A review of the new book “52 Week Meal Planner: The Complete Guide to Planning Menus, Groceries, Recipes, and More” plus a giveaway!
The phrase “meal planning” used to have me running for the hills.
Planning not Prepping
I always thought that it meant sitting down for hours and writing out elaborate lists and then spending an entire day chopping, cooking and dividing up meals for the week in matching glass containers and jars.
It wasn’t until I learned that “meal planning” and “meal prepping” were two separate things that I actually started to embrace the planning part.
I’ve been meal planning for a little over a year now. It has been so helpful in not only planning healthy meals, but saving money on groceries, reducing our food waste, and making mealtime more enjoyable. I don’t think I can ever go back to just randomly winging it at the grocery store.
The Complete Guide to Meal Planning
If you are new to meal planning or looking for more resources to assist you with your weekly planning, then look no further than Jessica Levinson‘s new book “52 Week Meal Planner: The Complete Guide to Planning Menus, Groceries, Recipes and More“.
This is a workbook that you can use to actually record your weekly meal plan, write out grocery lists and keep track of recipes. Plus there are some great tips for meal planning and time saving hacks that everyone can use in their household.
One of my favorite parts about this book is that everything you need each week for meal planning is all in one place. Before this book, I’d constantly be searching for paper, finding notes for recipes or groceries on random slips of paper and just getting overwhelmed with where I wrote certain things down.
Jessica’s book has that all covered – everything is all in one spot. There is even a section on each week’s meal plan for notes. I love using the note section to remind myself about certain things coming up that particular week that would have an effect on our meals. For example, my husband might be working late one night and therefore I wouldn’t need to make him dinner. Or maybe we have somewhere to be right before lunch so our lunch that day has to be something I can grab and go.
How I Typically Meal Plan
When I meal plan for the week, I typically sit down on Sunday morning with my coffee, laptop and cell phone. The laptop I use to check new recipes I’ve saved on Pinterest to try that week. I am also notorious for taking screenshots of delicious looking food on Instagram. Seriously, my phone’s photo gallery is full of food screenshots. When I sit down to meal plan, I check my screenshot folder on my phone for any recipe inspiration.
After my plan for the week is written down, I use it to make a grocery list and then check to see if we have any of those items on hand before I head out the store.
One tip I have to make your life easier – write out your grocery list according to sections in the grocery store. Example: keep produce together on the list, then dairy, etc. I actually put the sections in order that they appear in the store so that I don’t have to backtrack. Makes grocery shopping much more enjoyable.
52 Week Meal Planner Giveaway
Now for the good news. Jessica Levinson has kindly agreed to give one lucky reader a copy of her book! Seriously this is so generous and this book is going to make your meal planning a breeze!
How to Enter –
To enter the giveaway, simply leave a comment below letting me know one reason you want to start meal planning or a reason why you already do. That’s it. Easy peasy, lemon squeezey. Only one entry per person and you must live within the United States.
I’ll randomly pick one lucky winner on Monday, July 30th at 9am PST and notify the winner by email and via comment here on the blog.
If you don’t win, fear not the book comes out July 31st and is also available here for pre-order on Amazon.
Meal planning has helped me to eat healthier because I cook more often! This book looks so convenient, thanks for sharing your review!
Yay! Eating healthier is definitely one of the great benefits of meal planning! Good luck with Brynn’s giveaway and hope you check out the book regardless!
Thanks for the support Alison! Good luck in the giveaway.
I need one of those! I am horrible at planning lately!
Thanks Denise, good luck in the giveaway!
I have been diagnosed with Rheumatoid Disease which results in severe fatigue. This book would help me plan healthy meals while saving my energy.
Debbie, thanks so much for your support on the blog. I’m sorry to hear about your Rheumatoid diagnosis and wish you good luck on the giveaway.
Thank you so much Brynn for this awesome review of my 52-Week Meal Planner! I’m so glad that you have made meal planning part of your routine and that it’s not as burdensome as you thought. Love your tip for grocery lists – I do the same thing!
Meal planning saves me money and alleviates the daily question of “what’s for dinner?”. Meals are planned on Sat or Sun morning and written out for all to see. My only issue is that my planning is not all in the same place, so this book will be my saving grace! Would be so nice to go back and check old meal plans!
Meal planning saves me money and alleviates the daily question of “what’s for dinner?”. Meals are planned on Sat or Sun morning and written out for all to see. My only issue is that my planning is not all in the same place, so this book will be my saving grace!
That was my issue to Donna! I had papers all over the counter with recipes, grocery lists and meal plans. Now they are all in one single spot. Good luck in the giveaway.
Would love to start meal planning. My schedule is very busy and I would love to save some money!
Thanks for the support Melissa! Miss you guys and good luck in the giveaway!
I love meal planning. This would be awesome, I enjoy this blog and Jessica’s blog. These have been fun to get recipes and just to read what you guys are doing for food. The seasonal section would be nice to help remind me what’s in Season. 🙂
Thank you so much Andrea! I love the seasonal produce section too, it helps save money and buy produce at it’s peak. No more spending $10 on asparagus when it’s not in season (which I used to do all the time!)
Meal planning makes it much easier to eat healthy and stay healthy. I love this blog and reading all the recipes.
Thank you so much!
Meal planning makes it much easier to eat healthy and stay healthy. It makes it easier to maintain a health lifestyle. I love reading recipes.
I love reading recipes too Carol! Thanks for reading the blog and good luck in the giveaway
I am recently new to meal planning and with four children, meal planning helps alleviate the “what’s for dinner” question.
My kids still ask “what’s for dinner” multiple times a day, but at least meal planning allows me to have an answer. Good luck Mary in the giveaway
With 3 children under 5years old, trips to the grocery store can be hectic! I’m excited have meal planning ideas, grocery store lists and recipes all in the same place.
3 kids under 5…you are busy busy busy! Good luck in the giveaway Julie.
I sort of wing it with meal planning and meal prep. I look at what I can prep and plan from there. Probably not the most efficient system. I would like to use planning to add more variety to the meals I cook.
Hi Pamela, thanks for reading the blog and entering the contest! Nothing wrong with winging it sometimes, I love meal planning but also remaining partially flexible at the same time for those nights that plans change or you just don’t feel like having what you had planned.
We struggle with identifying easy to make, health and tasty meals in our household. Meal
Planning is a new concept for me, so will embrace anything that help us enjoy shopping, cooking and eating.
Thanks Gail for entering the giveaway! Meal Planning was so overwhelming for me in the beginning, but once you start and find your groove it gets so much easier.
I am just starting meal planning. Both my husband and I get home after 6:30pm each night and need to feed our 1 year old by 7. Meal prepping has stopped the “breakfast for dinner” and getting pizza because we can’t think of anything quick/tasty to make. Thank you for your blogs they have really helped my family switch to a healthier lifestyle
Nothing like adding a toddler to the mix to kick your meal planning into gear. Good job Rhe Rhe
Meal prepping has saved my family from eating out more often than not and not just grabbing anything that is available and unhealthy. It has saved time and money and makes it a lot easier to choose healthy meals because they are already done for the week!!
Meal prepping has saved my family from eating out more often than not and not just grabbing anything that is available and unhealthy. It has saved time and money and makes it a lot easier to choose healthy meals because they are already done for the week!! So easy and such a time saver!!
Hey love! Your success this past year has been amazing, so proud of you and Los!
Thanks everyone for the support and entering the giveaway! I entered all the names into a random generator and the winner is….Pamela! I’ll be emailing you to get your address. Thanks again for the support and Jessica’s book comes out on Amazon July 31st, so you can grab your copy there.