#MEAL PLANNING WORKSHEET FOR FREE#
You can download this worksheet template for free without any sign-up required. Keep a binder or take a picture of these meal plans + accompanying grocery receipts on your phone so you improve your spending or can refer back to ideas that worked well for your family Add any pertinent notes (ex: sales, pricing, total spent on groceries, family feedback, and number of portions you were able to create) Do your best to keep the “Buy” column as sparse as possible Fill in the “Use up” column with the ingredients you already have Build your meals and snacks for the week around those ingredients Check what food you have in your fridge, freezer, and/or pantry that you want to use up this week That’s why we created a meal planner template that’s specifically designed to help you save money.īelow the preview image are a simple set of instructions to come up with a cheap meal plan for the week. The master plan behind all of your grocery shopping should be your carefully-crafted budget meal plan. There are a lot more vegetarian protein sources than you think.įor example, pair this simple recipe for fried tofu with chives with quinoa and get two sources of protein in the same dish for a very low cost. Beans and grains are incredibly cheap, so try to plan as many meals as you can that feature those items heavily instead of meat. Vegetarian meals are known for being great on your waistline, but they can help you bulk up your wallet too. Specialty ingredients are more expensive, and it’s more likely to go bad because it’ll be hard for you to use it up.īy saving meals that require specialty ingredients for fancy occasions, it’ll make those moments extra special. Use specialty ingredients for… special occasions From there you can control click the image and save to your computer or you can drag it to your desktop. See one or two you like Click on the caption link on each one to download the high resolution file. Setting a limit of 2-3 ingredients other than the starch and seasonings will help keep the meal low-cost (and easy to make!). Here’s a look at all 19 free meal planning worksheets. Remember that the more ingredients your meal requires, the more expensive it will probably end up being. Here are some guiding principles you’ll want to follow to make sure that your meal plan is actually economical: The fewer ingredients, the cheaper the meal