A good meal starts with planning on what to eat. A meal calendar can help you answer the age old question: "What's for dinner?" With all of your meals planned out in advance, you'll always have the right ingredients to whip up a healthy, home cooked meal each night.

Step 1
Get a calendar. Choose one that has large spaces for the dates.

Download a free Weekly Meal Planner .
Download a free  Monthly Meal Planner .
Download a free  Grocery List Planner .

Step 2
Write down all of the meals that your family enjoys, that you make on a regular basis. Choose meals that have similar ingredients so you can use much of the same in other recipes.

Step 3
Choose four new Recipes that you have never tried before.
New recipes may be added to your usual repertoire if your family enjoys them.

Step 4
Plan out the meal idea onto each square on the calendar.

Download the Weekly Meal Planner .

Download the Monthly Meal Planner .

Step 5
Write a master ingredient list as your shopping list.

Download the Grocery List Planner .

Step 6
Place the meal calendars in a three-ring binder with pockets.