During the week, we can always change our minds (and we often do!), but at least there’s a plan in place, for peace of mind.
If you’d like to get started with Excel meal planning, I’ve made a file that you can download. In the screen shot below, there’s a 7-day calendar, that shows the supper meals for the first week of September.
Video: Excel Meal Planner
In this 2-minute video, I show how to use the Excel Meal Planner, with the 7-day calendar. There are written steps below the video.
List of Favourite Meals
On another sheet in the Excel file, there’s a list of some favourite supper meals. Each meal is grouped into a category, so it’s easier to find ideas. There’s also an online recipe link for most dishes.
- A few recipes don’t have a link – we just make those from memory!
You can add your own favourite recipes to the list, and delete mine, if you’d like.
Choose Meals for 7 Days
Every Friday morning, I choose 7 meals for the upcoming week. Some weeks, I look for one or two new recipes to try, and add them to the Meal Item list.
Then, on the Meal Plan sheet:
- I enter the 7 dates, in the first column
- For each date, I select a recipe, from the drop-down list in the Meal Item column.
Check the Calendar
To see the meal plan in calendar view, go to the Calendar sheet.
- Enter a date in the green cell (D3)
- A formula in cell E3 shows the weekday name for that date
- Meal items for the full 7 days, along with any notes, appear in the calendar.
Print the Calendar
I like to print a copy of the calendar, to put on the fridge, for quick reference.
The Calendar sheet is set as Landscape orientation, and scaled to fit all on one page.
- Tip: At the end of the week, I remove the old calendar, and use the back for notes and scribbles.
Get the Meal Planner 7 Day Calendar
Click this link to download a copy of the Excel file with this weekly meal planner. The zipped Excel file is in xlsx format, and it doesn’t contain any macros.
- Note: To help you get started, the workbook has an Instruction sheet, and a Notes sheet, with tips for using the meal planner.
More Excel Meal Planners
There are several more Excel meal planners on my Contextures website, so take a look at those, if you’re interested. Those planner are a bit fancier, with shopping lists, and other features.
In this 3-minute video, I show a quick overview of how the Excel Weekly Meal Planner works. Unfortunately, that online recipe search site doesn’t work anymore!
Excel Meal Planner 7 Day Calendar
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