How To Use Google Sheet Meal Planner

Using a Google Sheet Meal Planner can indeed be a fantastic way to save time, reduce your bills, create a recipe planner and shopping list, eat better, count calories, and streamline your cooking and grocery shopping process. You’ll be able to create a simple weekly plan, which means fewer trips to the grocery store! Now’s the time to stop stressing and ENJOY dinner again!

Google Sheet Meal Planner - family meal and grocery

We get it. Juggling with kiddies and three huskies is super busy work. It’s a hundred percent enjoyable, but it’s also long hours. We had to find a way to make this break, lunch, snacks, and dinner thing work.

When we started using a planner, our lives suddenly became SO much simpler. Each weekend, we set aside 15-20 minutes to plan our meals and snacks. Here are some of the things we’ve learned and how you can effectively use a meal planner to save time as well:

We feel every ingredient adds to the overall taste and texture; if you remove one, it’s like you’ve removed them all.

  • Plan Your Meals Weekly: Take some time at the beginning of each week to plan out your meals. Consider your schedule, any leftovers you might have, and what ingredients you already have on hand.
  • Create a Shopping List: Once you’ve planned your meals, make a shopping list of all the ingredients you’ll need. To make shopping more efficient, organize it by category (e.g., produce, dairy, pantry items).
  • Batch Cooking: Consider cooking larger batches of certain dishes that you can eat throughout the week or freeze for later. Freezing meals from batches for the following week works great; it can save you time on meal prep during busy days.
  • Choose Simple Recipes: Opt for recipes that are quick and easy to prepare, especially on busy days. Look for meals that require minimal ingredients and can be made in one pot or a pan to reduce cleanup time.
  • Utilize Leftovers: Plan to repurpose leftovers into new meals to minimize waste and save time on cooking. For example, roast a whole chicken one night and use the leftovers to make chicken salad or chicken soup the next day.
  • Prep Ingredients in Advance: Spend some time prepping your ingredients in advance, such as washing and chopping vegetables or marinating meat. Store them in containers in the fridge so they’re ready to use when you need them.
  • Stay Flexible: While it’s helpful to have a meal plan, don’t be afraid to be flexible and swap out meals if needed. Life can be unpredictable, so having a backup plan or being willing to adjust your meal plan can save you time and stress.
  • Desserts: Take some time out (either evening, weekend, or day off) to bake a cake and some quick sweet or savory snacks to grab and go. Freezing batches work great, too; we take them out of the freezer the night before or enough to last 2-3 days.
Google Sheet Meal Planner - measurements and ingredients

By following these tips and incorporating a meal planner into your routine, you can save time and make mealtime less stressful while still enjoying delicious and nutritious meals.

We’ve been using these meal plans for many years (30 plus years), so here we are now showing you the EXACT way we’ve been doing it…it’s simple and uncomplicated.

And frankly, IT WORKS A TREAT!

Google Sheet Meal Planner - meals and calorie planner
GRAB NOW FOR $8 $21

Why You’ll Love This Meal Planner

♥ You’ll know what you’re making every day of the week!
♥ You’ll SIMPLIFY the shopping process by working from a master grocery list.
♥ You’ll eliminate food waste by not buying unnecessary items.
♥ You’ll never run out of dinner ideas — your family’s favorite meals and new recipes are stored all in one place.
♥ It’s a great tool to simplify meal planning — nothing complicated or time-consuming; just 15-20 minutes a week is all it takes.

Google Sheet Meal Planner - recipe book and recipe cards

What You Get

We feel every ingredient adds to the overall taste and texture; if you remove one, it’s like you’ve removed them all.

  • Instructions: Detailed guide and a spreadsheet with sample mockup data.
  • Setup Tab: Quickstart section for setting up your spreadsheet.
  • Weekly Menu: Plan your meals for the week, including your favorite recipes. And guess what? It even creates a shopping list automatically based on your menu, so there’s no need to worry about forgetting ingredients!
  • Easy Grocery List: Your shopping list will be ready for you to print out or check on your smartphone or tablet. No more missing items at the store!
  • Recipe Cards: Write down your recipes on special cards and save them for later in the recipe book.
  • Shopping Cart: Find your shopping list ready and check expenses right away.
  • Track Calories: This planner can help you track your macros and calories, too. It’s like having a nutritionist in your spreadsheet!
  • Reusable: Once you’re done planning, you can reuse the same file for the next week. It’s that simple.
  • Printables: Print your shopping carts and meal plan.
Google Sheet Meal Planner - shopping cart

Features

We feel every ingredient adds to the overall taste and texture; if you remove one, it’s like you’ve removed them all.

  • In one simple step, select currencies to work out your weekly budget.
  • Streamlined content with no unnecessary, cluttered sections.
  • Easily shareable among family members to add their own foodie needs.
  • Aesthetically pleasing with minimal design.
  • Optimized for desktop but also accessible on mobile devices using Google Sheets.
  • It includes a website link option with star ratings and notes for your favorite online recipes. We’ve added five popular desserts and five popular meals to help you get started. You can also add the details and nutritional information to your recipe card.
  • It is suitable for any calendar year, so you don’t have to repurchase it every year.
Google Sheet Meal Planner - shopping cart and meal plan printables
GRAB NOW FOR $8 $21

With this simple meal planner, you can store all of your recipes and ideas in one convenient place!

How To Use The Meal Planner

We feel every ingredient adds to the overall taste and texture; if you remove one, it’s like you’ve removed them all.

  • The first step is to brainstorm a list of dinner ideas. You can use your family’s favorite foods, pass-me-downs from generations, and online recipes you find.
  • For each day of the week, choose your dinners from the handy list and simply add them to your recipe book and meal plan.
  • The editable ingredient tab allows you to add the list of ingredients you’ll need for each meal, which will then be automatically added to your recipe card.
  • Head to the store with your mobile and know EXACTLY what’s for dinner every single night.
Google Sheet Meal Planner - how it works
GRAB NOW FOR $8 $21

Meal Planner Top Tips

♥ Download the Google Sheets app on your phone to check off items as you shop at the grocery store.
♥ Don’t forget to do a quick pantry and fridge check before you go food shopping to make sure you’ve not missed anything and aren’t buying items you don’t need!
♥ Hate the grocery store? See if the local grocery stores offer click-and-collect or low-priced delivery. It will be super easy to order with your handy grocery list!
♥ To make your midweek go even smoother, take some time out on the weekend to prep little things such as chopping veggies and fruits or pre-cooking pasta.
♥ Search cookbooks, websites (and we have plenty of recipes), and Pinterest for recipes you fancy. Add them to your meal planner, and try at least one new dessert and meal each week (delete the duds)!

GRAB NOW FOR $8 $21

You will need a Google account! If you don’t have one, you can save it with Microsoft Excel as well, but it may not look as pretty. 🙂

We have designed this to be simple and include easy-to-follow instructions. There’s a little info to add, but we have added very clear instructions to get you started. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us.

It needs to be converted and downloaded via Google Sheets. The downside to Excel is that the tab sizes will need redesigning, and it’s not so mobile-friendly.

Your files will be available to download once payment is confirmed. After payment, you’ll receive a link in the confirmation to open the template. It will open on your PC in a tab; we recommend Google Chrome. Once loaded, click on the blue button at the top right. This will download and save the template to your chosen Google Drive email. Go to your Google Drive and open it.

To use it on your mobile download Google Drive and Google Sheets.

You’ll have your dinner plan in a matter of minutes! 

Yep! we’ve created a tab with a printable option to print off the meal planner, but you can also use the digital version as well!

disclaimer

This meal plan spreadsheet is for personal use only and is copyrighted. It will be delivered as a digital file. No physical products will be shipped. Digital items aren’t eligible for returns because of the nature of these items.