Weekly Meal Planner and Servings Counter
Use this weekly meal planner to fill in breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks for seven days, then count your meals, servings and repeated dishes.
Plan your week
A whole number from 1 to 100.
One dish per box, up to 80 characters (example week shown; replace it with your own)
| Day | Breakfast | Lunch | Dinner | Snack |
|---|
How does the weekly meal planner work?
The weekly meal planner turns a grid of dishes into a few simple counts. You type one dish into each box, choose how many people are eating, and the tool counts the meals, the servings to cook, the distinct dishes, the repeats and the days left empty. Nothing is estimated and nothing is looked up.
servings to cook = meals planned × people eating
Empty boxes are skipped, so you can plan only dinners, or only weekdays. Two dishes count as the same when they are spelled the same, ignoring capital letters and extra spaces: “Dal”, “dal” and “ dal ” are one dish. The planner does not guess that “daal” and “dal chawal” mean the same food, so type a repeated dish the same way each time.
Worked example: a family of four
The example week on this page has 19 meals, with Saturday left empty and a family of 4 eating together. The planner shows these results for it:
| Result | Value | How it is counted |
|---|---|---|
| Meals planned | 19 | Filled boxes only |
| Servings to cook | 76 | 19 meals × 4 people |
| Distinct dishes | 11 | Different dishes after matching |
| Repeated dishes | 7 | Dishes that appear more than once |
| Most repeated | Dal chawal ×3 | Appears Monday, Tuesday and Thursday |
| Nothing planned | Saturday | No filled box that day |
Because “Dal chawal” was typed once with a capital letter and once without, the match rule is what makes it count as three uses of one dish.
How do I cost my meal plan?
Use the servings number as your target for each dish. For every dish on the plan, scale its recipe with the recipe scaler so it makes the servings you need, then price it with the recipe cost calculator. Adding the dish costs gives a rough cost for the week.
If a pack size matters when you shop, compare options with the grocery unit price comparator. A 7-day diet plan article or the Mediterranean diet guide can give you ideas for what to put in the boxes.
Printing and copying the plan
The Print button prints only the plan table and the counts; the input boxes, buttons and the rest of the page are hidden. The Copy button gives a plain list, one line per day, with the totals at the bottom. It is easy to paste into a message or a notes app.
What does this tool not do?
- Nutrition. It does not count calories or nutrients and cannot tell you whether a week of meals suits your health. For personal advice, speak to a doctor or a registered dietitian.
- Different numbers per meal. One people number applies to every meal. If some meals are for fewer people, adjust the servings yourself.
- Leftovers. Servings to cook is the number to cook, not the number to eat, so it does not allow for leftovers or guests.
- Recipes. It does not store ingredients or recipes; it only counts the dish names you type.
Fill in a few days, check the counts, and print the sheet for the fridge. A simple weekly meal planner takes only a few minutes and makes shopping and cooking easier to organise.
Frequently Asked Questions
Start with the meals you already cook, then write one dish in each box for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack across seven days. You do not have to fill every box; empty boxes are skipped. Enter how many people are eating and the planner counts your meals and servings. Print the table or copy it as a plain list.
Servings to cook equal the number of meals you planned multiplied by the number of people eating. A plan with 19 meals for 4 people comes to 76 servings. This is a simple count, not a portion guide, so it assumes every person eats every planned meal. Change the people number if some meals are for fewer people.
The planner ignores capital letters and extra spaces when it compares dishes, so “Dal”, “dal” and “ dal ” are the same dish. It does not guess that different names mean the same food. “Daal” and “dal chawal” would count as different dishes, so type a repeated dish the same way each time.
It can be a practical way to save time and money, because you cook once and use the same ingredients again. This tool only counts repeats and lists them; it does not judge your plan or give nutrition advice. For personal advice on what to eat, speak to a doctor or a registered dietitian.
Pick each dish you plan to cook and scale its recipe to the number of servings shown by the planner. The recipe scaler changes the amounts, and the recipe cost calculator adds up what each dish costs. Then combine the ingredients into one list before you shop, so you buy each item only once.