Menu Planning Made Easy
By: Hey Ivy !
Save money, waste less, and skip that dreaded 5pm “what’s for dinner?” panic.
With grocery prices doing their best Olympic high-jump impression lately, being intentional with what ends up in our carts matters more than ever. Menu planning is an easy weekly habit that keeps you fed, organized, and on-budget- without sacrificing nutrition.
Why Weekly Menu Planning Actually Works
🌿Reduces impulse buys
🌿Cuts down on food waste
🌿Makes busy weeknights run smoothly
🌿Helps you eat intentionally
🌿Prevents ordering takeout when you’re “over it”
Little changes equal big savings!
Step 1: Shop Your Kitchen First
Before you add anything to your list, take three minutes to peek into:
🌿Pantry
🌿Freezer
🌿Fridge drawers (where veggies go to become fossils)
Build meals around what you already have. Pasta and frozen broccoli ? use 1 or 2 chicken breasts to make a delicious pasta dish.
💡Pro Tip: Save money by looking at your local market circulars after you shop your kitchen. Plan potential meals by coordinating what’s on sale with what you already have on hand.
Step 2: Pick 5 Flexible Dinners
Choosing five meals is usually realistic – you’ll probably have leftovers, a date night, or a cereal-for-dinner moment (we don’t judge).
Examples:
🌿Pasta with meat sauce or another simple sauce that your family enjoys. If you like your sauce to cook all day, add it to the crockpot in the morning, set on low. Just cook the pasta when you get home and dinner is done !
🌿Taco night or burrito bowls. Super easy, fast, nutritious, and inexpensive.
🌿Chicken cutlet with roasted potatoes & frozen veggies. Add butter, salt, and pepper to those veggies to add some flavor. Prep your chicken, pop those seasoned potatoes in the oven and focus on the chicken. The veggie take less than 10 minutes, so save that for your last step.
🌿Breakfast for dinner! easy, inexpensive, and fast. Eggs, potatoes, toast and maybe some bacon or frozen sausage links.
🌿Meatball subs are a great quick meal. I prefer homemade meatballs because of the texture but there are some decent premade brands out there. Serve with a Cesar salad and maybe some fries cooked in the air fryer.
🌿Chili ! so easy to assemble in the crock pot in the morning, then dinner is ready when you get home. Just add your beans, broth, seasonings, ground beef ( browned first of course ). Toss some precut onions and peppers in a pan with some EVO before adding if you’d like. Takes maybe 20-25 minutes to prep and it’s fantastic to come home to on a cold winter night.
🌿Pulled teriyaki crockpot chicken served over rice and broccoli. Chicken cooks throughout the day so, all you have to do is make the rice and broccoli.
💡Pro Tip: For the sake of longevity and sticking with this new habit.. make sure to pick at least two meals each week that you can prepare easily and quickly.
Step 3: Reuse Ingredients
Look for overlap:
🌿Buy a bag of spinach ➡️ use it in eggs, pasta, and salads
🌿Roast a pack of chicken ➡️ repurpose in rice bowls and wraps, or make a chicken salad.
Stretch those dollars, baby.
Step 4: Add a “Wildcard Meal”
Something easy, cheap, and pantry-friendly for when life happens:
🌿Frozen pizza + bagged salad. Keep a frozen pizza on hand, or have a fun DIY pizza night with whatever toppings you have. Easy, fun, cheap – and no stress !
🌿Pasta + jarred sauce
🌿Soup + grilled cheese
This saves you from pricey rushed decisions like takeout from your go-to delivery app.
Step 5: Keep a Running Grocery List
Add items as you run out. Use apps like:
🌿Google Keep
🌿AnyList
🌿Apple Notes
Or use a notepad if you’re old school like me (same vibe, still works).
Step 6: Cook Once, Eat Twice
Leftovers = free meals. Options:
🌿Reheat for lunch
🌿Freeze soups, chili or sauces for another night when you’re just “over it”.
🌿Repurpose proteins. If you make too much chicken, or meatballs for example… use them to make subs, a rice bowl or whatever your heart desires.
💡Pro Tip: Freeze even a single portion of your soups, sauces, or chili. On leftover nights it will offer more options, especially for picky eaters. These are my favorite food storage containers because they can easily go from the freezer to the microwave and they have several sizes available.
Your wallet will thank you.
Budget-Friendly Staples You Can Always Build a Meal From
🌿Rice
🌿Eggs
🌿Potatoes
🌿Pasta
🌿Frozen veggies
🌿Canned beans
🌿Broth
Sample $50 Weekly Menu
🌿Burrito bowls (rice, beans, chicken. salsa)
🌿Sheet pan sausage + veggies…add over rice to add a carb and stretch further
🌿Pasta with tomato sauce + garlic bread
🌿Leftovers (we love her)
🌿Stir-fry over rice with egg and frozen veggies
Adjust based on your family needs. I tend to set our weekly menu without assigning a set meal on a set day.. This ensures that we have the necessary ingredients for each dish without committing to having burrito bowls on Monday for example, because maybe that’s just not the vibe on Monday.
Make It Fun
🌿Sit with a cozy drink
🌿 Grab your favorite meal planning notepad this one noted above is my go to. It’s cheap, cute, and functional with the separated sections.
🌿Browse Pinterest ideas
🌿Ask the family for one request
🌿Try one new recipe weekly
🌿 Have each family member toss a couple of options in a hat. It can be a lot of fun to build the menu together !
You’ll be surprised how satisfying it feels once it’s done.
In today’s economy, being thoughtful while shopping for groceries is a small superpower. Weekly menu planning helps you eat healthier, stress less, and keeps some of your money where it belongs – in your wallet.
Little adjustments, big wins.
By: Hey Ivy 🌿
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