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How to Make a Simple Meal Planning Template in Minutes

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Meal planning doesn’t have to be complex like this.

According to a post by the NPR, each year Americans waste 33 million tons of food.

Dana Gunders, a food and agricultural scientist explains how we throw out about 50% more food today than we did in the 1970’s.

Food waste has a negative environmental and economic impact.

It also impacts your personal budget.

I meal plan on a regular basis to guard against wasting food.

Here is a simple meal planning template to help you not waste food, stay organized, and save money.

Also get my enthusiastic meal plan template I made back in June! (It’s at the bottom!

 

Meal Plan in Minutes Using this Simple Template

1. Go to CalendarsThatWork.com. This will appear on the home page. (You have to have MS Word to do this. See my PDF below if this doesn’t work for you. )

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Here is a simple way to make a meal planning template.

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2. The bottom of the screen shows all the different types of layouts you are able to use.

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3. Scroll along the different layouts to preview what they look like. You can select what best meets your needs.

There are daily, weekly, monthly, and annual calendars with portrait and landscape options.

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4. Once you double-click the one you want, click the bottom blue button that reads “Get Your Calendar.”

 

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5. It will open in Microsoft Word. You can print it out as is or type on the document.

I type in breakfast, lunch, and dinner to save myself time.

 

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Here’s a larger view. You just have to type or write in what you are having for each meal. I use this as an outline.

I find we eat better, sit down as a family more, and we tend not to waste food. Be sure to save it so you can use it over and over.

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6. I started filling in what we will eat. Sometimes I fill it in daily, other times weekly but it’s personal preference. It doesn’t have to be elaborate.

If you want your calendar to look a little snazzy, here’s my FREE Enthusiastic Meal Plan Template.

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The Bottom Line

It doesn’t take a great deal of effort to write down what you will eat each week. Make a simple meal plan template for yourself to save money and not waste food.

Check out my Meal Plan Mini-Course here (or head back if you started there).

Here are other related posts:

Save Money with Pinterest: Meal Planning 101

Easy Meal Planning Trick for Kids Lunches

Do you have a special way to meal plan? Comment below.


If one of your goals is to not waste food, read below.


“I like your blog. I especially like this latest one on how you use your receipt on your fridge. Brilliant!”-Sylvia Martinez of SMartinez Media, former Editor-in-Chief at Latina Magazine