A meal prep planner could be the lifesaver for organizing your daily meals, saving time, and achieving your dietary goals. You can easily create a customizable meal prep template in Google Sheets that fits your needs perfectly. I’m here to walk you through the process of setting it up. With a little customization, you’ll have a planner that seamlessly integrates into your routine, making meal prep straightforward and helping you stay on top of your nutrition goals.
Why Do You Need a Meal Prep Plan?
Creating a meal prep plan simplifies your eating habits, saves you time during the week, and helps you stay on track with a healthy diet by preventing impulsive eating. It’s not just about planning your meals; it’s about ensuring you have all the ingredients you need, cutting down on food waste with intelligent shopping, and easing the daily stress of figuring out what to cook.
Step 1: Set Up a New Sheet
First, open Google Sheets in your browser. Once you’re in, click on the plus sign to create a new sheet.
Then, give your new sheet a meaningful name you’ll easily recognize later. You can do this by clicking on the “Untitled spreadsheet” text at the top left corner and typing something like “Meal Prep Planner.”
Step 2: Create Your Column Headers
Create a table with days of the week as columns and meal types (like breakfast, lunch, and dinner) as rows.
In the upper row, type in the days of the week (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, etc.)
Then, in the first column, type the week number and meal categories. In this case, I use headings, such as Week 1: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, and Snacks.
Step 3: Fill in the Days
Now, under the “Day” column, list the days of the week. It will be your guideline for planning meals for each day.
Step 4: Input Your Meals and Recipes
Start typing in your meal plans under each meal type column next to the appropriate day.
Step 5: Organize Your Grocery List
As you prepare your meals, jot down the ingredients in the “Grocery List” spreadsheet. To make your shopping trip more efficient, organize this by food type or store section. Click the “+” sign at the bottom of the sheet to add a new spreadsheet.
In your new spreadsheet, label columns with headings. For example, I use ‘Breakfast,’ ‘ Item,’ and ‘Price.’
Step 6: Add Checkboxes
Checkboxes can help you identify which items are already in your grocery basket and which ones are not. Select the cells or columns where you want to add checkboxes, then click Insert > Checkbox.
Now, it’s time to automate the checkboxes and strikethrough. First, add the items, select the cells where the items are, and click Format > Conditional Formatting.
From there, click “Format Rules” and choose “Custom formula is.” In the Value field, enter =$A8 as an example, then click the Strikethrough icon and set the Fill color as necessary.
Step 7: Add Dropdowns
In the Store Categories column, you can use the dropdown menu to categorize the products on your shopping list. It will help you be more organized when finding the ingredients in the grocery store.
Step 8: Sharing and Accessibility
If you’re sharing meal planning duties with someone, Google Sheets makes it easy. Just click the “Share” button in the upper right corner and enter the email addresses of the people you want access to. They can then view or edit the meal plan as needed.
Get the Free Meal Preparation Template
Get a copy of the free Meal Preparation Template. I’ve populated cells as examples, but you can customize them as needed.
Final Thoughts
Creating a meal preparation template in Google Sheets is straightforward and can save you time and stress. With your meals planned for the week, grocery shopping will be more manageable, food waste will be reduced, and you’ll enjoy the peace of mind that comes with knowing “what’s for dinner.” Experiment with your template over time and adjust it as you discover what works best for your meal-planning routine.
Frequently Asked Questions
How can I protect certain parts of my meal plan from being edited by others?
Google Sheets lets you protect specific ranges or sheets from being edited. Right-click on the sheet or select the cells you want to protect, click “Protect sheet/range” from the menu, and set permissions for those who can edit these parts. This feature is handy if you share the meal plan with others but want to maintain control over specific sections.
Can I automate date inputs in my meal preparation template?
Yes, you can use formulas to automate date inputs in Google Sheets. For instance, if you want the week to update automatically, you can input =TODAY() in the first cell under your “Day” column and add =A2+1 in the cells below to automatically populate the subsequent days.
