FREE 5+ Daily Meal Planner Samples in PDF

Eating is one of the most important parts of staying alive because we need to nurture our body with nutrients and vitamins to function properly. However, due to many reasons such as illness or obesity, we need to reconsider what we are putting inside our bodies so we can heal better or lose excess pounds. That is why we need to plan our meals. Nowadays, meal planning has become very practical and essential not only in identifying what we eat every day but also in our household’s budgeting. With that being said, a meal planner is needed in order to be organized in this endeavor. 

5+ Daily Meal Planner Samples

1. Daily Meal Planning Guide

2. Daily Menu Plan Template

3. Daily Basic Meal Planner for a Healthy Diet

4. Daily Diabetes Meal Planning Guide

5. 7 Day Meal Plan

6. Sample Daily Meal Planner

What Is a Meal Planner?

A meal planner is a type of journal where you can write what you want to eat, how to prepare it, a list of ingredients, the amount of nutrient intake per meal, and your meal budget plan. A meal planner is usually written in a notebook or stored in a digital device. Aside from the comprehensive meal plans, you can also write down your shopping list that includes items that you can use in the preparation and cooking of your food. Meal planners are good aids that will remind you that you need to be careful about what you eat to avoid harming your health. 

How To Write a Meal Planner?

Depending on your preferences, there are many ways in which you can create an excellent meal planner. You can use the roster form where you can just list down the food you need to prepare, a journal notebook where you can organize and itemize your recipes, or a daily calendar to remind you about what you need to cook or made today. Furthermore, we have here some tips that you can use to kickstart your writing project efficiently. 

1. Provide the Master List of Recipes

In making the meal planner, the first thing you need to do is to make a master list of your favorite recipes. By identifying and organizing various recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and even snacks, it will be easier to identify which ingredients will be needed for each meal within the week. In addition, having a list of your favorite recipes will make it convenient for you to organize your preferred meals and add variation to prevent the redundancy of your meals daily or weekly. 

2. Do A Kitchen Inventory

You need to have an inventory list of the various ingredients available in your kitchen. Having such an inventory of what you currently have will help you identify what items will be included on your grocery list. Not only will this ensure that you can maximize the ingredients that you currently have but also save money from purchasing redundant items. 

3. Consider What Your Family Needs

You need to identify what types of food your household needs to eat. Depending on the preferences of family members whether for health or budgetary purposes, this will help you pick out what meals can be prepared by focusing on the aspect of needs and not wants. In addition, knowing what common ingredients you all share in preparing your respective meals can help you prioritize what meals to cook, thus maximizing the use of your inventory items. 

4. Pick Your Grocery Day

After writing your meal plans and ingredients, the next step you need to include in your task list is to pick your grocery shopping day. It is best to set a day to visit the grocery store when you are not busy, which is ideal on a weekend. This can help you develop a routine for your grocery visits on a weekly schedule.

Creating a meal plan is really helpful especially if you want to get something good from your food consumption or succeed in your weight loss goals. Plus, having a meal planner will not only help you carefully plan out your household’s daily meals, but it also ensures that you can prepare your budget for it accurately. Download our editable meal planner templates today which you can access in this article.