I know all too well how hard it can be to believe the words simple and meal plan in the same sentence. However, these simple meal plan ideas will help you create a meal plan the whole family will love in just 5 steps.

I’ve dug down deep for the past few months and created a growing list of 10-minute dinner ideas along with a simple process you can follow to find your own perfect meal plan. This simple meal plan is full of Trader Joe’s dinner ideas but it can also be adapted to your favorite local market.

The goal is to provide a simple system that makes cooking healthy family dinners less painful. Plus, meal planning will help you save money on groceries so that you can prepare delicious dishes each night without blowing the food budget.

Listen To The Full Episode On The Podcast

Step 1: Create List Of Meals Your Family Loves

The very first step in creating a simple meal plan is to know what meals your family absolutely loves. There is nothing more frustrating than spending hours scouring Pinterest for “family dinner ideas”, or “easy meal plans”, writing them down in my cute meal planner, making a grocery list and then cooking a meal no one was actually interested in eating.

I use to absolutely dread meal planning every week because it would me HOURS. Every now and then I would make a meal that everyone loved and then a week or two later forget all about it. I knew there had to be a better way. There had to be a system that worked better than sifting through Pinterest searches of other people’s favorite meals.

The Commitment To A Healthier Meal Plan

That’s when it came to me! We can just eat mac n cheese every day for the rest of our lives! I mean, have you walked in to any grocery store lately, or looked at the kids menu at any restaurant? They are packed full of mac n cheese options.

Sadly, that wasn’t a real option for my family. I’ve invested years into holistic healing through food. I’m very committed to keeping a no preservative, no dyes, low processed grains and sugar, high protein, fat, and plant based carb meal plan for myself and my family. I know that I operate at my optimum when I stick to a loose paleo diet (I say loose because I am all about everything in moderation), get good sleep, and keep a good routine. So, I needed simple meal plan ideas that would nourish me and my family.

The Start Of The Simple Meal Planning System

This is where my idea for this simple meal planning system began to grow. I sat down, with the help of my kids and husband, and started writing down all the meals that we all like. The most important part of this entire step is to remember that you cannot make everyone happy all of the time. If you have picky eaters around your table, I know this can be extremely challenging but it IS possible.

If you have a meal idea, like lasagna for example, that only 2/4 of your family members like, that’s ok. You can still put it on the list. Ask yourself, “is there anything about lasagna that the other 2 members like? Can I pull out a few noodles, meat sauce and cheese and put them on a plate before I mix it all together?” Be creative so that you can cater to everyone’s taste buds without driving yourself crazy.

The Key To Simple Meal Plan Ideas For The Whole Family 

This step is about finding family dinner ideas that are simple and successful for your family. One of the worst feelings is being limited to a handful of options and not knowing how to expand the variety of foods in your home. Start with what you know works, then add in new foods slowly. It is absolutely okay to add one thing on a plate, or one meal a week, that might only be liked by one person. You will have plenty of easy weeknight dinner ideas on hand in no time if you give this system a try.

Step 2: Make Meal Cards

Organizing Your Meal Cards

At first, I was just tossing the meal cards in a kitchen drawer. Then, I got the wild idea to buy one of the little boxes our grandmas had in their kitchen. You know, a real recipe box. Guess what? Joanna Gaines, my spirit animal, has one through Magnolia, at Target for $15, so obviously I got that one. (Unfortunately, it’s no longer available.)

Another one I am drooling over is this one from Rifle Paper Co. on Amazon for $34.

Now that we have this system in place, my kids, my husband and I are able to look through our catalogue of meals and pick out the meals for the week in a flash.

Imagine literally being able to pull 7 cards out of your recipe box and having a straightforward shopping list of what ingredients you need to make the meal right there in simple text. Boom, your meal planning is done!

I am no longer searching for hours to plan a week’s worth of meals. Plus, I love that I can get input from others on what the week of meals will be. Here is a sneak peek at what our current meal cards look like. I know they are going to be as awesome in your kitchen as they are in mine!

Download them ASAP and start putting these simple meal plan ideas into practice!

Step 3: Make A Menu Board

The third essential step is to make a menu board. This step is key for implementing your simple meal plan. It does no good to plan your meals ahead if you forget what you had planned! Overlooking what you planned to eat leaves you eating leftovers that don’t really go together. Like that time when you ate the rice with your salmon meal and now you are having potatoes with your tacos. Oops.

Or better yet, another member in your family goes on an eating spree and gobbles up the items you had set aside to make a meal. Now we are 5 cars deep in the In and Out line and a Wednesday night. To avoid spending so much money on takeout, take those meal cards you downloaded, or make your own, and create a space where you can hang them for everyone to see.

Make Your Own Menu Board For Simple Meal Planning

This is the board I made out of a wooden sign, a few clips, some small nails, and a white paint pen. I stumbled upon the wood sign in the clearance section of Hobby Lobby and picked up clips from the scrapbook supply section.

Step 4: Plan Your Weekly Meals

The fourth step is to plan out your weekly meals. Now that you have your easy weeknight dinner ideas all written down, it is going to be a breeze to plan out healthy meals for the week. The only thing you will need to do is grab your recipe box, pull out the number of meals you need and make a shopping list of what you don’t already have on hand to make that meal.

Additionally, since most of these dinner ideas take 10 minutes or less to prep, the list of ingredients you need are also super simple. On the front of these cards I created for you there is an easy, a straight forward ingredient list. You can look through your pantry staples and quickly draft a grocery list.

Bonus: 5 Easy Ten-Minute Dinner Ideas

If you are struggling with meal ideas, here are 5 of our favorites.

My go-to market is Trader Joe’s because they have healthy meals that are already prepped for you. If you don’t have a Trader Joe’s close by, that’s okay. You will probably end up spending an additional 15-30 on meal prep though.

Here’s my easy meal prep system to help with that part of these simple meal ideas.

YOUR EASY DINNER IDEAS Download your meal cards here!

Remember, the goal for your simple meal plan ideas is to adapt every meal to your family and your needs. For me, I really try and stick to a paleo as much as possible. After years of auto immune disorders and dedicating my path to healing via food, I have experienced the gamut of restorative eating plans. Not everyone in my house eats that way though. Often times my plate has more avocado and greens and I skip the bun or the processed grain.

For those of you avoiding gluten, make substitutions where needed. Vegan friends, use a Beyond Meat burger instead of beef (but keep that Daiya cheese because it is amazing). The point is not to say that these meals are just for one type of family. These meals can give you inspiration to create a meal plan that fits your needs.

Step 5: Create An Evening Timeline

The final step to implementing your simple meal plan is to establish a set time for meal prep and cooking dinner EVERY night. This step is incredibly important. It doesn’t matter how many recipes you pick out if you don’t have the time laid out in your schedule to spend cooking the food you plan to eat.

Here’s an example of what our night looks like, starting from the end of the night back to dinner time. This shows you how I worked through an ideal evening, from finish to start. I want you to get out a piece of paper right now and work backwards through your evening to do this for your own family.

Our Evening Schedule

• 7:30pm lights out for oldest
• 7:00pm lights out for youngest
• 6:15pm bath for both kids
• 6:00pm dinner clean up
• 5:00pm dinner
• 4:30pm start dinner

Dinner Starts At 4:30?!

Now, I know what you’re thinking…dinner starts at 4:30?! Yep, it sure does. We have made a conscious decision in our home to prioritize our health and family time over long hours in after-school programs, evening gym time, and personal endeavors. Dinner time in our home is something we look forward to. It is a time for us to talk about our day, connect, learn, grow, and nourish ourselves.

There can be balance here, too. Most nights can be met at the table while 1-2 nights can be served in a different way. The main reason why I am sharing this piece with you is because it is vital for the longevity of our inner and outer being that we love ourselves through food.

“Dinner time in our home is something we look forward to. It is a time for us to talk about our day, connect, learn, grow, and nourish ourselves.”

It is not sufficient to say that you love yourself just the way you are if all the while you are loving yourself, you are making food choices that are directly hurting your physical and mental wellbeing.

That is not loving yourself, or loving those who look to you for the love and talents you were meant to give abundantly to this world. In order to be strong women, we cannot just say we are strong, we have to be strong. Without proper nourishment, our body will fail us every time.

Flexibility Is Key

Let me be clear, I absolutely believe in being flexible, within reason. There are many days where this ideal timeline doesn’t happen. At the same time, the days when this timeline isn’t part of our day, our day is really, really hard. You know how this goes: you look at the clock and realize the time got away from you. Now you have to decide if you can refreeze that chicken you laid out to thaw and grab take out, or eat a late dinner and cook that chicken.

At that point, you’re either spending more money, eating less healthy options, or pushing back everyone’s bedtime. Now the kiddos get to bed much later, which means we get to bed much later, which also means the next day is harder and then Here. We. Go. Again with a cycle that has no automatic stop button.

Meal Planning Doesn’t Have To Be Hard!

The good news is that meal planning and eating healthy food doesn’t have to be hard. With these 5 recipes and simple meal planning system, you can have peaceful evenings that are full of delicious yet simple meals. Don’t forget to grab your free printable meal cards so you can get a jump start on your simple meal plan ideas and easy weeknight dinner ideas that your family loves.

Frequently Asked Questions

How can I find time to prioritize meal planning and cooking healthier foods for myself and my family?

I teach taking time each week for meal planning and meal prep as one of the fundamental needs we all have. These meal cards will help you get started but you may also want to download my free fundamental needs workbook and time blocking workbook. By prioritizing your fundamental needs and planning your day and week with time blocking, you can be sure the whole family is well fed and taken care of!

Where can I find more recipes for simple meals to make?

If you go to our free Facebook group, you can find recipes other moms in our community have shared. You also might want to listen to these podcast episodes for additional simple meal ideas:

Fast, Healthy Dinners: The Top 5 Meals I Make To Save Time And Have Less Clean Up!

Want To Make Healthy Meals Consistently? Use This Weekly Routine To Cook 3 Meals In One Day