My Simple Weekly Meal Plan As A Stay At Home Mom

When I first became a stay at home mom, dinner time felt way more overwhelming than I expected. I ended up in a bad DoorDash habit because by the end of the day, figuring out dinner just felt like too much. When my husband and I looked over our budget, we realized we were spending way too much on food between ordering delivery and purchasing groceries we often didn’t end up eating.

That’s when I realized we needed a simple weekly meal plan.

With my husband’s busy work schedule, we have limited family time together, so sitting down for dinner each night is really important to us. Having a plan for the week helps protect that time and makes our evenings feel a lot less stressful.

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How A Simple Weekly Meal Plan Helps Me As A Stay At Home Mom

• Less trips to the grocery store when we are prepared
• Less time trying to decide what to have for dinner
• Easier to stick to our budget, we don’t end up wasting food or paying for delivery
• Makes me feel more organized and prepared
• Helps me stick to my fitness/nutrition goals

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My Simple Weekly Meal Plan Routine

1. I plan meals on Sunday

Meal planning has become an important part of my Sunday routine as a stay at home mom because it always helps me feel more prepared for the week ahead. We get our shopping done so it’s one less thing to worry about during the week.

My husband and I have a shared note on our phones where we make a list of our meals for the week. We keep the note organized in sections. We have a section for meals we want to try out, meals we love and want to repeat, and meals we tried but do not care for.

2. I look at our week ahead first

The meals that we choose for the week will depend on what we have going on for the week. For example, on nights when I know that my husband has to work late, I will plan for a crock pot meal. That way I can prepare it while the kids are either napping or occupied with an activity and we can keep our usual meal time, then my husband will still have hot food to eat when he gets home.

3. I choose simple meals

Don’t get me wrong, I love to experiment and have fun trying new recipes. However, in this season with small children, simple works best for all of us right now.

4. I keep one or two backup meals in the freezer

Not every day goes as planned so having a backup ready to be heated up makes life so much easier and removes the temptation to order delivery.

5. I plan a few different protein options

I can only eat so much chicken! I like to switch up our meals so that we usually have 1-2 chicken based meals, 1-2 beef based, at least 1 pork, and a seafood based meal.

6. I keep it flexible

While I do plan the meals with a specific day in mind, it doesn’t always end up that way, and that’s ok. If something else on my list sounds better, it’s easy to just switch days and still stick to the plan.

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Easy Meals I Keep On Repeat

• Sheet pan chicken thighs
• Sheet pan sausage
• Crock pot chili
• Teriyaki salmon or chicken bowls
• Grilled pork chops
• Ground beef sweet potato bowls
• Chicken quesadillas
• Mediterranean cod

We typically have at least one of these options on our weekly plan. Whenever we need to switch it up but don’t have something specific in mind, we tend to keep things simple and use the same formula: Protein + Veggie + Carbohydrate.

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A Few Things That Make Meal Planning Easier

• Repeating the same easy meals often
• Planning easier/quicker meals on busy days
• Keeping simple staples on hand
• Prep ingredients ahead of time when you can
• Keep a shared note for your grocery list
• Incorporate sheet pan and one pan meals for less cleanup
• Use grocery curbside pickup
• My 15 minute daily reset routine, doing the dishes nightly I am always ready to cook

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Final Thoughts

Having a simple weekly meal plan cuts down on decision fatigue, makes grocery shopping quicker and easier, and takes some of the stress out of the day to day.

Creating a meal plan doesn’t have to be elaborate to be helpful.

If you’re looking for more stay at home mom tips and routines, you might also enjoy my 10 Things That Make Stay At Home Mom Life Easier post and my SAHM Daily Routine post.

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Simple systems. Calm days. Intentional motherhood.

– Suzanne