This week is Meal Planning week here at YWG. Meal planning is a really important part of running and managing my kitchen and I’m excited to dive into resources all week for helping you discover a meal planning option that works best for you. On Friday I shared 15+ recipes that the whole family will love for under $5! 

If you are looking for a fun way to keep track of your menus and recipes, today I’m sharing some adorable ways and tutorials to do your meal planning. (But don’t worry – if you don’t have the time or energy to do these tutorials, just skip it. Here’s the super simple, non-crafty method I use.)

8 Menu Planning Tutorials

DIY Chalkboard Fridge Menu Planner – Genevieve Gail

This is one of the coolest recipes I’ve ever seen. We have a stainless steel fridge so I’m not sure the tutorial would work. But I will have to find a reason to do this one day! Get the full tutorial from Genevieve Gail.

Organization Board + Menu Plan Tutorial – Girl Loves Glam

I have been wanting to make a family command center for a while! This tutorial includes a great spots to customize for meal planning, your calendar, to-do lists, and cleaning schedules. Get the full tutorial (plus FREE printables) from Girl Loves Glam.

Wooden Menu Bar Tutorial – Fussy Monkey Business

Um…this is seriously so beautiful! What a fun menu that adds a bit of decor too. This would be really pretty to hang up above a coffee bar or small cabinet. I can think of so many ideas for this. Get the full tutorial fro Fussy Monkey Business.

Magnetic Menu Board – The Homes I Have Made

I think out of all of these tutorials, this one might be the most practical. Yes, it does take a bit of time to get it all set up. But it’s very versatile and easy to use. I love it! Get the full tutorial from The Homes I Have Made. She even has the printable templates for sale so you can just print out and replicate this system. I love it!

Butcher Paper Menu Planner – We Heart

So this is actually hung up in a bistro in London, but how fun would this be in your kitchen? If you are going for a rustic vibe in your kitchen then this would be the perfect thing to hang up. See the bistro in London here.

DIY Chalkboard Menu Cabinet – By Dawn Nicole Designs

I have a cupboard just like this in my kitchen! What a cute focal point. This could work really well inside the cupboard too if you don’t want it on the outside. See the full tutorial on Dawn Nicole Designs.

DIY Menu Board – Sarah Potter Photography

This would be a great project to do with your kids! This is fun because you can really customize it to the colors and look of your kitchen. Get the full tutorial from Sarah Potter Photography.

Easy Meal Planner (Great for gifts) – How Does She

This is probably the easiest of all of these tutorials! And would make great gifts for other homemaker’s in your life. Get the full tutorial from How Does She.

My NEW Favorite Meal Planning System

I love all these ideas above, especially the painted fridge but my husband would never go for that 😉 But realistically with my very limited time as a busy wife and mom, I need  simpler solution. With this solution, it takes me less than 10 minutes to fill out my complete meal plan and within seconds I have my printed shopping list (by grocery aisle/section), recipe cards, and filled out calendar.

That solution is an online system I use called Build a Menu. And it totally rocks! (This is my affiliate link by the way. I make a small commission when you purchase through my link at no extra cost to you. But please know, I would never share about BAM if I didn’t 100% believe in it and use it myself).

Why I LOVE Build a Menu (even after trying out the top 5 other meal planning websites):

• HUGE selected of new meals added each week
• Takes about 10 minutes to build your entire menu for the week
• Print off your recipes, menu on the calendar, and complete grocery list in seconds
• Saves your menus for future use
• Lets you use their recipes OR add all of your own family favorites to the system
• Select meals based on price per meal per what stores(s) you shop at
• New feature: The ability to search by individual ingredients to find recipes that use that ingredient! AWESOME!

No other meal planning website I’ve ever seen lets you add in your own meals, search by ingredients for meals, introduces new meals each week, and build a menu around the menu prices!

And I am happy to share that I have an exclusive coupon code for you!! You can get access to their premium plan (which includes ALL of these features) for just $40 for a YEAR (normally $59)! <—That’s just $3.33 a month or about $0.77 a week. Yeah. It saves me far more than that a month (plus saves so much time). Check it out here. (Use coupon code: BAM_YWG40 at checkout!)

Yes, you can meal plan with pen and paper for free and/or make one of the above fancy menu planners if you are feeling crafty. Or use this system and for less than a $1.00 a week you can save so much time, hassle, and money. I’m planning on sharing later this week all the different ways I’ve used Build a Menu in the last two years, but it’s an understatement to say that I’ve been extremely happy with the meal planning system.

Check it out and snag Build a Menu for just $40 for an entire year!! This super amazing deal is good only with my exclusive coupon code: BAM_YWG40 at checkout!

Which one is your favorite?