I have tried several different meal planners, and I like the one at http://www.saymmm.com because it is easy to use and I like how it connects my meal plan to my grocery list.

Thanks for creating this!

http://rarestgeneric.blogspot......nning.html

This is an idea we’ve successfully been following at home for the last year. My Mother in law who runs the household kitchen was resistant at first, and the plan went downhill for a while, but later, she found it useful to come back to a basic weekly plan.

One big advantage is that we’re able to plan a balanced diet for each average day with a range of products instead of OD’ing on the bread and cheese. We balance the carb intake and the protein this way each day.

One additional tip – we have a standard meal plan every week, but have a list of optionals on the plan sheet that we exchange if we’re bored. The list is on the refrigerator right next to a small white-board where the shopping list is jotted. We then take a picture of the list with our camera phones and use that as a shopping list instead of wasting one more piece of paper.

I cook for a family of 4 (two young children, my hubby and myself) – and I usually get home from work at 6pm – the kids are in the bath by 7. You see that I don’t have much time to cook and for our family to eat – so menu planning is ESSENTIAL for us to function with low stress.

I have not been great about planning meals, but in the past few months I have started getting into it full swing. Here’s what I do: One one of the last days of the month, I will get my recipes out (I go through the month and print off recipes off of various websites that sound good, as well as recipes out of cookbooks that I have) and organize them. I try not to repeat proteins (like have 2 beef meals in a row), and I always leave Fridays open (although, if we eat out on Tuesday, I just shift that meal to Friday). I like to plan for a month, because we grocery shop at the beginning of the month for all main staples. I print out a blank monthly calendar from Outlook and I pencil in meals in the weekday slots first. I also try to use the crockpot at least 1 time a week (usually more often). I look at the prep time/cook time before putting it on the menu – since I only have 30 minutes from the time I walk in the door to the time I want us to sit down to eat) to cook – so if the recipe calls for 1hour to bake – that won’t work for us (well, I will just use those recipes on the weekend when I can devote more time to cooking). After I have made up the monthly plan, I put the recipes into sheet protectors (one for each day) and pop it into a 1/2 binder. The calendar page goes in a sheet protector, as well, and it goes in the front. This way, I have the whole month planned, all the recipes in one spot, and all pages are protected from cooking. I can carry my binder with me to the grocery store – if I need to – I haven’t created my shopping list yet, but if I get this planning online, I can just print the list and bring it as well.

Anyway, thanks everyone for your suggestions and comments.

It’s a family activity focused meal plan system. Check out and let me know what you think. thx! Betty http://www.gourmetbetty.com/mealplan_system.htm

You can also put the meal planning widget right onto your iGoogle page, iPhone, or whatever other blog/page you have!