Meal planner template

The question "what do I make today" asked seven times a week wears on you more than it seems. It gets answered in a rush, usually falling back on the same thing or on takeout, and it ends in improvised shopping and food going bad in the fridge. Deciding the menu all at once, a quiet hour on Sunday, spares you that small daily stress and you eat better on top of it.

Planning the week's meals has three clear wins: you buy only what you will use, you stop repeating the same dishes and you take the chance to cook extra and leave portions ready. This template covers breakfast, lunch and dinner for each day, plus the shopping list and using up leftovers, which is where you really save money.

The whole week planned at once

These are the tasks the template includes:

• Monday: plan breakfast, lunch and dinner
• Tuesday: plan breakfast, lunch and dinner
• Wednesday: plan breakfast, lunch and dinner
• Thursday: plan breakfast, lunch and dinner
• Friday: plan breakfast, lunch and dinner
• Saturday: plan breakfast, lunch and dinner
• Sunday: plan breakfast, lunch and dinner
• Write the grocery shopping list with what is missing
• Batch cook meals for several days and leave them ready
• Check leftovers to avoid waste

How it works in Foco

On import, Foco places these tasks in the Calendar view, each meal on its day of the week. You see the full menu at a glance and can move a dish from one day to another by dragging it if plans change. On each task you note the ingredients or the recipe in a text or voice note.

If you use Google Calendar or Outlook, you can connect it to see your events beside the meals and line up the days you eat out or get home late. You tick the shopping list once you have bought it, and with voice notes you add "buy tomatoes" while cooking without stopping what you are doing.