Ok I have officially mastered our bi-weekly meal planning & grocery shopping routine - so obviouslyyyy I had to share!

I spent the past few years planning and shopping weekly (which I also loved).

You can find all those details right here!

I even made a video of our ridiculously easy routine - which you can watch right here.

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Buuuuuut - eventually I got tired of getting groceries every Friday. I wanted to streamline even MORE.

Enter bi-weekly planning & shopping (i.e. every two weeks).

A few caveats:

We are a family of four (and our kids are still small).
We have a second fridge/freezer in our basement.
We don’t generally buy in bulk.
We do a grocery top-up on our “off” week - mainly bananas.
I am not a fancy cook*.

*at all lol

The Basics

How it all goes down….

Every other Wednesday (or whenever I have 15 minutes) I pull out our meal planning sheet, enter meals for two weeks, highlight all the grocery items we need to make those meals (plus snacks and breakfast/lunch) - and call it a day!

I try to do the plan a couple days before we actually shop so that I have a buffer for adding items that I forgot #reallife

I have seen SO many cute systems to make planning easy, e.g. Taco Tuesday, Pasta every Thursday, Pizza Friday, etc. I love those ideas so if they work for you, do it!!

I tend to focus on using up what we have in stock, so that is normally my starting point.

Our week usually looks something like this….

1 Treat Night/Take Out (usually Saturday)
1 “Traditional” Dinner (usually Sunday)
1 Leftovers Night
1 No-Cook Night (e.g. grilled cheese or scrambeled eggs)
3 Weeknight Dinners (something I can prep on the weekend and re-heat, to make the work week less chaotic)

And then I just repeat for Week 2.

Easy Peasy!

Here is a standard weekly plan for our fam…..

The Planning Printable

I love pen and paper!!!!!!!

Especially for lists.

So I created this meal planning/grocery list combo which was a game changer for us.

I created it in Canva (which is free).

Best part is the pre-populated grocery list! Instead of having to write the same items each time, I just highlight what we need from this list. And add on specialty items as needed.

It took a little time up-front to create, but in the long run it’s saved us SO much time - and stress!

The Perks

Why we Meal Plan + Why I LOVE it:

Sharing the Responsibility

One of the best parts of having a planning system is that it makes this chore easy to share.

For me, that means sharing with Scott. But if you have teens, this would be a great way of getting them involved! (with some push back, obviously).

Right now I do weekday meals and Scott is in charge of Saturday and Sunday food.

In terms of the shopping, it goes back and forth based on our work schedules. But it doesn’t all fall on me, which was KEY for me.

Having a standard routine means that if one of us is unavailable, the other person can pick up the slack without missing a beat.

Saves Money

Meal Planning saves us $ in so many ways….

Less overbuying
Less impulse shopping
More strategic, targeted shopping
Being prepared makes price matching easier too!

Less Food Waste

Our system has become so routine that we rarely toss ANY food.

If we end up with too much food by Friday, we have a second leftovers night - boom. Problem solved.

More Efficient

We don’t waste time anymore either.

*Probably my favourite part*

There is little discussion about meals, shopping or groceries in our house. It’s systematic - programmed into our month.

No fuss, no muss.

Less Stress

Ok, no - THIS is my favourite part.

Motherhood is a freaking TRIP. Since Day 1 I have been on a mission to reduce stress and make more room for the happy moments.

Streamlining how we get food on the table was HUGE for our family.

Reducing the stress of planning and prepping, means calmer, more peaceful family dinners (as relaxed as they get with pre-schoolers- eek!).

Tips for Making it Easy

Start Simple: When I first started meal planning the kids were itty-bitty and making a lasagne from scratch sounded more complicated than open-heart surgery.

If meal planning sounds scary, slap hot dogs and KD on the plan.

As you get in a rhythm, it’ll become easier and easier.

Create a Central Recipe Spot: I keep all my fave recipes (that I actually use) in a binder. When I’m making my plan I flip through and choose from this list.

During this season of life I rarely stray from our favourites.

One day my kids will be running the roads with their friends and maybe I’ll make all the meals on my Pinterest board. For now, I want to keep dinner simple and allow time to “watch this, mom” for the 15th time in a row 💗

List of No-Recipe Meals: Within my recipe binder I also have a list of no-recipe meals. Items like zucchini boats and perogies that I am usually too tired to think of on a Wednesday night at 8:30 - but that we all love and I can toss on the plan without thinking.

Start with an Organized Kitchen: Developing a successfull meal planning routine will be 100% easier with a tidy, clutter-free, organized kitchen! Promise. Check out some of my fave Kitchen Organization tips here.