The hardest part of meal planning is often the first step: deciding what to make. These eight ideas can help, and none of them require a new cookbook.
1. Start with what you already have
Canada's Food Guide suggests checking your fridge, freezer, and cupboards before you plan, and noting which foods need to be used up first. A half bag of rice, a can of beans, and some frozen vegetables are already the start of a meal.
2. Check this week's flyers
The Food Guide also recommends scanning flyers for foods on sale. Choosing your dinners from the discounted items is one of the simplest ways to cut your bill. GopherCart's meal search does this for you by showing meals with the most items on sale at stores near you.
3. Ask your family
Ask each person to name a meal they would like this week. People are more likely to eat what they chose.
4. Borrow from friends and family
The Food Guide's planning tips include getting recipe ideas from websites, cookbooks, magazines, friends, and relatives. A recipe that works for a friend with a similar budget is a good bet.
5. Use what is in season
Planning around seasonal ingredients is a common suggestion from nutrition educators. Seasonal produce is often easier to find and can be better value.
6. Add plant-based proteins
Canada's Food Guide encourages eating protein foods that come from plants more often. Its materials note that lentils and beans are often less expensive than many other proteins, and they work well in soups, chili, pasta sauces, and tacos.
7. Try theme nights
This is our own idea rather than an official recommendation. Giving each weekday a loose theme, such as pasta, soup, tacos, or breakfast for dinner, narrows the choices and makes planning faster.
8. Save what works
The Food Guide suggests keeping your favourite recipes and past meal plans in a binder or on your computer. Over a few months, you build a list of reliable meals you can rotate.
A quick routine
- Check what you have.
- Check the flyers.
- Pick three to five dinners, mixing old favourites with one new idea.
- Write the grocery list and post the plan.
The bottom line
Good dinner ideas usually come from three places: what you already have, what is on sale, and what your family likes. Start there, and keep a running list of the meals that work.
Sources
- Health Canada, Canada's Food Guide, "Meal planning from start to finish in 4 steps": https://food-guide.canada.ca/en/cooking-skills/meal-planning-start-finish-4-steps
- Health Canada, Canada's Food Guide, "Plan what you eat": https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/food-guide/explore/healthy-eating-recommendations/cook-more-often/plan-what-you-eat.html
- Health Canada, Canada's Food Guide newsletter, March 2025, "Skills for healthy eating": https://food-guide.canada.ca/en/newsletter/2025/march
- York University Food Services, "6 easy ways to meal prep mastery": https://www.yorku.ca/foodservices/nutrition-tip/6-easy-ways-to-meal-prep-mastery/