From the Kitchen

Get Organized with Weekly Meal Planning

I’ve made it a new goal to get back in the kitchen and cook at home as much as possible. But in order to get in the habit of cooking dinner (I’ve been bad), I really need a weekly plan. I’m happy to have partnered with Staples and their new Arc Quilted Notebook and Avant Pen, helping me put my meal planning to work!

Arc Notebook by Staples

I like to plan for the week, that way I can buy my ingredients a week at a time and nothing goes bad. I’ve found I like to write down the dates of my week and list out 5 meals I can make. For the other 2 days of the week, I leave them open for either eating out or left overs, we always have a whole meal of left overs. For these meals, I don’t give them specific days of the week. It gives me a little bit of freedom and flexibility not to have to plan each day, just the whole week.

For my notebook as I plan, I added a little stripe of washi tape, just to jazz it up. I got this idea from the lovely Jenny of Jenny on the Spot. We recently traveled together and she had a whole bag of washi tape with her as she journaled. I think it’s such a great idea. She is one to make things sparkle! Thanks, Jenny!

Meal planning with Washi Tape

I pulled all my cookbooks out of the back cupboard and scoured through them. I forget what great recipes are in these hands-on resources!

Cookbooks for Weekly Meal Planning

I mark them up with sticky notes and then right them down in my notebook for the week.

Meal Planning Notebook makeandtakes.com

There are also a lot of great websites sharing their weekly meals as well. My good friend Jane of This Week for Dinner is a fabulous resource. She posts her weekly meals and there are always great comments with other readers sharing their meals.

For a little added bonus, to help you get a little more organized for your weekly mean planning, Staples is giving one winner their own Arc Notebook and Avant Pen set, woot! Follow the giveaway guidelines below to enter:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

*This post was sponsored by Staples Quilted Arc Notebook and Avant Retractable Pens. Meal planning and ideas are my own. Find Staples on Facebook and Twitter for more information!

Marie

Marie is a mom of 3 living in Seattle, WA. She's been the founder and managing editor of Make and Takes for the last 16 years, sharing DIY tutorials for home, family, and fun. Author of Make and Takes for Kids, Early Childhood and Elementary graduate, and currently teaching 2nd grade in Seattle!

Meal Prep
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62 comments

  3. I’m trying the Pioneer Woman’s CHicken Rach Tacos, for the “I Love Everything Ranch” man in my life :)

  8. I LOVE planning meals. I plan a week at a time right now on a small white board on the fridge. This way I know to have all the items needed for each meal . Also so I don’t hear
    ” what’s for dinner? ” every single day. :)

    This weeks menu (11/3 to 11/9)
    Su- chicken and dumpling casserole
    M- Meatloaf, green beans, Mac & cheese
    T- Turkey Breast, mashed potatoes, broccoli
    W- Potluck @ church…I am making dessert this week, Pumpkin Bars
    Th- Shepard’s Pie
    F- Tacos
    Sa- going out

  9. I’m making veggie soup in the crock-pot and serving it with cornbread. Perfect for fall!

  17. We have a hectic week going on so one thing I will be making is taco soup. It’s fast, easy, convenient plus leftovers reheat well!

  18. This is where I am lacking. Not sure what’s for dinner :( We get so busy that we dont always plan and just try to figure it out when we get home. Bad idea I know. This planner might help me in that area!

  21. I typically meal plan every Sunday, before I go grocery shopping, but I’ve never thought to right them down in a notebook (duh!). This would be a great way to go back and look at past menus for ideas in the future. Thanks!

  35. We took advantage of the beautiful fall weather this evening and put chicken and shrimp kebabs on the grill. Delicious!

  39. we are having Spanish chicken with rice and green salad. this is a new dish so hoping its good

  44. I am making some sliced beef sandwiches. seasoned roast well, sear on all sides. place in crockpot with a chunked up onion, and 1 whole jar of pepperchino peppers, add juice too. cook for 8 hours. serve on sandwich rolls – yum!

  48. Tonight we’re having a t-bone steak, zucchini and some sort of potatoes. I haven’t been very creative in my meal planning lately! A planner would help!

  50. I do what you do, but I also write the basic menu on an old picture frame on the wall in the kitchen so I can remember what I am planning to cook that day. I had too many meals ruined because I was supposed to start them hours earlier. With them on the wall I can check every morning so I know when I need to start cooking.

  53. I am actually in the process of getting more organized in the kitchen! Yay for this giveaway! I’m making pulled BBQ chicken on homemade hoagie rolls tonight.

  59. I’m making America’s Test Kitchen’s Chicken Tikka Masala, which is time-intensive but incredibly delicious.

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