What's for Dinner? | 4-Week Meal Planner Spreadsheet | Google Sheets & Excel
WHAT'S FOR DINNER?
A four-week meal planner that helps you choose.
It's 5pm. Everyone's hungry. And somehow, despite having a kitchen full of food, you still have absolutely no idea what to make for dinner.
Sound familiar?
What's for Dinner? is a reusable digital meal planner designed to make that everyday question a little easier.
Instead of endlessly trying to think of new meals, build a collection of dinners your household actually enjoys. Then use your meal bank, helpful suggestions and four-week planner to make deciding what's for dinner one less thing to worry about.
No complicated recipes to follow. No strict meal plans to stick to.
Just a practical way to organise the meals you already know your family will eat.
WHAT CAN YOU DO WITH IT?
PLAN FOUR WEEKS OF DINNERS
Plan 28 days of meals in one place.
Choose dinners using dropdown menus connected to your personal meal bank.
You can also add breakfast, lunch and preparation reminders if you want to — but dinner is the priority.
BUILD YOUR OWN MEAL BANK
Forget scrolling through the same recipes every week.
Create a personal collection of your household's favourite dinners, including:
- Meal names
- Cooking times
- Family favourites
- Portions already in your freezer
- When you last cooked each meal
- Preparation and defrosting notes
The meal bank has space for up to 40 meals.
GET HELP DECIDING WHAT TO COOK
Your planner uses the information you enter to highlight useful dinner ideas.
See suggestions for:
- Family favourites
- Quick meals taking 30 minutes or less
- Meals already in your freezer
- Meals you haven't cooked for at least 28 days
Each shortlist displays up to three ideas.
Because sometimes you don't need another recipe. You just need reminding of something you already know how to cook.
SEE WHAT'S FOR DINNER TODAY
Your Today dashboard brings everything together.
Check:
- Tonight's planned dinner
- This week's meals
- Preparation reminders
- Shopping items still needed
- Helpful suggestions from your meal bank
Your dashboard updates using the date, your meal plan and the information you've entered.
KEEP YOUR SHOPPING LIST TOGETHER
Add ingredients and other shopping items in one organised place.
You can record:
- Item name
- Category or supermarket aisle
- Quantity or size
- Which meal the item is for
- Which shop to visit
- Additional notes
- Whether you still Need it or have Bought it
Please note: Ingredients are added manually. The planner does not automatically generate shopping lists from your chosen meals.
This gives you control over what you already have at home and what actually needs buying.
WHAT'S INCLUDED IN THE PLANNER?
Your digital planner contains five main sections:
TODAY — Your daily dashboard and dinner suggestions.
FOUR WEEKS — Plan 28 days of meals, with optional breakfasts, lunches and preparation notes.
MEAL BANK — Keep your favourite meals, cooking times and freezer information together.
SHOPPING — Organise everything you need to buy and mark items as Bought.
START HERE — Personalise your planner and learn how to use it.
You'll also receive a two-page Quick Start Guide explaining how to get started and keep using your planner.
HOW TO USE YOUR PLANNER
STEP 1 — OPEN YOUR COPY
Open the spreadsheet in Microsoft Excel or import it into Google Sheets.
STEP 2 — MAKE IT YOURS
Enter your household name and choose your starting date.
Your four-week plan automatically begins on the Monday of your chosen week.
STEP 3 — ADD YOUR FAVOURITE DINNERS
Start building your meal bank with meals you already enjoy.
Add cooking times, mark favourites and record any freezer portions.
You don't need to fill everything in immediately. Start with a few meals and build your collection over time.
PLEASE NOTE
This is a digital PDF download. No physical item, tablet, stylus or app is included. The design and page text are not editable templates; the designated form fields are fillable. The pack is not a standalone app and does not calculate scores or totals. PDF apps can display form fields and links differently. If a link does not respond, use the page thumbnails or swipe.
The listing previews show the actual pages with sample entries, ticks and a sample PDF drawing annotation. Your working planner and children's book arrive with blank input fields. The planner example is supplied separately. Family lifestyle imagery and decorative Halloween artwork were created with AI assistance; the page layouts, activities and PDF forms were designed and assembled for this product.
For personal home/family use. You may save and print copies for your household. Please do not resell, distribute or share the files publicly.
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