Free Meal Planning Printables (and Meal Planning Resources, Too!)

One “mom task” that I simply cannot wrap my head around – and that everyone.else.under.the.sun seems to be capable of – is meal planning! Maybe it’s because I can’t cook, maybe it’s because I love the pizza at our local pizza place and can always be convinced to order it, maybe it’s because domestic capabilities just aren’t part of my natural skill set, but…whatever it is, it drives me nuts. I wish I was a better meal planner.

The one thing that *does* help me to at least attempt to meal plan, though, is having something cute to meal plan on. I often go online and find cute free meal planning printables. Recently, though, I decided to make my own. They are all available for you to download, free, below. I hope they help motivate you to plan your meals!

As far as actual meal planning goes, I’m working on a system. Because I don’t like (know how to?) cook with meat, and because I’m a total novice in the kitchen, and because I have picky kids, and because I’m trying to count calories, recipes that other people think are “easy” might still not work for me. So, I’ve struggled with using meal-planning services and instead have better luck finding my own recipes. 

And what better place to find recipes than on Pinterest?

I’ve created a board called “Easy Meal Planning – Recipes for People on a Diet Who Can’t Cook and Need to Feed Their Kids, Too!” (no, really…that is what I named it – come follow my board for all the diet-sensitive, kid-friendly goodness). When I am planning my meals for the week, I pull from this board (and add to it as I’m browsing Pinterest).

I’d like to add your favorite recipes to my Pinterest board, too! I’ve got a linky going on for the next couple of weeks…add your favorite recipe that falls under one (or all) of the following categories:

• Super easy to make
• Low calories or made wtih whole foods (or some othe variation of healthy eating, I change it up a lot)
• Kid-friendly

If you have several relevant recipes, by all means…link them all up!

I’ll pin all of the recipes to my Pinterest board.

And if you’d like some advice on meal planning from the experts, check out ALL THE AWESOME that these blogs have to offer:

• Crystal & Co. has about, oh, a gazillion easy recipes on her blog and is an expert – she’s even written a eBook called How to Meal Plan (which I’m reading right now and, you guys? It might be a game changer…stay tuned!)
• Play 2 Learn with Sarah talks about a meal planning system she uses for special diets (gluten-free, dairy-free etc.)
• You can find more cute meal planning printables over at Sweet Bella Roos (she has a cute calendar-looking one!)
• Be sure to read this post from Jessica at Suitcases and Sippy Cups…she meal plans and cooks for her family while they’re traveling! This is also some great advice for anyone who wants to do all of their cooking on one day and freeze food for the week.
• Do you have an awesome meal planning resource? Let me know in the comments and I will link to it here!

OK, on to the fun stuff. Please print and share to your heart’s delight, but please don’t offer these for sale or for free from your own site. Just click on the image(s) you want to download!

And please remember to link up with your favorite easy recipes below!

 

 

 

If you like free printables, I’ve got more coming your way. Be sure to connect with me on Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest to be the first to know!