Remember using calendars?! Back when we had places to go…. Maybe since I don’t really use a regular calendar lately I couldn’t bring myself to create and print a meal calendar. BUT I am also trying to start the year off with better meal planning and spending less on groceries, so I needed something to help. I’ve been feeling really unorganized and really out of meal ideas the past few months. So the month of meal ideas checklist idea was born!

I decided to make a list of the meals to make for the month. It’s a combination of: meals we all enjoy on the regular, some new recipes and a couple chances to default to takeout. You can download and print the list here. Below are links to the recipes on the checklist.

Also, I’ve noted what I do for the kids for a few of the recipes. I tried to do a combo of recipes we can all eat and some that I know only Tom and I will like where I’d “edit” for the kids. I always said I would “make my kids eat what the adults were eating” but up until March most nights the kids ate first. Later on when my husband got home from work, him and I would eat. When he commuted to NYC many nights he got home when they kids were already bathed, pjs on waiting to go to bed.

Now that he’s not going into the city, we eat all together every night (silver lining of this year!). So I only cook one meal but do make edits or ad ons sometimes for the kids. Sometimes I get frustrated that they won’t just “eat what we are eating” but I have to remember that I cooked them their own meal for their entire lives leading up to March!

A Month of Meal Ideas

I also am trying to be better about budgeting and take out. I figured 1 time a week is doable and that’s why “takeout” appears 4 times on the checklist. Then “sandwich night” is sometimes an additional takeout night, depending on my mood. So the checklist is a little more relaxed than a meal calendar because you don’t have to go in any order! Just try out meals and check them off as you go. The first column is all meals, the 2nd column are all my soup ideas for the month (we love soup nights in the winter!) and then your sandwich and takeout nights.

Click here to download and print the month of meals checklist. Bookmark this post so when you need the recipe for the night you can head back here for it.