOR THE DAY 23 pts

o o o o o o water (8 oz glasses) o exercise-at least ½ hour per day

Day 4-Thursday-phase 2 *based on 22 pts/day

Breakfast:
½ fresh grapefruit 1 pt
1 slice rye bread with 1 oz melted low fat cheese 3 pts
1 cup coffee with 2 tbs cream and 1 tsp sugar 1 pt

Snack:
Sugar free, non-fat yogourt 1 pt
Crystal light 0 pts

Lunch:
Julienne salad- mixed greens with 1 oz each or ham 4 pts
turkey and low fat cheese, tomato wedges
2tbs commercially prepared low- sugar dressing 2 pts
1 can of V-8 2 pts
½ cup of sugar free jello 0 pts

Snack:
1 granny smith apple 1 pt
8oz glass of Crystal light, diet soda or water 0 pts

Dinner:
Baked 6 oz filet of sole with lemon 4 pts
steamed broccoli 0 pts
oriental cabbage salad (SBD book pg. 177) 2 pts

Dessert or snack:
3 or 4chocolate covered strawberries 1 pt

TOTAL POINTS FOR THE DAY 22 pts

o o o o o o water (8 oz glasses) o exercise-at least ½ hour per day


Day 5-Friday-phase 2 *based on 22 pts/day

Breakfast:
Berry smoothie 1.5 pts
1 cup coffee with 2 tbs cream and 1 tsp sugar 1 pt

Snack:
2 ham or turkey rollups 2 pts
1- 8 oz glass of Crystal Light, diet soda or water 0 pts

Lunch:
2 oz Roast beef on rye bread with mustard 4 pts
raw vegetables (peppers cucumber, broccoli etc)
with ¼ cup hummous dip 2 pts

Snack:
sugar free, non fat yogourt 1 pt
1- 8oz glass of Crystal light or water 0 pts

Dinner:
Stir fry chicken with vegetables 5 pts
(SBD book pg. 215)
tossed salad 0 pts
2 tbsps dressing low-sugar dressing 2 pts

Dessert or snack:
Strawberries with vanilla yogourt (SBD book pg. 241) 2 pts
1- 8oz glass of Crystal light, diet soda or water 0 pts

TOTAL POINTS FOR THE DAY 21.5 pts

o o o o o o water (8 oz glasses) o exercise-at least ½ hour per day