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Just last week I was working on my meal plan calendar for January 2021 and shared on Facebook about how I was looking for new recipes to add to the calendar - and got some great suggestions! I also had lots of people asking me to share my meal plan calendar and figured, with all of the hard work that I’m putting into getting our meal ideas together - I might as well share it with the world! Most of our recipes are ones that I have googled online, so I am linking all of those recipes below. But feel free to use this as inspiration to make your own favorite versions of these recipes or replace meals that don’t interest you with some of your family favorites!

I listed more Meal Planning Tips below and also shared about one of my favorite meal planning organizing tools - Trello! It’s a free app and I love using it as a digital recipe box. I also linked a download to this Meal Plan Calendar so that you can print it out and put it up on your fridge or family command center - or use a blank copy to fill in your own favorite family meals!

January 2021

WEEK ONE: January 1-10

FRI: Chicken Tortilla Soup
SAT: Egg Roll in a Bowl
SUN: Roast + Veggies

MON:
TUE: Chicken Noodle Soup + Dutch Oven Bread
WED: Parm-Crusted Pork Chops + Veggies
THU: Creamy Spinach and Artichoke Chicken Skillet + Rice
FRI: Baked Potatoes
SAT: Stuffed Shells Bolognese
SUN: Shepherd’s Pie

WEEK TWO: January 11-17

MON: Meatloaf Muffins + Mashed Potatoes
TUE:
WED: Chicken Carbonara
THU: Ham & Potato Soup
FRI: Burgers + Fries
SAT: Skillet Lemon Chicken
SUN: Pizza Night

WEEK THREE: January 18-24

MON: Shortcut Chicken Enchiladas
TUE: Tuna Noodle Dump Dinner
WED:
THU: Honey Mustard Chicken + Brussels Sprouts & Sweet Potatoes
FRI: Pulled Pork Tacos
SAT: Spaghetti + Side Salad, Garlic Bread
SUN: Ultimate Chili

WEEK FOUR: January 25-31

MON:
TUE: Steak Burrito Bowls
WED: Pulled Pork Sandwiches (*using meat from Pulled Pork Tacos)
THU: Chicken Teriyaki Dump Dinner
FRI: Creamy Red Pepper & Tomato Pasta
SAT: Coconut Lime Chicken & Broccoli
SUN:

Meal Planning Tips

One of the reasons that I like looking further out and doing as much meal planning as possible a month at a time, is that it helps me see where to use up our food most efficiently! Helps me with shopping for deals or discounts on meat or other pantry staples that I know we will use up within that month or can store in our freezer for later. I also like to try and cook our meals in such a way that we can utilize some of the same ingredients for another meal that week or the following week.

Example: When we make pulled pork for tacos, we clearly don’t eat all of that pork during taco night! The seasoning is simple enough that it is a great base for pulled pork sandwiches at another time. So we either put the leftover pulled pork into the fridge or pack it up for the freezer - or both, depending on the number of servings we have after taco night.

In our house, leftovers make a great lunch option for the next day, so I don’t usually plan out our lunch meals and just stick to our dinner times for my main planning.

I also love flexibility! I believe that it is easier to be flexible and adapt when you already have a game plan. If I am asking every day “what would you like for dinner?” I get super stressed out, trying to think at the moment when I’m usually more likely to be tired or stressed! Knowing a plan in advance allows me to be more prepared throughout my day or week, but also be able to pivot easier. Long day? Unexpected plans? Out of the house tonight instead of at home? Totally ok to switch things up or skip a meal that I had on the planning calendar! Now I know that I have those ingredients to make that meal another night. Of course, the one important thing to keep in mind with this is that any fresh produce will not last as long, so we need to introduce them quickly back into our meals if we skipped a night that called for those ingredients.

Be Inspired!

I’m sharing my personal Meal Plan for January 2021 in hopes that it may inspire other people to plan and prepare meals for the month and reduce some stress at the same time! This meal plan is really geared towards my family and how we operate (with a few exceptions). Because of my husband’s work schedule as a youth pastor, he is almost always out of the house on Wednesday nights, so we are intentional to cook meals on Tuesday nights that will make great leftovers that he can pack to take for dinner at church. We also really love our Sunday night pizza dinners - so I’m always flexible to having those nights open for takeout if we don’t feel like cooking! I love making soups that will feed us multiple times over, if we need a super “quick and easy” dinner option - just pull out some soup from the freezer!

I have come to love using Trello as my main meal planning organizer - it allows me to link directly to recipes online, or add my own notes or photos. It’s a great digital recipe box! I can also easily drag and drop Trello cards to different lists - which is one of my favorite features because we all know that plans get changed! So I can drag and drop a meal that we skipped to another night. You can read more about using Trello for Meal Planning on one of my previous blog posts, or give it a try by using the Trello Template for Meal Planning here:

Download Free Meal Planning Trello Template

I also know that the meals that I have listed and am excited to try out aren’t great options for everyone! For my husband and I, we often use recipes online as inspiration for meals (new veggies to try out, or a great guide to inspire us to use a certain protein that week). Because I know this specific meal plan might not be perfect for you - I also have a blank calendar available that you can use to fill in your own favorite meals! Just click on the button below to get the FREE printable to download - then print and use in your house to plan out your favorite meals for the month!

Download the Meal Plan Calendar for January 2021

I can’t wait to hear from you all about what meals you are making this month and what you think about planning out your meals for an entire month instead of just a week at a time (or day by day!). Leave a comment below to let me know what you are planning in January, or stop by my new Facebook Group for our JenEric Community to share there!