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Summer Meal Planning Made Easy: How to plan 3 months of meals in 30 minutes

Feeding a busy family all summer long can be overwhelming. Make summer meal planning simple with this 3-step system to plan an entire season of meals in under 30 minutes!

Summer Meal Planning Made Easy: How to plan 3 months of meals in 30 minutes

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237 meals.

That’s how many times I need to feed my kids during summer break. I’m not even exaggerating—I did the math. (Nerdy, I know.)

And that’s just meals. Add in snacks, and it can feel like you’re living in your kitchen all summer long, which is NOT where I want to spend all those gloriously sunny days.

But here’s the good news:

You don’t have to spend hours each week planning what to eat.

In fact, you can plan all 237 meals in the time it takes your kids to watch two episodes of Bluey.

(See? Screen time can work in our favor! 😉)

Imagine waking up every day already knowing what’s for breakfast. No 5 p.m. panic. No last-minute drive-thru runs. Just a simple, flexible plan that keeps everyone fed and you sane.

Sound amazing? Let’s do it.

The Secret to Summer Meal Planning

Pick your family’s favorite easy meals—and put them on repeat.

That’s it. Truly.

This strategy has saved my sanity for the past few summers, and today I’m walking you through exactly how to do it.

So go start an episode of Bluey for the kids, and let’s knock this out.

Step 1: Print Out the Summer Meal Planner

First things first. You need a calendar to write out your meals. Print one here for FREE.

Step 2: Put Breakfast & Lunch on Repeat

During the pandemic, I started repeating the same breakfast and lunch menu every week—and never looked back.

Here’s what I do:

  • Brainstorm a handful of doable breakfast and lunch options.
  • Alternate hot and cold meals.
  • Write them into your meal planner just once—and repeat every week.

If someone doesn’t like the day’s option for breakfast, they can always have cold cereal or toast with fruit. Same goes for lunch. The kids are always welcome to make a PB&J sandwich for themselves. The goal is to make fewer decisions, not lock yourself into rigid rules.

Congratulations, mama, you have already cut down your meal planning by two-thirds! (Told you we’d be quick!)

Step 3: Plan One Month of Dinners

Now let’s tackle dinner.

Instead of eating the same seven meals every week (that would get old really fast), I brainstormed a list of 31 go-to dinners—meals that are quick (30 minutes or less), family-friendly, and easy to prep.

Then I plugged them into a calendar and loosely themed the days like this:

  • Monday: American
  • Tuesday: Mexican
  • Wednesday: Italian
  • Thursday: Asian-inspired
  • Friday: Kid favorites
  • Saturday: No cooking night 🎉
  • Sunday: Grilling

Once you’ve got your 31 dinners, you can rotate them through June, July, and August. Done!

Why I Don’t Plan Saturday Meals

Saturday is my night off. We have leftovers or go out to eat, or sometimes we’ll have a meal I didn’t use earlier in the week because plans changed. At the end of the week, taking a break from cooking is a little gift I give myself, and I love it.

Need Ideas? I’ve Got You Covered

I’ve compiled a list of our tried-and-true family meals in a handy spreadsheet—with links to the recipes!

Grab the Swipe File of My Favorite Easy Meals

Frequently Asked Questions:

What about snacks?

I plan one afternoon snack a day and rotate a few favorites like:

But my favorite hack? A snack tray. I fill a tray with assorted fruits, veggies, crackers, and protein—and take it outside for a snack picnic with my kids. It also doubles as a side dish during lunch or dinner, too!

What if I don’t feel like eating what’s on the plan?

Then don’t! I swap meals around all the time or make something similar using the same ingredients. Your meal plan should serve you, not the other way around.

How can I make dinner prep even easier?

My go-to summer hack is prepping freezer chicken marinades ahead of time. They make dinner super quick, flavorful, and low-mess.

Learn more about freezer chicken marinades in this post.

Want more help simplifying summer?

Check out…Summer Made Simple! It’s a step-by-step guide to help you plan your best summer.

Inside you’ll find everything you need for summer meal planning, plus a bunch of other helpful resources for meal planning, calendaring, planning the fun, managing screentime, and encouraging learning and reading during the summer months. It’s all of my BEST tips poured into an easy-to-implement workbook. Take a peek and see how it can help you!

Want more summertime ideas? Check out these posts:

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