Monthly Meal Planning: The Ultimate Guide to Consistency

Monthly meal planning is an essential part of maintaining consistency in one’s food journey. It often involves picking dates, charting your plan for the month, grocery shopping, and preparing your meals accordingly.

The goal: to reduce decision making throughout the month and always have healthy options readily available any time hunger strikes!

Monthly meal planning not only saves you time, money, and energy, but it also ensures that you’re queuing up healthy, nutritious meals that align with your dietary goals.

In this ultimate guide, we’ll provide you with valuable tips and tricks to help you create a consistent meal plan that works for your lifestyle.

No more flying by the seat of your pants. We’re getting organized!

Why Monthly Meal Planning Is Important

Monthly meal planning is essential for several reasons. Firstly, it helps you save time by reducing the number of trips you make to the grocery store and minimizing the amount of time you spend in the kitchen.

By planning your meals in advance, you’ll also reduce the amount of food waste and reduce the need for last minute takeout, which can save you money in the long run.

Moreover, monthly meal planning helps you eat healthier and stick to your dietary goals by reducing the amount of friction and decision making required. By planning your meals in advance, you’ll be less likely to make unhealthy food choices or succumb to the temptations of your inner “ah, eff it – let’s go out to eat!” self.

We should most certainly leave room for indulging – the 80/20 principle works well for most. The aim is to maintain some level of stick-to-it-iveness for 80% or more of the time and enjoy a night out or a cupcake at the birthday party here and there.

We’re not martyrs after all.

How to Create a Monthly Meal Plan

Creating a meal plan can seem overwhelming at first, but once you implement this system, it can become a simple and effortless task. Here’s an overview:

Pick Dates
Monthly Meal Planning
Build Grocery List
Grocery Shop
Cook

As the wise James Clear has said, “You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.”

STEP 1: Pick Your Meal Planning & Grocery Shopping Dates

Seems simple enough, but do not overlook this step. Not only should you pick your preferred dates for meal planning and grocery shopping, but it is recommended that you actually mark them in the calendar. Reminders are helpful!

Example #1 (Monthly Meal Planning; Weekly Grocery Shopping)

Meal Planning: the Sunday before the first of the month
Build Grocery List: hunt for new recipes and build a grocery list every Sunday
Grocery Shopping: go to the grocery store every Monday morning

NOTE: If you have the desire, means, and storage to handle grocery shopping every other week or once per month, by all means go for it! This is especially easy for meats (beef, pork, chicken, fish, etc.) that can be kept in a chest freezer. On the other hand, storing fresh fruits and vegetables for a month is a bit more challenging, but is certainly doable.

Example #2 (Weekly Meal Planning; Weekly Grocery Shopping)

Meal Planning & Build Grocery List: every Sunday
Grocery Shopping: go to the grocery store every Monday

This is how I started until I found a rhythm with the new system and then switched to monthly meal planning.

STEP 2: Monthly Meal Planning

How you record your meals is personal preference: Use a piece of paper that lists out the days of the week/month and post it on your refrigerator, an app on your phone, or a Monthly Meal Planner template like this (google sheets):

Download the FREE Functional Home Cooking Meal Planner!

Let’s get started!

Review Calendar: Refer to your personal calendar and get a sense of what you already have planned for the month (e.g. you don’t want to plan a meal on a day when you’re set to go out to eat with friends). Make note on the Planner.
Current Inventory: Take stock of your freezer, pantry, and refrigerator to understand what you already have which may serve as inspiration for future meals or inform what you should plan to cook earlier in the month to avoid expiration dates.
Fill Out Meal Plan (Dinner): Start filling out dinners for each day in the Monthly Meal Planner.
1. Leave a day or two open each week for flexibility (e.g. for takeout one night or using up leftovers another night).
2. It’s also okay to use placeholders where you know what you’d like to eat but haven’t yet found a recipe.
Recipe Search: Where you’ve noted a placeholder, go find and hyperlink recipes directly in your calendar or earmark your favorite cookbook page(s) – either way, leave a note so you know where to look when it comes time to cook.
Fill Out Meal Plan (Breakfast): Fill in breakfasts each day.
Fill Out Meal Plan (Lunch): Add Leftovers to lunch every day – more on the wonders of Leftovers later.

My general strategy includes eating the same thing for Breakfast everyday, and cooking extra at Dinner so I have leftovers to eat each day for Lunch.

In other words, cook for four people at dinner if there are only two of you in the household and you’ll then have easy, ready-made lunches from leftovers for the following days.

Once your Meal Planning is complete, use that to inform the Grocery List for the week.

STEP 3: Build A Grocery List

Ah, the weekly grocery list. It’s the foundation of any good meal plan and essential for avoiding grocery store freestyling. But, before you start writing down everything you need for the week, take a look at what you already have on hand.

Check the depths of your freezer, the nooks and crannies of your refrigerator, and the shelves of your pantry. You might be surprised at what treasures you find.

Once you’ve taken stock of your inventory, make a list of the items you need to buy to complete your meal plan.

Not only should that list include all of the ingredients you’ll need for each meal, but should also include your weekly staples and any healthy snacks so they are readily available when needed during the week.

How you capture your grocery list is again personal preference, but do check out this Grocery List template (can also be viewed from your phone).

With a little bit of planning and a well-stocked kitchen, you’ll be able to whip up delicious and nutritious meals all week long.

STEP 4: Grocery Shopping

Grocery shopping on the same day each week or each month? You bet your buns it’s important! By shopping on the same day, you can get all your groceries in one fell swoop and have the rest of the week or month to focus on more important things, like contemplating the meaning of life or how people managed to get to and from the airport without cell phones back in the 1990s.

So, mark it on your calendar, set a reminder, do whatever you need to do to make sure you hit the store on the same day every week or every month. Your meal plan (and your sanity) will thank you.

IMPORTANT: This might seem obvious, but take your grocery list to the grocery store! You wouldn’t believe the number of poor decisions I’ve made or things I’ve forgotten without my grocery list in hand.

Sure, feel free to grab something off the shelf that you forgot to add to the list or just sounds plain delicious at the moment, but with a grocery list in hand, you will no doubt save time and money.

STEP 5: Prep Your Meals

Now it’s time to execute. Some like to cook as they go throughout the week, whereas others like to spend their Sundays preparing meals ahead of time to ease cooking needs during the week.

You can also batch cook and freeze meals, such as making a large batch of soup or chili for those cold and rainy days. This is a big time saver.

All that matters is that you know exactly what you’re cooking and then eating for each meal. By creating the Monthly Meal Plan and buying all that you need from the grocery store, there should be no guessing, and no last minute decision making.

It’s worth noting though, meal audibles are totally okay. Life happens and by leaving a day open each week for Take Out or cleaning out the refrigerator of Leftovers during the Meal Planning phase, it allows you to shift or skip days as needed.

Tips for Consistent Monthly Meal Planning

Consistency is key when it comes to successful meal planning. Here are some tips to help you create a consistent meal plan that works for your lifestyle:

Keep your meal plan flexible: Allow for changes or adjustments based on your schedule or preferences.
Shop in bulk: Especially meat if that fits your plan and you have freezer space. Buying in bulk can save you money and reduce the number of trips you need to make to the grocery store.
Batch cook meals: Cook large batches of meals and freeze leftovers for future meals.
Embrace leftovers: They’re the gift that keeps on giving, providing us with a delicious meal that we didn’t even have to cook. Don’t let those leftovers go to waste!

Monthly meal planning is an excellent way to save time, money, and reduce food waste. By following the steps outlined in this ultimate guide to meal planning, you’ll be able to create a consistent meal plan that works for your lifestyle. Remember to be flexible, get creative, and have fun with meal planning, and before you know it, it will become a natural and effortless part of your routine.