Meal planning can be a great way to save time and money, and it can also help you eat healthier. But if you’re not used to meal planning, it can be hard to know where to start. That’s where Excel comes in. Excel is a great tool for creating meal plans, and it can help you track your progress and make adjustments as needed.
In this article, we’ll show you how to create a monthly meal planner in Excel. We’ll start by creating a basic template, and then we’ll add some additional features to make your meal planner more useful.
Now that you have a basic understanding of how to create a meal planner in Excel, you can start adding some additional features to make it more useful. For example, you can add a column for recipes, so you can easily see what you’re going to cook each night. You can also add a column for nutritional information, so you can track the calories, fat, and protein in your meals.
How To Make Monthly Meal Planner In Excel
Here are 8 important points about how to make a monthly meal planner in Excel:
- Create a new workbook.
- Name the worksheet “Meal Planner”.
- Enter the month and year in the first cell.
- Create a table with 7 columns, one for each day of the week.
- Enter the meals for each day in the corresponding cells.
- Add a column for recipes, nutritional information, or other details.
- Format the table to make it easy to read.
- Save the workbook.
Following these steps will help you create a monthly meal planner in Excel that is both useful and easy to use.
Create a new workbook.
The first step in creating a monthly meal planner in Excel is to create a new workbook. To do this, open Excel and click on the “File” tab. Then, click on “New” and select “Blank workbook”.
- Choose a name for your workbook.
The name of your workbook will appear in the title bar of the Excel window. Choose a name that is descriptive and easy to remember, such as “Meal Planner” or “Monthly Meal Plan”.
- Save your workbook.
Once you have created a new workbook, it is important to save it. To do this, click on the “File” tab and then click on “Save”. Choose a location to save your workbook and then click on the “Save” button.
- Create a new worksheet.
Once you have saved your workbook, you can create a new worksheet. To do this, click on the “+” sign at the bottom of the Excel window. A new worksheet will be created and added to your workbook.
- Name your worksheet.
The name of your worksheet will appear in the tab at the bottom of the Excel window. Choose a name that is descriptive and easy to remember, such as “Meal Planner” or “Monthly Meal Plan”.
Once you have created a new workbook and worksheet, you are ready to start creating your monthly meal planner.
Name the worksheet “Meal Planner”.
Once you have created a new worksheet, it is important to name it. To do this, click on the tab at the bottom of the Excel window and type in the name you want to use. For example, you could name your worksheet “Meal Planner” or “Monthly Meal Plan”.
Choosing a descriptive name for your worksheet will make it easier to find and identify later on. It will also help you to keep your Excel workbook organized.
Here are some tips for naming your worksheet:
- Use a name that is easy to remember and understand.
- Avoid using spaces in your worksheet name.
- Use underscores or hyphens to separate words in your worksheet name.
Once you have named your worksheet, you can start adding content to it.
Enter the month and year in the first cell.
The first step in creating a monthly meal planner in Excel is to enter the month and year in the first cell. This will help you to keep track of which month you are planning for.
- Click on the first cell in the worksheet.
The first cell is located at the intersection of the first row and the first column. It is usually labeled as “A1”.
- Enter the month and year.
Type in the month and year that you want to plan for. For example, you could type in “January 2023”.
- Format the cell.
Once you have entered the month and year, you can format the cell to make it stand out. To do this, select the cell and then click on the “Format” tab. Choose a font and font size that is easy to read.
- Center the text.
To center the text in the cell, select the cell and then click on the “Alignment” tab. Click on the “Center” button.
Once you have entered the month and year in the first cell, you can start adding content to your meal planner.
Create a table with 7 columns, one for each day of the week.
Once you have entered the month and year in the first cell, you can start creating a table to track your meals. To do this, select the cells that you want to include in your table. For example, you could select the cells from A2 to G2.
Once you have selected the cells, click on the “Insert” tab and then click on the “Table” button. A dialog box will appear. Make sure that the “My table has headers” checkbox is selected and then click on the “OK” button.
Excel will create a table with 7 columns, one for each day of the week. The first column will be labeled as “Date” and the remaining columns will be labeled as “Monday”, “Tuesday”, “Wednesday”, “Thursday”, “Friday”, and “Saturday”.
You can customize the table to meet your needs. For example, you can change the font, font size, and alignment of the text. You can also add borders and shading to the table.
Enter the meals for each day in the corresponding cells.
Once you have created a table with 7 columns, one for each day of the week, you can start entering the meals for each day. To do this, simply click on the cell that corresponds to the day and meal that you want to enter. For example, if you want to enter breakfast for Monday, you would click on the cell in the second row and first column.
Once you have clicked on the cell, you can start typing in the meal that you want to eat. You can also use the drop-down arrow to select a meal from a list of recently entered meals.
You can continue entering meals for each day and meal until your meal planner is complete.
Here are some tips for entering meals into your meal planner:
- Be specific when entering meals. For example, instead of writing “sandwich”, write “ham and cheese sandwich on whole wheat bread”.
- Include the serving size for each meal. For example, instead of writing “apple”, write “1 apple”.
- Use the drop-down arrow to select meals from a list of recently entered meals. This can save you time and help you to avoid typos.
Add a column for recipes, nutritional information, or other details.
In addition to the basic meal planning information, you can also add additional columns to your meal planner to track recipes, nutritional information, or other details.
To add a new column, click on the “Insert” tab and then click on the “Insert Sheet Column” button. A new column will be inserted to the left of the selected column.
You can rename the new column to whatever you want. For example, you could rename the column to “Recipes”, “Nutritional Information”, or “Other Details”.
Once you have created a new column, you can start entering data into the cells. For example, you could enter the recipe for a particular meal, the nutritional information for a particular meal, or any other details that you want to track.
Here are some tips for adding additional columns to your meal planner:
- Choose a column name that is descriptive and easy to understand.
- Enter data into the cells that is relevant to the column name.
- Use the drop-down arrow to select data from a list of recently entered data.
Format the table to make it easy to read.
Once you have entered all of the data into your meal planner, you can format the table to make it easier to read and understand.
- Adjust the column width.
To adjust the column width, hover your mouse over the line between the column headers and drag it to the left or right.
- Change the font.
To change the font, select the cells that you want to format and then click on the “Font” tab. Choose a font that is easy to read.
- Change the font size.
To change the font size, select the cells that you want to format and then click on the “Font Size” drop-down arrow. Choose a font size that is easy to read.
- Add borders.
To add borders to the cells, select the cells that you want to format and then click on the “Borders” button. Choose a border style that you like.
Once you have formatted the table to your liking, it will be much easier to read and understand.
Save the workbook.
Once you have finished creating your monthly meal planner, it is important to save the workbook. To do this, click on the “File” tab and then click on “Save”.
Choose a location to save your workbook and then click on the “Save” button. Your workbook will be saved with a .xlsx extension.
It is a good idea to save your workbook frequently, especially if you are making changes to it. To save your workbook quickly, press the “Ctrl” + “S” keys simultaneously.
You can also save your workbook as a different file format. To do this, click on the “File” tab and then click on “Save As”. Choose a file format from the drop-down menu and then click on the “Save” button.
FAQ
Here are some frequently asked questions about how to make a monthly meal planner in Excel:
Question 1: How do I create a new workbook in Excel?
Answer: To create a new workbook in Excel, click on the “File” tab and then click on “New”.
Question 2: How do I name a worksheet?
Answer: To name a worksheet, click on the tab at the bottom of the Excel window and type in the name you want to use.
Question 3: How do I insert a table into a worksheet?
Answer: To insert a table into a worksheet, select the cells that you want to include in the table and then click on the “Insert” tab and then click on the “Table” button.
Question 4: How do I add a column to a table?
Answer: To add a column to a table, click on the “Insert” tab and then click on the “Insert Sheet Column” button.
Question 5: How do I format a table?
Answer: To format a table, select the cells that you want to format and then click on the “Format” tab. Choose the formatting options that you want to use.
Question 6: How do I save a workbook?
Answer: To save a workbook, click on the “File” tab and then click on “Save”.
Question 7: Can I share my meal planner with others?
Answer: Yes, you can share your meal planner with others by saving it to a shared drive or by emailing it to them.
These are just a few of the most frequently asked questions about how to make a monthly meal planner in Excel. If you have any other questions, please feel free to post them in the comments section below.
Now that you know how to create a monthly meal planner in Excel, here are a few tips to help you get started:
Tips
Here are a few tips to help you get started with your monthly meal planner in Excel:
Tip 1: Start with a template.
There are many free meal planning templates available online. Using a template can save you time and help you to create a meal planner that is visually appealing.
Tip 2: Plan your meals in advance.
One of the best ways to save time and money on groceries is to plan your meals in advance. This will help you to avoid impulse purchases and to make sure that you have all of the ingredients you need on hand.
Tip 3: Cook in bulk.
Cooking in bulk is a great way to save time and money. When you cook in bulk, you can freeze the leftovers for later. This will give you quick and easy meals on hand for those busy nights.
Tip 4: Use your meal planner to track your progress.
Your meal planner can be a great tool for tracking your progress. By keeping track of the meals you eat, you can see what you’re eating well and where you can make improvements.
These are just a few tips to help you get started with your monthly meal planner in Excel. With a little planning and effort, you can create a meal planner that will help you to eat healthier, save time, and save money.
Now that you know how to create and use a monthly meal planner in Excel, you’re well on your way to eating healthier and saving money.
Conclusion
In this article, we have shown you how to create a monthly meal planner in Excel. We have covered everything from creating a new workbook to formatting the table. We have also provided some tips to help you get started.
Creating a monthly meal planner in Excel is a great way to save time and money. It can also help you to eat healthier. By following the steps in this article, you can create a meal planner that meets your individual needs.
We hope this article has been helpful. If you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment below.
