Free Menu Planner - Step One - Write a list of Recipes

Follow these step by step instructions to create your own Free Menu Planner.

It is not difficult to do or follow, and at the end of this process you will have a menu planner which will take the daily stress out of meal preparation.

Working through these pages will help you create your own simple Printable Menu Planner which will help you:

• Avoid the daily time-consuming, decision making process of “What’s for dinner?”
• Have all the ingredients you need in the house.
• Have a year of meal ideas worked out.
• Create your weekly grocery list.
• Cut down on expensive take-away meals
• Save money
• Be creative and involve your children in the meal preparation
• Save time by cutting down on shop visits - the need to get this or that ingredient!

Step One: Write your List of Family Best Recipes

Family Favourite Recipes, Quick Meals and New Ideas

1. In order to make your menu planner, you need to write out 12-15 of your family favourite recipes in a list.  You can do that on the Meal Ideas Page under “Family Favourite Recipes.”

What are some meals that everyone loves, the ones which are a huge success in the home?
Write them out.
You will find some ideas on My Meal Ideas List.


2. Now, add some Easy Ideas.  Not every meal needs to take a huge amount of time to prepare, and often we don’t have the luxury of having a lot of time... so prepare to have some quick and easy meals which will work well on those days you are bringing children to sports activities, or out on an errand.  Add these meal ideas under the heading, “Easy Ideas.”

There are some ideas on My Meal Ideas List


3. Lastly, add some New Recipes which you would like to learn. 
Would you like  to learn a recipe you tasted at a friend’s house or saw in a magazine or watched on a TV show?
Write the new recipe idea down on the Meal Ideas Chart. 

Go to Step Two: Weekly Meal Planning

Looking for a COMPLETE option??

The Complete Household Notebook is now available! This new e-book contains all the household planning worksheets you want, (including this whole menu-planner), in a variety of colours and styles.

Everything on this website which is relevant to the house/home is included plus heaps more!

Read about it here.

More Printable Menu Planner pages:

• Printable Menu Planner - Overview
• Step One: Free Menu Planner -Meal Ideas Chart with examples
• Step Two: Weekly Meal Planning- Templates Favourite Meal and New Recipes Ingredients and Method Chart
• Step Three: Weekly Menu Planner for a month with example.
• Step Four: 7 Day Meal Planner template
• Step Five: Printable Grocery List for Weeks 1-5
• Free Printable Grocery List - a generic grocery shopping lis
• Step Six: Other Menu Planner Printables: What’s Cookin’?  Menu Template for your family – different layouts; Menu Planner Cover - print on cardstock.

Coming soon..... Personalize your Menu Planner - type into the planner on your computer, add recipes, ingredients etc and print! Use and re-use!