Welcome to the final part of my essentials series, coming at you on a beautiful Friday afternoon here in Boston!
In this edition, I’m walking through how I sketch out a weekly menu using what I have on hand. I’ll be using the ingredients I tend to buy every grocery run and hopefully this little guide will help take you into the weekend with some fresh inspiration.
But First: Why Make a Weekly Menu?
I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t do this every single week, but when I do, there’s a marked difference in my level of preparation for mealtimes, reduced stress and decision fatigue, and a simpler process when it comes to making compromises between my wife and me.
The total process takes about 15 minutes for me, so it’s also a relatively light lift for a relatively high payoff.
And Second: How Do I Do It?
Step 1: Write out available ingredients
I usually do this by category: produce, dairy, protein, grains, pantry, frozen, herbs/sauces, and snacks if I have them. You can also include spices and seasonings if you wish, but I find that this can get kind of unwieldy.
Having a categorized list easily allows me to see the inventory I’m working with and what can be mixed and matched.
For simplicity, I’ve only included the ingredients from my essentials list below, but I’ve also made a copy of this template for you to fill out yourself!
Step 2: Brainstorm meals
I categorize by meal type and will also sometimes mark meals based on family member preference. There are currently only two of us in my household, which is luckily pretty streamlined, but reminders of which kid will flip out if they see shrimp and which is tentatively learning to eat bell peppers may be helpful for you.
Step 3: Add meals to your calendar!
I try to plan around my schedule for the week, as well as around leftovers, which are great for quick lunches or snacks.
The example below is fairly bare-bones, especially with breakfast as I didn’t include my usual items like oatmeal, cereal, fruit, or yogurt to maintain the ingredients essentials list, but hopefully you get the general idea. Of course, as you add more ingredients, you will be able to create more options!
None of the days are ever set in stone, just a guideline for what the week could look like. Oftentimes I won’t do the calendar step and will simply tape up the list of ideas on the fridge. We will choose what we want as we go and cross off items as the groceries dwindle.
This also does not account for takeout or other pre-made options, but the template is as customizable as you need it to be!
Additional Resources
Here is the link to the menu planning template: https://shorturl.at/enqC1
Make a copy of your own and have fun!
If you need more inspiration, check out these websites where you can input ingredients and they will “crowdsource” recipes around the internet based on what you have:
And below are recipes to some of the meal ideas included in the pre-filled template:
Breakfast
Spinach & potato frittata by Erin Collins from Meaningful Eats
Tamago kake gohan by J. Kenji Lopez-Alt from Serious Eats
Breakfast hash by Laura Rege from The Kitchn
Lunch
Kimchi bacon fried rice by Seonkyoung Longest
Lentil salad by Sarah Jempel from Bon Appetit
Instant noodles ideas from me!
Soup ideas also from me!
Dinner
Lemon roast chicken & potatoes from Minimalist Baker
Sausage pasta bake from Ahead of Thyme
Sausage meatballs from Marcellina in Cucina
One-pot chicken & rice by Sohla El-Waylly from Food52
Sheetpan tofu & noodles by Hetty Liu McKinnon from NYT Cooking
Gochujang glazed tofu by Sadia from Pick Up Limes
Fried rice from Made With Lau
Chickpea pasta by Paige Adams from Last Ingredient
Tofu nuggets by Fit Green Mind
Stir fry generator by Alex AÏnouz from French Guy Cooking