How to Get Started Meal Planning

Updated May 2025

Are you looking for an easy way to get started meal planning? Look no further than this super easy planner created by The Fit Cookie.

Disclosure: I was provided free product from The Fit Cookie in exchange for social sharing; however, all thoughts and opinions are my own. View affiliate disclosure.

You might be surprised to know that I am terrible at planning my meals. I am great at collecting recipes, but such is the life of a food blogger. When it comes to my grocery list, I add things as I think of them throughout the week and then hope I have enough to last me through the next week when my grocery delivery arrives. If anyone can benefit from meal planning, it’s me. I was kindly gifted this Ultimate Meal Planning Kit from The Fit Cookie and it could not have happened at a better time. So, let’s get started meal planning.

Kitchen Inventory

My first favorite pages from the kit are inventories for my fridge, freezer, and pantry. I am of the “out of sight, out of mind” variety, so it is nice to know what I have so nothing expires before I use it and I don’t buy duplicates I don’t need.

IMG 3025 EDIT 2 get started meal planning

To get started meal planning, I wanted to look at everything I already had and try to make meals from those items. When I cook for myself, I generally don’t do anything fancy. I also work evenings, so dinners are mostly whatever my parents make or leftovers. Leftovers can be easily incorporated into meal planning. You also don’t need to make every meal from scratch.

The inventory I took included Greek yogurt, granola, an orange, chicken nuggets, and cream cheese. I’ve been trying to eat healthier and one of my go-tos for lunch is half a diced avocado, sliced mini peppers, cucumber, provolone cheese, and turkey. I toss them all with a vinaigrette. I still had some provolone and mini peppers left, so I can include them in my planning for next week.

Monthly and Weekly Menu

When you first get started meal planning, it can be overwhelming to plan for the whole month. Luckily this meal planner kit has both monthly menu and weekly menu pages. The Ultimate Meal Planning Kit has pages for favorite recipes and new recipes to try. I think these pages are great because you can always look back on them if you need some inspiration. There are also pages for meal prep if you like to do that.

Here are some of the things I have planned for the week:

Mini peppers with cream cheese

Baked goat cheese with apricot jam

Greek yogurt with granola

Couscous with roasted veggies

Salmon burgers with ravioli

Shopping List

The Ultimate Meal Planning Kit comes with three different pages for your grocery list, as well as a page where you can track what is on sale for the week. I usually use Walmart Grocery to get my groceries delivered, but this week Misfits Market sent me a coupon. I also use Fetch to save money.

(P.S. Tip your delivery drivers!)

Turn basically anything you do into gift cards with Fetch. Earn at stores, restaurants and shopping online. Download Fetch with my link or use code X86HT1 to get a bonus when you submit your first receipt.

The Ultimate Meal Planning Kit

In conclusion, the Ultimate Meal Planning Kit from The Fit Cookie is exactly what beginner meal planners need to get organized and stay consistent. Meal planning can also help save you money and eat healthier, so it’s definitely worth it. I often thought about getting started with meal planning and having tried it out, I really have no excuse to not continue doing so.