I finally made another “month of meal ideas” checklist! The first one I made last year, I actually used more than one month. It ended up that the kids liked a lot of the recipes so a few months later, I reprinted my list and repeated it. I liked having a checklist vs a meal calendar. I also like the 4 takeout spots to “check off”. We like to keep it to once a week so it was helpful to have it on the checklist. This month’s “1 month of meals checklist” has a lot of soups and good winter comfort food. I might not find time to make these every month but promise more of them this year including some for more spring and summer recipes.

Also, this checklist can run into March. I like to hang it on the fridge and make my way through it. We are traveling a bit this month, have a kid’s birthday (she’ll want to go out to dinner) and a few school events. That’s why I like the checklist over a meal planning calendar sometimes – more flexibility and less pressure to “stick to it”.

People often ask: “So all 5 kids just eat all of these recipes with no complaints?” The answer is “Oh my gosh NO.” Many of these meals they do like. Others I edit a bit or serve some of the ingredients separately. If it’s something I know they won’t eat those are the nights I make a quick extra something to put on the table like grilled cheese, etc. I also also add some fruit and a veggie they’ll eat.

Here’s an example: Stuffed Peppers… When I make the meat & rice mixture I bake some of it in a casserole dish and the rest I stuff into the peppers. The kids get the rice/meat mixture and we get stuffed peppers.

If you enjoy this post and meal checklist, you can find another one here: Meal Planning Checklist. I’m hoping to make more of these this year.

Month of Meal Ideas checklist:

You can click here to download and print it for free. I keep mine on the fridge. My kids actually enjoy seeing what’s on the list and will make requests off of the list. They also like to “check things off” once we eat them. If you have any favorites let me know!