Meal Plan + Shopping List FREE Printables

I'm going to be totally transparent with you guys about my grocery budget. It's not very big. For a family of 3 (one being gluten-free), we budget $100/week. That includes three meals a day, drinks, desserts, snacks, dinner parties, fiestas...everything. Back when Judah was drinking formula 73x a day, that was included in the weekly budget with no change whatsoever. It's not that we can't afford to spend more. That's just what it's always been for almost 7 years now. Now, talk to me in 15 years when we have teen boys at home, and I'm sure we'll be singing a different song.

All that being said, I can't encourage meal planning enough. The few times I've gone over on our budget was when I showed up at the store with no real plan and no list. I feel so strongly about it that I wrote a post last year called "20 Tips for Better and More Affordable Meal Planning." I also use {free} money-saving apps like Ibotta to make money on things I'm already going to buy {think milk, cheese, produce, etc.}.

To make meal planning even easier for you, I've designed two completely free printables. One is a weekly meal plan, and the other is a shopping list. You can click on either image below to print and use at your convenience. I do it cause I love you!

I totally get that meal planning isn't the most exciting part of your week, but unless you are seriously raking in tons of money doing whatever you're doing, you can't afford not to meal plan. I've talked with countless readers who have sung the praises of this simple planning technique. I've got nothing to gain here by telling you to plan your meals, but you've got everything to gain. Honestly. I wouldn't lie to you guys. 

Hop to it!

Love and meal planning,

Postpartum Freezer Cooking Plan + Free Printable!

So in case you missed the announcement, baby #2 is on his way to the Wadsworth home! He'll be here at the end of May, and we couldn't be less prepared this time around. I'm knocking on the door of my third trimester, and we still have no crib assembled, no clothes hung, and no diapers bought. So I'm hoping this post will give me the inspiration I need to get organized the way I was before Judah arrived.

I'm a classic type-A personality, so when all these people told me that it wasn't possible to prepare myself for Judah, I called foul. The only thing I couldn't fully prepare for, it turns out, was sleep deprivation. And when you're sleep deprived, it takes all your other planning and throws it out the window. So I planned even more by making frozen meals ahead of time. It turned out to be a good decision, since Tim swears his love language is food. I tell him that's not an option in the book. Doesn't seem to matter.

Starting in the beginning of my third trimester, I doubled most of these recipes I'm about to list. I froze and labeled the second half to enjoy later after Judah came. Seriously, it was one of the the best decisions I made pre-baby. I don't love relying on others to provide me or my family with meals, so knowing I had an arsenal of meals tucked away was life-saving {by the way, if you are planning on taking a meal to a new mom, make sure and follow these tips}.

Let's get started! Remember, many of these recipes have "accessories" {think tortillas, sandwich rolls, etc.}, some that can be frozen, and some that can't, so just make sure you have those stockpiled away.

And don't forget to click here for your free freezer meal labels!

Love and preparation,

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