As I was putting together this menu plan, I was just itching for some warmer weather – weather that inspires grilling out, picnics and big celebrations.  It’ll be here before I know it!  I love that!

What I also love is pre-planning my meals.  It makes for less expensive grocery store trips.  It makes for a less stressful dinner hour.  It makes for a more varied diet.  It just makes for a happier family!

Pre-planning your meals doesn’t have to be hard.  Just because you’re planning ahead, it doesn’t mean that you have to pick complicated or fancy meals – it just means you get to be intentional about what you’re cooking.  You can plan to eat Peanut Butter & Jelly sandwiches.  You can plan to have cereal for dinner.  Look at your schedule.  Look at your desires. Look at your budget.  Just plan ahead!  You can be fancy if you want to, but you don’t have to!

And guess what – for the first time putting these together, I included breakfast & lunch ideas.  For breakfast, I tend to eat the same things, so I really did 2 weeks of breakfasts and just rotated through them.  Almost the same thing for lunches, except I did 3 weeks worth of lunch ideas and repeated them!  I’ll have to see if that’s a good fit for me.

But, if you’re really interested just in a dinner menu plan, I’ve included that too.  Choices, choices, choices!

The Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner Menu Plan:

The Dinner Only Menu Plan:

What if I don’t cook every night?
Awesome!  I don’t either – we often have leftovers 2-3 night/week.  Just take this basic plan, cut out some meals and make leftovers part of your plan!

What if I don’t want a particular meal on a specific night?
Awesome!  Just take this basic plan and swap meals around.

What if I want to see the Excel version?
Awesome!  You can download the Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner Menu Plan here.  You can also download the Dinner Only Menu Plan here.

What if I don’t eat beef?  Or chicken?  Or pork?
Awesome!  Just take this basic plan, remove the foods you won’t eat and put in foods you will eat.

What if I don’t know how to make that meal?
Awesome!  Included are the links for the recipe that I usually use.

What if we always have pizza on Friday nights?
Awesome!  (Can I come over?)  Just remove my Friday meals and put in pizza.

What if I don’t like your recipe?
Awesome!  Use whichever recipe you normally use and just use this basic plan as a suggestion.

What if I have my own monthly menu plan?
Awesome!  Care to share it?  Share it down below in the comments so that we all can see it and be inspired!

What’s cool about this menu plan?
For the first time, breakfast & lunch is included!  You’ll definitely notice that I kept those meals simple and more repetitive than dinners.  Maybe it’s because I have families with kids in mind – kids that might be eating at school.  Kids that might be taking a sack lunch.  Kids that might be eating at home – which is a good way to use up leftovers.  And many of us have the same thing over and over again for breakfast – which is great if you enjoy that!

For dinners, I try to have a variety of meals each week – some beef, some chicken, and some pastas.  That way you won’t get too bored.  There are also plenty of ways to save time when using this menu plan.   Examples:  When prepping chicken at the beginning of the month, make enough for the other recipes and freeze it for future use.  When making ground beef, brown 2-3 times the normal amount and freeze that. Check out these easy crockpot instructions for bulk cooking chicken and bulk cooking ground beef. It makes it super quick to pull meals together!

Recipes in this menu plan:

Breakfast Recipes:
Breakfast Popsicles
Sausage Breakfast Casserole
Sausage Bagel Sandwiches
English Muffins (top with butter, cream cheese, peanut butter or jelly)
Breakfast Burritos
French Toast Sticks
Scrambled eggs
Cereal
Pancakes
Cinnamon Rolls
Waffles
Fried Eggs
Bagels (top with butter, cream cheese, peanut butter or jelly)
Baked Oatmeal

Lunch Recipes:
Tortilla Roll Ups
Easy Skillet Nachos
Chicken Nuggets
Soup Ideas: Baked Potato Soup, Slow Cooker Ham & Bean Soup, Slow Cooker Ham & Potato Soup, Cheesy Veggie Chowder, Chicken Noodle Soup, Chicken Tortilla Soup, Ham & Bean Soup, Slow Cooker Chili, Taco Soup, Vegetable Soup
Bean & Cheese Burritos
Summer Sausage, Cheese & Crackers
Macaroni & Cheese
Chicken Salad Sandwiches
Mini Pizzas
Cheese Quesadillas
Cobb Salad
Peanut Butter & Jelly
Egg Salad

Dinner Recipes:
Creamy Chicken Pockets
Chicken Tettrazini
Meatloaf
Slow Cooker Sweet Sesame Chicken
Marinaded Chicken Breasts
Pork Tenderloin
Fajitas
Sloppy Joes
Texas Hash
Italian Sausage & Peppers
Hawaiian Chicken
Tacos
Spaghetti Pie
Parmesan Baked Pork Chops
Pizza
Chicken Broccoli Crescent Roll
BBQ Ribs
Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches
Lemon Garlic Salmon
Jambalaya
Chicken, Green Chile, & Cheese Enchiladas
Fried Rice
Hamburger & Veggie Soup
Chicken Pot Pie
Sweet Garlic Chicken
Baked Teriyaki Chicken
Beefy Mac & Cheese
Slow Cooker Italian Chicken
Italian Baked Hoagies
Slow Cooker Stuffed Peppers

Jayme is a wife to 1 and a mother to three little boys (soon to be 4 this summer!). She coupons, but isn’t super extreme about it. She price matches and loves it! While she likes to cook, she’s in the stage of life where simple is usually better! She never knows how many hands she’ll have free at dinner time! You can find her at No Regrets Living.