Family Meal Plan Pack - Free Printables!

Writing a family meal plan can seem like hard work but it really can save you a lot of time and effort. Once you really get into it, you’ll save even more time because you can recycle your previous plans!

One of the reasons I’m sharing my family meal planning pack is because I saw this meme:

So true right? Creating a family meal plan is only one piece of the puzzle though, that’s why I’ve included more than just a meal plan template in this pack. I’ve also included a printable shopping list and recipe card templates too! When you combine all three, planning meals for a family becomes a breeze!

Essential family meal plan planning pack free printables!

Here’s how I use the family meal plan pack:

Recipe Card Templates

Once I’ve found a good family recipe (or a toddler recipe for Theo), I write it onto one of the recipe card templates. I like to laminate the cards so that they wipe clean. (You can pick up a cheap laminator on Amazon). If you don’t want to bother with laminating them, you can store them in a folder for safekeeping or print them onto card to make them a bit more hard wearing. I list the ingredients on the front and write up the method on the back. You can also colour code them for quick reference e.g. type of meat, vegetarian, diary free etc.

Printable Shopping List

As your stock of recipe cards builds up you can quickly flick through them to build up your meal plan and write your shopping list at the same time! You have all the ingredients conveniently listed out in front of you so it makes it really easy.

Family Meal Plan

The family meal plan template is a little different to your usual three square meals template. With a young son, snacks and toddler meals have become a big consideration! I’ve included the three main meals but also a column for an afternoon snack plus a separate meal for kids and grown ups. Theo goes to nursery three days a week and eats his meals there so we just give him a snack when he gets home. On Mondays he’s at his grandparents for tea and on Wednesday when I’m at home he eats before we do so a separate column for his dinner is useful. At weekends I try to make sure we all share a family meal. Every household works in a different way but I wanted the meal plan pack to allow flexibility. I cross out any boxes that I won’t be using on a particular day before I start so it’s really clear which meals I need to plan for.

I also laminate the meal plan template. That way I can just wipe it clean and re-use it without printing any more. Each week I photograph the completed meal plan template so I can easily refer back to what I’ve done before. This makes it quicker and easier to fill in every time.

If you’re on desktop click here to download a zip file of the family meal plan pack!

If you’re on a mobile use the links below:

Let me know if you find the printable family meal planning pack useful, it really has taken the stress out of weeknights in our house because everything is bought and planned in advance!