Menu Planning Resources

  • A key food skill is planning weekly menus. Help your participants consider:
    • what’s on sale at the grocery store
    • what’s in season in their garden or at a farm market
    • planning for leftovers
    • creating nutritious, balanced meals that encourage eating from all the Canada Food Guide food groups
    • staying within a food budget
    • staple pantry items they should have on hand
    • meal planning template
    • Menu Planning Apps

Here are some resource links to facilitate the menu planning process:

Eatright Ontario Online Menu Planner – A resource to help you develop your own menus that includes grocery lists and special diet suggestions.

Eatright Ontario Menu Planning resources/handouts – multiple handouts discussing budget, family friendly meals and general tips.

Dietitians of Canada – Plan Well Shop Smart Resources – information on shopping, pantry tips, using leftovers and shopping for one or two people.

Eating Well website has information on healthy cooking on a budget, tips to save money, affordable dinners, how to reduce food waste and suggestions to use in the grocery store.

OMFRA – Foodland Ontario – www.ontario.ca/foodland – information about seasonal sources of local foods and recipes.

Grocery Store flyers:

No Frills – www.nofrills.ca

Food Basics – www.foodbasics.ca

Sobeys – www.sobeys.com

Real Canadian Superstore – www.realcanadiansuperstore.ca

Walmart – www.walmart.ca

Foodland – www.ontario.foodland.ca

Additional website resources/blogs:

The Kitchn – A week of budget meals

The Kitchn – 10 Low Budget Pantry Items that Everyone Should Have

Iowa State University – Planned use of Leftovers

Budget Bytes – Stock your Kitchen Pantry Staples